Lady Panthers get pair of wins at State, finish 8th

By Gretchen WehmhoffMar 22, 2024 2 minute read Comment

Coach Jennings and team were all smile after taking second place in the region and earning a trip to the 2024 state tournament March 14-16. Front row from left: Athena Smith, Lennon Jennings, Ava Myers, Lila Lawson; back row from left: Nate Jennings, Kenadie Cox, Mac Mixon, Kelsey Cox, Rilynn Mixon, Lina Hischer, Millie Myers, Neda Tonkute, and Kaitlyn Tronrud. See the story and more photos the digital edition. Photo: Abby Myers

By Jeff Brady

For the News

The SHS girls’ basketball team went 2-2 at the ASAA State Tourney in Anchorage last week, finishing in eighth place in the 16-team field.

The girls lost a hard-fought battle to Bristol Bay, 54-46, in their opening quarterfinal game on March 13. The Lady Panthers were down by 15 at one point in the second half and battled back to cut the Angels lead to just three points with two minutes to play. Skagway had a couple more chances to tie the score but missed and then had to foul. The Angels converted 4-of-6 at the line to take the game. The Myers sisters, Ava and Millie, each had 15 points to lead Skagway.

Moving into the consolation round, Skagway faced two schools from villages on the Kuskokwim River.

Skagway won the first easily over Akiak, 56-9, after going up 40-3 in the first half. The girls cruised to victory over the Thunderbolts as fast as the running clock in the second half allowed (a mercy rule that kicks in with a 40-point lead). Ava Myers had 19 to lead SHS, while Millie tallied 17, and Lennon Jennings and Kaitlyn Tronrund posted 10 each.

The Lady Panthers had a stiffer challenge in their next game versus Z. John Williams High School from Napaskiak. Friday’s game was tight throughout with multiple lead changes and was tied 24-24 at halftime. Skagway briefly gave up the lead to start the third quarter but came back to go up 32-31 at the end of Q3. Strong defense and rebounding enabled them to hold the lead over the Hawks while getting big buckets down the stretch from Millie Myers (20 points), Jennings and Athena Smith. Final score was 42-38.

Moving to the big Alaska Airlines Center court on Saturday, the Lady Panthers ended their season with a loss in seventh place consolation final, 37-26, to the Scammon Bay Eagles.

Skagway fell behind in the second quarter and battled back a couple times to close within three or four points, but they just could not get enough shots to fall. In a defensive battle with lots of tipped balls and steals by both teams, Scammon Bay made a couple of 3-pointers from long range to give the Eagles a cushion to end the game.

Skagway was led by Jennings and Tronrud with 8 points each, and Ava Myers and Athena Smith had 6 and 4 respectively in their final game as seniors.

Thanks to Mason Jennings for the call on KHNS from Anchorage and NFHS for the game streams.