The ASAA 1A and 2A basketball divisions opened March Madness Alaska in Anchorage with tournaments spanning Wednesday to Saturday. It was madness indeed; not a single No. 1 seed won across the four tournaments. The ASAA 3A and 4A state championships begin Wednesday, March 20 and end on Saturday, March 23.
King Cove won the boys 1A title over top-seeded Kake in a battle of unbeatens, handing the defending state champions their first loss in over two years. Minto (26-3 overall), which lost to Kake in the semifinals, finished third at the state championships a week after winning the Golden Heart 1A Conference tournament at the UAF Patty Center.
The top seed in the boys 2A state championships also fell in the state title game when No. 3 Petersburg (18-10 overall) beat Hooper Bay (24-3) by a score of 41-33. Cordova (13-6) won the third-place game over Metlakatla. Defending 2A champion Ninilchik went 0-2 on the week.
Fort Yukon (26-2) won the girls 1A state championship after winning the Golden Heart 1A Conference tournament in Fairbanks one week prior. The third-seeded Eagles narrowly defeated No. 2 seed Shaktoolik (who finished third) by three points in the semifinal before topping No. 4 Newhalen (31-2) by double digits in the state title game. Kylee Carroll and Nellie Ward each scored 19 points for Fort Yukon. Top-seeded Klawock finished fourth.
The girls 2A tournament was the only of the four divisions through the first week of March Madness Alaska that saw its top two seeds advance to the state championship game. It was a reprisal of last yearâs state title bout but with a role reversal. This year, Metlakatla (21-2) defeated top-seeded Tikigaq 51-42 behind 27 points from Lexi Cook. Nenana (20-6) finished 3rd.