It will be an all-Juneau final in the Region V 4A basketball tournament Friday night.
The Thunder Mountain Lady Falcons defeated Ketchikan 64-55 in third-round action Thursday morning at Sitka’s Mt. Edgecumbe High School.
Sophomore Ashley Young and senior Jonelle Staveland both put up double-digits for the Lady Falcons, with 19 and 18 points respectively. But Ketchikan junior Jayley Taylor — despite her team’s losing effort — now holds the single-game tournament record of 34 points, with 12 coming in the fourth period, including a pair of three-pointers.
The second loss takes Kayhi out of the tournament. Thunder Mountain advances to the final against the Juneau-Douglas Lady Crimson Bears. If Thunder Mountain defeats the as-yet undefeated Lady Crimson Bears, it will force a playoff game between the same two teams on Saturday afternoon. The winner of that game will represent Region V in the state 4A tournament in Anchorage.
It’s the same matchup on the boys side, except it is Juneau-Douglas which is coming into Friday’s final through the losers’ bracket.
The Crimson Bears defeated Kayhi Thursday morning, 60-58, in the closest contest yet in the boys’ tournament.
Juneau senior Keith Ainsworth led all scorers with 18 points, including a pair of three pointers. Fellow senior Phillip Fenumiai put up 13 points.
Ketchikan once again had a balanced scoring attack, with three players in double-digits. Seniors Kable Lervick and Brien Auger scored 12 and 10 respectively. Junior Isaiah Navales also had 10.
The second loss knocks Kayhi out of the tournament. Juneau will meet Thunder Mountain in the 4A final Friday afternoon. As with the girls, a win by Juneau will force a Saturday playoff for the regional title.
