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King Cove Is A Hurdle For Y-K Teams At 1A Basketball Championship

The Scammon Bay girls won by a wide margin against New Stuyahok, 88 to 45, on the first day of the 1A Small School State Basketball tournament in Anchorage on March 14, 2018.
Charles Pulliam
/
Small Schools Broadcasting & Promotions

The statewide 1A basketball championship in Anchorage is a difficult proving ground for Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta teams. 

Down on the Alaska Peninsula, King Cove has become a powerhouse of its own. On Wednesday night, the team kept the Scammon Bay boys out of the semifinals. The Scammon Bay Eagles fought hard to the end, and at times it looked like they could control it, but the game went against them. Christopher Markham, coach of the King Cove T-Jacks, says that there were times that his team lost momentum, and it worried him.

“There’s a few times I felt like the momentum shifted, but that’s basketball. It’s a game of runs.”

The only Y-K Delta boys team that advanced to the semifinals of the 1A championship was Kipnuk, which seemed to have control of its match against Tanana.

In girls basketball, the King Cove Rookies dominated the Toksook Bay Lady Islanders. The Rookies appear to pose the biggest threat to both of The Delta's most dominant girls’ basketball teams, though Aniak and Scammon looked good in Wednesday’s play.

Aniak beat Hydaberg by a wide margin, but had a huge number of fouls. Coach Wayne Morgan says that would have been a problem had Hydaberg taken advantage of those free throws instead of missing them.

“It would have been a closer game. Yes, free throws win games. We got to fix that up to be competitive against a better team.”

The Scammon Bay girls also advanced to the semifinals by defeating New Stuyahok, but there was a diminutive young player on the "New Stu" team who won the hearts of fans of both teams. Peter Tuluk from Chevak, a solid fan of Kuskokwim teams, said that even he was captivated by Tameshka Gust, a player so short that she might get lost among elementary school students. She had the crowd in her hands when she stood well outside the line and delivered 3-pointers from “downtown” with a big grin on her face.

“I think she’s really cute, and she’s going to be a really good ball player in the future," said Tuluk.

Y-K Delta teams that advanced to the semifinals on Wednesday can be heard on Thursday as they face their opponents. Tune into KYUK for more of the action at the 1A basketball statewide championship.