By Van Williams
Classic Media Director
The Ronan Maidens of Montana used a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter to propel them to a 44-40 victory over Metlakatla on Day 1 of the Alaska Airlines Classic girls basketball tournament at West High.
Lauryn Buhr and Margaret Cordova ignited a second-half rally that helped Ronan hold off the hard-charging Miss Chiefs.
With the game tied at 30, Cordova started the rally with a 3-pointer and Buhr capped it with a free throw off an offensive rebound. Burr converted a nice spin move to put the Maidens ahead 41-37.
Metlakatla pulled as close as 41-40 on Ryley Booth’s 3-pointer with 2:05 to play.
Ronan (3-6) made 13-of-29 free throws after going 9-of-16 in the second half.
Burh led the Maidens with 10 points, Olivia Heiner had nine points and Cordova had all eight of her points in the second half. Leina Ulutoa had six points and eight rebounds.
Heiner’s two free throws put the Maidens in charge 26-20 late in the second quarter. Her offensive rebound and putback made it 38-30.
Booth led Metlakatla (4-3) with a game-high 18 points while Bree Chavez chipped in 10 points. Kennedy Cook collected seven points and eight rebounds.
At 1:55 of the first quarter, Metlakatla forced a shot clock violation when Ronan took a shot but didn’t hit the rim. The Classic is using a 35-second shot clock – the only tournament in Alaska using a shot clock.
On Wednesday, Ronan will face Tikigaq at 6 p.m. while Metlakatla faces West at 7:30 p.m. on Day 2 of the three-day tournament.
Ronan 12 7 9 16 – 44
Metlakatla 10 10 5 16 – 40
RONAN – Ulutoa 6, Cordova 8, Santos 0, Buhr 10, Heiner 9, Zepeda 6, Kelch 2, Arnoux 0, Illig 0, Devereaux-Trahan 3.
METLAKATLA – C.Cook 7, Chavez 10, Nelson-Boyd 0, L.Cook 2, R.Booth 18, P.Booth 3, Jordan 0, Buffalo 0, Guthie 0, Peratrovich 0.
Alaska Airlines Classic 