By Van Williams
Classic Media Director
Jordan Zackery and Tonya Karpow combined for 35 points and the Eagles used an 11-2 run in the third quarter to pull away and capture a second straight Alaska Airlines Classic girls tournament title after beating Ronan (MT) 51-41 at West High.
The game was played in front of the entire 1,800 student body for West, who improved to 6-0 at the Classic since the tournament returned after a long hiatus.
The Eagles (6-2) scored the first 17 points in the game before Olivia Heiner got the Maidens on the scoreboard with a little over a minute left in the first quarter.
Zackery led the way with 20 points and five 3-pointers. She finished 10-of-21 from behind the arc for the three-day tournament.
Karpow added 15 points, five rebounds and two steals. She scored six of her team’s first 11 points. Later, she hit a jumper and two free throws as the lead swelled to 40-24.
Despite trailing 17-0 and 22-7 early, Ronan closed the first half strong and trailed only 29-21 at halftime. When Heiner knocked down a 3-pointer to open the third quarter, it got the Maidens as close as 29-24.
But West responded with an 11-2 run, getting points from five different players. The scoring was spread out.
The defensive execution and intensity were, too.
Arianna Zepeda led Ronan (3-8) with nine points, followed by Heiner (8) and Lauryn Buhr (7). Buhr also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Eagles finished the Classic 3-0 while Ronan went 1-2.
Ronan 3 18 11 9 – 41
West 10 10 18 4 – 51
RONAN – Ulutoa 5, Cordova 3, Santos 2, Buhr 7, Heiner 8, Zepeda 9, Kelch 0, Luedtke 0, Arnoux 5, Devereaux-Trahan 2.
WEST – Wyche 1, Queen 2, Harris 2, Rameriz 2, Speakman 4, Zackery 20, Karpow 15, Gust 0, Ellia 0, Tualiai 0, Hudson 5.
Alaska Airlines Classic 