State Championship Tournament  [March 21, 22, 23]

Photos courtesy of Joe Prax

Courtesy of VHS Coaches

Thursday, March 21:

The Lady Buccaneer Basketball team entered the state tournament as Aurora Conference Champions, and the 6 seed.  They were matched up in the first round against a very good Nikiski team, who was awarded the 3 seed. The Lady Bucs started slow, and could not overcome that slow start in a 58-45 defeat.  After being down by nearly 20 points early, the Bucs rallied to tie the game in the 4th quarter. However, Nikiski, and 3A Player of the Year Bethany Carstens, proved to be too much as the Bulldogs rallied down the stretch for the win.

The Lady Bucs were led in scoring by Ashley Ramoth with 10 points, while Reese King added 9 and Jade Watts chipped in 7.  Jade Watts also added 7 rebounds, and was named the “Player of the Game” for the Lady Bucs. At the conclusion of the game, Jade Watts and Macy Hansen were named to the “Sportsmanship” Team.

Friday, March 22

On Friday, the Lady Bucs took on the #2 seed Galana Hawks, in a rematch of conference rivals.  The Hawks had been upset in the first round by the 7th seeded Barrow Whalers. The Lady Buccaneers could not overcome an extremely poor shooting performance, and eventually lost 47-42.  The Bucs had a chance to tie the game late, but just could not get a bucket to drop. One of the bright spots was how the Bucs responded in the 2nd half, both defensively and rebounding.  The Lady Buccaneers secured 17 offensive rebounds, and held the Hawks to 12 2nd half points. Despite the efforts, they just could not get enough shots to fall.

Ashley Ramoth led the Bucs with 12 points, and Ally Seiber added 10 points and 8 rebounds.  Ashley Ramoth was named the Valdez “Player of the Game” for her performance.

Coach’s Comments:

“I am extremely proud of this team.  Advancing to the state tournament is a privilege and a reward for their season.  In many ways, this team exceeded expectations this year. This season was part of a process that we began back in late November, and it was fun to watch them steadily improve throughout the year. We obviously didn’t play as well as we would have liked this weekend, but the experience will be invaluable.  I thought the girls had a fantastic year as they adjusted to a new coach and new system. I am extremely proud of them for their hard work.”

VHS Cheerleading

The Cheerleaders traveled and competed at the ASAA state cheerleading championships. They performed amazingly, much to the Pride of all Parents and Coaches. They were very much appreciative of our basketball teams that showed up and cheered them on during their competition, and all had a wonderful time getting to show off their skills at a state championship level.

The ladies cheered hard for the teams during the basketball games. During tournament games, “Cheerleader of the Game” was awarded by Visit Anchorage to Anna Agcaoili twice, and once each for Paris Pennington, Dezi Wiley, and Kat Taylor.

Anna Agcaoili and Paris Pennington were awarded spots on the all-state cheer team based on their athletic ability, knowledge of the game and enthusiasm while cheering during the weekend for our Valdez teams.