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Aniak Halfbreed Girls Win 1A State Championship

Greg Lincoln
/
Delta Discovery

The 1A girls state basketball championship once again goes to the Yukon-Kuskokwim region. Aniak won the title after a series of upsets in Friday’s semifinals.

Credit Greg Lincoln / Delta Discovery
/
Delta Discovery
The Aniak girls team takes home the state title from the 2018 1A basketball championships.

First, two-time state champion Scammon Bay was dominated by Aniak and had to settle for third. A semi-final dark horse was Selawik, which upset King Cove and set up a championship battle between the two regions.

Saturday’s final championship game began with a ritual to honor a member of the Aniak boys 2011 championship team: Bruce "Gotor" Morgan, Number 20, who died by gunfire last fall.

The ritual is a huddle that takes place at the end of the warmup. On Saturday, Selawik joined Aniak and the two opposing teams stood in a circle in the center of the court, joined in a group prayer and cheer that demonstrated a unique and gracious unity that other schools could learn from.  

They may have dedicated the game to the deceased "Gotor" Morgan, but the Aniak Halfbreeds won the championship on their own with grit, speed, and precise execution. They forced turnovers and delivered nine 3-pointers, winning 55 to 44.

Most of the members of this team weren’t even alive the last time Aniak girls brought home the state 1A title in 1999.

“It’s a dream come true, right here,” said Aniak team captain Shauna Koonuk.

Aniak is a tiny team. This victory was accomplished by five players, although a couple of times the two sitting on the bench came in to relieve the squad. Shauna Koonuk is a senior. She fell and hurt her head close to the end of the last period of play, but came back to finish and was named player of the game.

“We worked very hard to get here, so I’m proud of my team. Worked so hard day in and day out on the court all the time. Really proud of them. This is my last year and my first time winning state, too. Woo-hoo!” she exclaimed.

Coach Wayne Morgan says that the team has been working for this the entire year, spending long hours in practice.

“They stayed within themselves and stayed together,” he noted. “This is for everyone in the region. The title stays here.”

The Selawik Wolves are bigger than most of the Aniak Halfbreeds, with the exception of Kayla Morgan who towers over her teammates. Though Selawik came out strong and was a bigger team with a deeper bench, the players seemed to lose their rhythm and concentration as the momentum shifted. The Wolves will be back. They left hungry after taking second, while the tiny squad of Aniak Halfbreeds rode away from the arena celebrating in a stretch limousine.