The Metlakatla Chiefs's and the Nikiski Bulldogs's match on Thursday was close at halftime, but the Metlakatla Chiefs turned on the heat in the second half with 37 points. Metlakatla was the clear victor by a 60-39 margin over Nikiski. Metlakatla has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three contests by 21 points or more this season.
Metlakatla was led to victory by Bree Chavez and Ryley Booth. Chavez scored 14 points, while Booth scored 19 points. That's the first time this season that Booth scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kennedy Cook, who scored eight points.
Despite the defeat, Nikiski had strong showings from Alexa Iyatunguk, who scored 15 points, and Shelby Burman, who scored 12 points. That's the first time this season that Iyatunguk scored 15 or more points.
The victory (which was Metlakatla's fourth in a row) raised their record to 4-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.0 points per game. As for Nikiski, they now have a losing record at 2-3.
Metlakatla won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Bethel at 2:45 a.m. on January 12th. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Alaska (Bethel is ranked 35th, while Metlakatla is ranked 16th). As for Nikiski, they will be playing at home against Homer at 5:45 p.m. on Friday.
