The Metlakatla Chiefs's and the Nikiski Bulldogs's contest on Thursday was close at halftime, but the Metlakatla Chiefs turned on the heat in the second half with 37 points. Metlakatla put the hurt on Nikiski with a sharp 60-39 victory. Metlakatla has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three matches 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. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Booth has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Kennedy Cook, who scored eight points.
Despite the defeat, Nikiski had strong showings from Alexa Iyatunguk, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds and three steals, and Shelby Burman, who scored 12 points along with five rebounds. That's the first time this season that Iyatunguk grabbed two or more steals.
Even though they lost, Nikiski smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
The win was the fourth in a row for Metlakatla, bringing their record for this year 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 contest is against Bethel at 2:45 a.m. on January 12th. As for Nikiski, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Homer at 5:45 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Alaska (Homer is ranked 37th, while Nikiski is ranked 45th).
