Colony girls beat Ketchikan in OT, place 3rd

ANCHORAGE —Ketchikan posted the early lead. After a Knights rally, the Kings used a pair of free throws to force overtime.

But none of that was going to deter the Colony Knights.

Colony scored 28 points during the final 12 minutes of play, and earned a 53-48 victory over Ketchikan in the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Championships girls’ third-place game at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage Saturday morning.

“This team, all season long, they don’t ever give up,” Colony head coach Jeff Bowker said after the win. “They have come back after being down more than any team I’ve ever coached, boys or girls. They believe they can win every game they play.”

Colony senior Faith Farris scored 22 points in the victory. Twenty of her points came during the fourth quarter and overtime. Bowker said the performance of Farris late in the game is, “without question,” indicative of her desire to win. Farris, a four-year starter in the Knights program, also helped the senior class leave the program with three third-place finishes and a second-place finish in four years. The Knights were also third in 2012 and 2013, and second last year. Bowker said all of his seniors — Farris, Ashley Turcotte, Sarah Brumbaugh, Sarah Bonn, Teyah Clark and Tiffany Kaufmann — played key roles in Colony’s ability to score its fourth-straight top-3 finish at the 4A state tournament.

“They all contributed in different spots,” Bowker said.

Farris hit seven shots during the final 12 minutes of play, including four three-pointers. Turcotte finished with seven points, eight rebounds and four steals. Brumbaugh snagged a game-high 13 rebounds. Bonn hit a key three-pointer that sparked Colony’s rally. Clark hit an important free throw late. Kauffman played key minutes off the bench.

“They’ve certainly given all the young girls a standard to reach for,” Bowker said of his seniors.

Bonn helped spark a Colony rally with a three-pointer midway through the third. With 3:30 left in the period, Bonn knocked down the shot to tie the score at 23. In the fourth, Farris hit her first three-pointer of the game to cut Ketchikan’s lead to 30-29. After Ketchikan’s Alexis Biggerstaff answered with a three on the following possession to push the lead back to four, Farris drained another three-pointer to bring the game right back to a point.

With 3:10 left in regulation, Farris hit her third three-pointer of the quarter. That shot tied the score at 37.

Farris used a layup with about 45 seconds left in the fourth to give Colony the 41-39 lead. But Ketchikan had one more opportunity. Eliah Anderson hit two free throws with 5.8 seconds remaining to tie the score at 41 and force overtime.

Bowker said his girls were disappointed they didn’t win the game in regulation, but the Knights took care of it in overtime. Farris scored the first four points of overtime to give the Knights the 45-41 lead. Ketchikan answered with a 4-1 run, a stretch that included a deep three by A.J. Dela Cruz to tie the game at 46. With 1:10 left in overtime, Farris hit her fourth three-pointer of the contest to give the Knights the 49-46 advantage. Late free throws by Brumbaugh and junior Chase Stephens helped cement the game for the Knights.

The third-place game featured two teams that won with buzzer-beaters in the first round. Farris knocked down the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Knights a 45-42 win over rival Wasilla in the first round. Anderson drained a baseline jumper at the buzzer to give the Kings a double-overtime victory over East Anchorage in the quarterfinals.

In the semis, Dimond got past Ketchikan. Undefeated West Valley capped the game on a 16-0 run, and scored a 50-32 win over the Knights in the semifinals.

Bowker said the Knights were certainly disappointed to miss the opportunity to play for a state title for the second straight year, but came to play Saturday morning.

“They wanted to go out on their terms,” Bowker said. “To their credit, they did it. I’m proud.”

Colony 53, Ketchikan 48

4A girls third-place game

Saturday, Sullivan Arena

Ketchikan 11-8-8-14-7—48

Colony 6-7-12-16-12—53

Ketchikan (48) — Dela Cruz 1 0-0 3, Ruaro 3 0-0 7, Christiansen 1 0-0 3, Biggerstaff 3 3-3 10, Edwardson 4 2-4 10, Anderson 4 5-7 13, Kemble 1 0-1 2; Totals: 17 10-15 48.

Colony (53) — Duguid 1 0-0 3, Farris 8 2-4 22, Carlton 1 0-0 2, Stephens 1 6-10 8, Clark 1 1-2 3, Turcotte 3 1-2 7, Brumbaugh 1 3-7 5, Bonn 1 0-0 3; Totals: 17 13-25 53.