The Bering Sea Conference basketball tournament concluded over the weekend in Unalakleet, with Shaktoolik’s boys and girls teams booking tickets to the state championship in Anchorage the following week.
Both Shaktoolik teams defeated Shishmaref in the finals, who will also represent Bering Strait School District (BSSD) at state after winning their consolation games. BSSD’s sole 2A school, Unalakleet, will compete in the Northwest Conference tournament in Anchorage March 5-6 for a spot at state.
Shaktoolik boys coach Silas Paniptchuk said BSSD’s regional tournament always brings added energy. The Wolverines entered the competition with a 21-1 record, with their one loss coming from 4A Palmer.
“We were coming in feeling pretty good about ourselves and with this level of confidence that I just felt was really high,” Paniptchuk said.
The boys team opened the tournament with a win over Golovin 103-49. The second match against Brevig Mission had a similar result, ending with a 110-30 victory. The two wins set up the Wolverines with a title game rematch with Shishmaref, who Paniptchuk said Shaktoolik has faced for several years in a row.
“We played pretty sloppy into that championship game, but we came out with a win,” Paniptchuk said. “That’s a really well-coached team. They kept us on our toes the entire game so we couldn’t let off.”
By the final buzzer, the Wolverines took the win 73-54. Paniptchuk said a highlight of the game came off a fast break from Shaktoolik’s tall sophomore, Chase Katchatag, who has added dunks to his repertoire this season.
“The whole gym was electric,” Paniptchuk said.
Paniptchuk said it was a team effort through-and-through, with players across Shaktoolik’s roster getting quality minutes.
“I was really proud of how well Colton and John fit in,” he said. “And also Ryan and Austin, those boys, they do anything that needs to be done for the team to be successful.”
In the girls bracket, Shaktoolik also met Shishmaref in the championship match after splitting regular-season games the weekend before. Paniptchuk said the girls team, coached by his wife and longtime coach of the Lady Wolverines, Stacey Paniptchuk, had their work cut out for them after wins over St. Michael and Savoonga.
“Stacey knew going into the championship game after winning their first two that it wasn’t going to be easy, and it wasn’t,” Paniptchuk said. “And there was a lot of energy around that basketball game. And those girls did well. They played with a lot of energy.”
The Lady Wolverines finished with a 44-34 win over Shishmaref.
Shaktoolik’s girls team will head to state for the fifth-consecutive year. The Lady Wolverines have been on the cusp of the coveted state title, losing only to the eventual state champion each of their last three trips to the tournament. Last season the Shaktoolik girls finished second, losing to Fort Yukon in a tightly-contested 37-33 title game.
Both Shishmaref teams will travel to state next week after clinching second place in the BSSD tournament. Paniptchuk said that gives literally-small schools like Shaktoolik just enough time to emulate playing on the Alaska Airlines Center’s full-size court, which is several feet wider than Shaktoolik’s cramped home court.
“We’ll use this week to expand our our lines on our court, to run our presses, run our defenses run our offenses, because we're going to go play on a big court now,” Paniptchuk explained. “We basically have to use our walls now as the out of bounds line.”
Shaktoolik's boys team will look to repeat as state champions, while the girls team is seeking its first-ever state title. The last time Shishmaref's boys team took home the trophy was 2002, while the girls' team has got as far as runners-up, most recently in 2021.
The ASAA 1A/ 2A Basketball State Championships begin March 11 at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. Seeding will be released March 8 and the championship match is scheduled for March 14.
