Monroe Girls, West Valley Boys advance to state tournament semifinals

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - The Monroe Catholic Rams girls and West Valley Wolfpack boys basketball teams have advanced to the semifinals of the ASAA state basketball tournament.

The second seeded Rams entered the tournament allowing 27.1 points per game to their opponents. They opened with Kenai Central. The staunch defense continued today for Monroe. The Rams held Kenai to four points scored in each of the first three quarters. The Rams largest lead ballooned all the way to 35 points.

Monroe would go on to win by 26, 53-27. Nine different Rams players recorded a point and were led by Miranda Wilkerson’s 12. Shannel Kovalsky and Tatyana Snowden controlled the glass combining for 17 rebounds. The duo also accounted for seven of the team’s thirteen steals.

Thursday is the second day of the 3A tournament. The Rams semifinal game will be against the third-seeded Mt. Edgecumbe Braves who defeated Valdez today, 49-34. This game will start at 3:15 p.m. tomorrow on the main court at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The West Valley Wolfpack boys simultaneously played while Monroe was in the auxiliary gym this morning. West Valley had success twice against the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears. The success continued, and West Valley showed exactly why they are the number one seed in the 4A boys bracket.

Stewart Erhart racked up a fantastic stat line in only 9:10 of play: 20 points (7-16 FG, 6-9 FT), 5 steals, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds. Malachi Bradley and Eliyah Dominique also finished in double digits. Bradley had 15. Dominique added 10.

It ended as another 20+ point victory. 60-37 was the final. The Wolfpack’s semifinal game will take place Friday, 6:15 p.m. on the main court at the Alaska Airlines Center.

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