Your 2023 Class 3A girls state champion Grace Grizzlies. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
The Grace Christian girls basketball roster lists Kristi and Chris Waythomas as assistant coaches, and daughter Kailee Waythomas is a sophomore guard.
No wonder the Grizzlies were finally able to break the tape on a first March Madness Alaska state championship Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore guard Sophie Lentfer’s double double and freshman MJ Van der Horst’s productive shooting helped lift Grace to a 49-38 victory over Mt. Edgecumbe in the Class 3A title game at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The Peninsula Conference champion Grizzlies (25-2) capped their season with 22 consecutive victories and a double-digit win in the program’s first state championship appearance.
Grace Christian’s MJ Van der Horst. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
Kristi and Chris Waythomas are well known as accomplished distance runners. Kristi won four consecutive state cross-country championships at Kodiak (1983-86) and her girls track state-meet record in the 3,200 stood for 28 years until it was broken by Allie Ostrander.
Ostrander is going into the Alaska High School Hall of Fame in a few months. Kristi Waythomas was a member of 2006’s inaugural class.
Grace used a 20-12 edge in the opening quarter to set up its run to the championship. The Grizzlies never trailed and led 29-21 at halftime. They then outscored Mt. Edgecumbe (23-6) by a 20-17 clip in the final two quarters.
Lentfer finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Van der Horst made eight of 10 shots to compile 18 points and sophomore Ella Boerger added 16 points and seven rebounds. All three were named to the 3A all-tournament team.
Mt. Edgecumbe picked up its third runner-up finish in four title game outings. The Braves won the 2010 3A title. Juniors Carliese O’Brien and Tessa Anderson each dropped in 11 points for the school from Sitka.
Mt. Edgecumbe’s Carliese O’Brien. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report