ACS coach Chad Dyson in the huddle. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
At the end of its run as Anchorage Christian, a key member of the supporting cast lifted up the lead star one more time.
“It think it was very significant, and she’s my best friend,” Maliyah Alex said of the postgame celebration on Alaska Airlines Center hardwood. “I just wanted to see her win, and at the end of the day we won together and that’s even better.”
Alex is of course referring to Lions senior Sayvia Sellers, who put a champion’s bow on a historic Alaska high school basketball career Saturday night in a Class 4A state title game that showcased a mix of the past, present and future of the game’s strength in the 49th state. Now Alaska’s all-time leading scorer, Sellers poured in 32 points to lead ACS to a 57-38 victory over Wasilla, the only thing remotely close to a thorn in the Lions’ pedigreed paws during an astounding run of success.
Allow us to get a few particulars out of the way.
- Sellers scored 2,651 points in her high school career, besting former Dimond standout Alissa Pili by 37. Mike Cronk, a 1987 Northway graduate, amassed 3,624 to set the boys’ mark way back in the day.
- ACS rebrands as Mountain City Christian Academy heading into next season. Whatever we call it, the program carries the status cemented by 122 consecutive wins against in-state opponents, back-to-back 4A titles and six overall when including 3A championships (2021, 2019, 2018 and 2017).
- The 57 points scored by ACS were the second fewest while compiling its 25-2 record, and the fewest scored versus an Alaska foe. In small bites, Wasilla (24-5) played about as well as it could but still came up woefully short in its third crack at the Lions this season.
- The Warriors have been on the losing hook for 12 of the 122 ACS triumphs during the in-state streak. A Wasilla win on Feb. 9, 2018, marked the last Lions defeat to an Alaska opponent.
- On paper, ACS/Mountain City is set to lose only Sellers and fellow seniors Cadence Wood and Chloe Auble (six points in the championship game and named to the all-tournament team with Sellers and junior Nyamach Mathot). It will be intriguing to see what the defending champs look like in 2023-24. Factor in also the volume of underclassmen up and down the classification from around the state – we have too many talented current juniors, sophomores and freshmen to properly catalog.
ACS’ Sayvia Sellers. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
“We may finally see some parity,” said Wasilla coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax, who will tackle her 29th season with the Warriors next season but will retire from teaching at school year’s end. “With Sayvia gone (to the University of Washington), who’s going to fill that role for ACS?
“Colony’s big studs are still young kids. Thunder Mountain has those two juniors and two sophomores, so they’re going to be good. West (Anchorage) isn’t losing much. This year, we had ACS, Colony and us at the top. Now we’re going to see these other teams come with their games.”
Wasilla lost its two regular-season meetings with ACS by an average 18.5 points and basically hit that mark again in the 4A state finale. A perfect game is nearly impossible, but that’s what the Warriors needed to have any realistic hope. Relenting frequently to ACS’ defensive pressure and far too many missed “easy” looks proved costly.
“Defensively, I thought my girls did a great job,” Hebert-Truax said. “We knew Sayvia was going to get hers, so the goal was to cut down on everyone else’s (points). I’m super proud of what we did.”
Wasilla’s Layla Hays. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
Wasilla sophomore big Layla Hays put on an amazing show herself, finishing with 19 points and 19 rebounds. She played more than 30 minutes and looked rightfully gassed leaving the dressing room after the game.
“Yeah, a little,” Hays shrugged as she walked by.
ACS led 15-14 at the end of the opener quarter. Sellers was at her suave best when she slightly shimmied and then drained a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key with 5 minutes, 32 seconds left in the second. She gave ACS a 25-15 lead on that crowd pleaser, and the Lions led 30-21 at halftime.
Alex scored two points and grabbed two rebounds in the game before taking hold of Sellers in the celly. She acknowledged the constant routs and win upon win haven’t always made the Lions overly popular.
ACS’ Maliyah Alex lets ’em know. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
“At times, winning kind of puts a target on our back,” she said. “But we take it and do the best we can.
“Honestly, as a program, sometimes we’ve had those that shine a lot and those who really didn’t. We showed how hard we worked as one.
Hey now, there is no shame in being great – no matter if you’re named ACS or Mountain City Christian Academy.
“The only thing that’s going to change and make it different is probably going to be the name,” Alex said. “We’re still going to be the same hard-working program. We’re still going to fight as hard as we can each time on the court.”
Hebert-Truax, 52, was an Alaska high school star much like Sellers. She played at North Pole and Monroe Catholic before joining the University of Miami – the U – after graduating in the late 1980s.
She’s been enshrined in both the Alaska Sports and Alaska High School halls of fame as a player and coach. She shared a moment with Sellers before and after Saturday’s game, and is eager to see what’s next.
“She has the (scoring) record, but it’s not just Sayvia,” Hebert-Truax said. “She had a cast around her that allowed her to be that good, above and beyond. I hope she enjoys these moments and enjoys her teammates. She can look back years from now and really appreciate all she accomplished.”
Your 2023 Class 4A girls state champion ACS Lions. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report