Cordova girls, boys advance to state 2A championships

Cordova's Evan Gatton (4) and Nenana's Ethan Roberts (31) jump for a rebound during their game in the Interior Conference Basketball Tournament in Cordova on Friday, March 8, 2019. (Photo by Ashley Sloan/for The Cordova Times)

March Madness, Alaska Style, is here, and both Cordova teams will be part of The Show at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage this weekend.

The Lady Wolverines upset Nenana to finish first in the Interior Conference Playoffs March 7-9 in Cordova, and received the No. 4 seed at state. They were set to face 2A Southeast runner-up Craig at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 7.

This will be the second trip to 2A State for the Lady Wolverines since Cordova moved from the 3A level to 2A starting with the 2015-2016 season.

The CHS girls made it to State that first year, and finished 5th, losing to Bristol Bay and Dillingham; but ironically, beating Craig, who will be their first-round opponent this year.

Other first round girls pairings match No. 3 Nenana vs. Unalaska, No. 2 Wrangell vs. Unalakleet, and No. 1 Tikigaq (Pt.Hope) vs. Scammon Bay. Should Cordova defeat Craig, they would next play the winner of the Tikigaq-Scammon Bay contest.

Tikigaq topped the Lady W’s 65-50 at home in the Cordova Tipoff on January 17-19.

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The CHS boys have made it to State all three year since Cordova moved to 2A, but have yet to make it to the championship game.

In 2016, Cordova finished third, winning two and losing one. The loss came to eventual state champs Unalaska in the semi-finals. Cordova went 0-2 at State in 2017, and last year finished 5th, winning one and losing a pair.

This year the Wolverines will face No. 3 seed Tikigaq in the opening round 5 p.m. Thursday, March 14. These two teams have played once this season, with Tikigaq edging Cordova 59-58 in the Cordova Tipoff.

Other boys first round matches have No. 1 Unalaska vs. Hooper Bay, No. 4 Metlakatla vs. Unalakleet, and No. 2 Glennallen vs. Haines. The winner of the Cordova-Tikigaq contest will advance to play the winner of the Glennallen-Haines game. If Cordova and Glennallen advance, it would be the fourth time the two squads face off this season. The Panthers have won all three prior games, the last one by only a three-point margin.

Since adoption of the 1A-4A State competition by ASAA back in 1982, the Cordova boys’ quest for an elusive state title continues. The Cordova girls won it once, back in 1987.

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Dick Shellhorn
Dick Shellhorn is a lifelong Cordovan. He has been writing sports stories for the Cordova Times for over 50 years. In his Cordova Chronicles features, he writes about the history and characters of this Alaska town. Alaska Press Club awarded Shellhorn first place for Best Humor column in 2016 and 2020, and third place in 2017 and 2019. He also received second place for Best Editorial Commentary in 2019. Shellhorn has written two books about Alaska adventures: Time and Tide and Balls and Stripes. Reach him at dshorn44@gmail.com.