North Pole girls fall to Dimond in consolation round to end season

Late in the first, free throws for Dimond saw them trail by two points in what had been a close game so far. Jade Skipps advanced the North Pole advantage, and on the inbound pass, a steal led to another score, helping the Patriots push away to eventually hold a 17-10 advantage at the end of the first.

At the start of the second period, a three from Maya Guzman helped North Pole increase their lead. The Patriots continued to score consistently throughout the period, and at halftime, they led 29-20. Tiahna Guzman led the Patriots in scoring at that point with 11.

Dimond had their work cut out for them in the third, trailing by double digits. A massive swing in the quarter saw them completely flip the trajectory of the game. The Lynx held a 37-36 advantage going into the final period of play.

A three-pointer from Brooklyn Ridgeway continued the run for Dimond, which saw the squad begin to pull away from the Patriots. North Pole kept the game close, but couldn’t manage to avoid a comeback victory for the Lynx.

Dimond managed to overcome the early deficit thanks to a big second half to win by a score of 56-52. After shooting 6-19 in the first half, the Lynx went 14-24 in the second, going from 31% to 58%, showcasing the drastic improvement for the team. Their scoring efforts were headlined by Evan Hamey and Maile Wilcox who had 15 points each.

For North Pole, they went 6-25 in the second half, as their once hot offense went cold. Tiahna Guzman and Skips lead the team in scoring with 18 and 14. Taimane Skipps and Taylor Croan also provided eight and seven, respectively.

Following the loss, North Pole’s season comes to a close. Their year ended with an 11-11 record and a Mid Alaska Conference tournament championship.