Head coach Lonnie Ridgeway and his daughter Brooklynn Ridgeway, of Mountain City Christian Academy, share a hug after they defeated Bartlett in the Alaska 4A state girls basketball championship game at the Alaska Airlines Center on the UAA campus in Anchorage, AK on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Bob Hallinen Photo)

Going on a run to win a state title in any sport is an impressive feat, but to do so with a loved one makes it all the more special.

Lonnie Ridgeway and his daughter Brooklynn experienced that joy for the first time Saturday night at the Alaska Airlines Center. They joined forces one last time this season to help lead the Mountain City Christian girls basketball team to the 4A state championship with a 55-45 win over Bartlett.

“I’ve been blessed enough to start coaching when Brooklynn was just (starting out), and I just kept moving up with her from junior high to high school,” Lonnie said. “As a father, throughout the years, time goes by so quick that I know that I get two hours a day, whether or not she’s mad at me, but we’re in the same room, working on the same thing, going in the same direction, so it’s been a blessing.”

The Lions’ journey to becoming a champion started long before their tipoff with the Golden Bears. It included waking up at 6 a.m. for workouts, rigorous conditioning and weight training.

“We put in a lot of work and effort,” Brooklynn said. “We have given up so much and sacrificed so much to put in time together in the gym making chemistry.”

Brooklynn Ridgeway, of Mountain City Christian Academy, drives down the court as a Bartlett’s Sina Maugaotega is on defense in the Alaska 4A state girls basketball championship game at the Alaska Airlines Center on the UAA campus in Anchorage, AK on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Bob Hallinen Photo)

She was the driving force for Mountain City from start to finish Saturday, leading the team with 22 points and earning Player of the Game honors.

“I feel like our team really had a fire on our head and I really wanted to win this for our seniors,” Brooklynn said. “I feel like I just went into this with a different level (mindset). … I didn’t want to feel like how I felt last year in the semis when we lost, so I’m glad I could help my team out.”

Lonnie was proud of his daughter’s sensational performance — and not surprised, because he knew how prepared she was to rise to the occasion.

“Her performance was amazing,” Lonnie said. “She’s been consistent, she’s been a good guard, but her work off the court has been consistent throughout.

“A lot of players, they work out and they put shots up and they don’t know what moment they’re working for. They’re just getting reps, hoping that the moment comes, so it’s very cool that all the moments and all the reps came in the state championship game.”

Bartlett and Mountain City Christian Academy players share a moment midcourt after Mountain City defeated Bartlett in the Alaska 4A state girls basketball championship game at the Alaska Airlines Center on the UAA campus in Anchorage, AK on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Bob Hallinen Photo)

Their win marks the program’s third state title since moving up to the 4A level in 2022 and breaks a two-year stranglehold that Mat-Su powerhouses Wasilla and Colony have had on the division at the top.

“Finding a group of girls that buy into a system and buy into the conditioning schedule and practice rotations and all that stuff, and then our assistant coaches have a huge part in what we do,” Lonnie said. “I’m just grateful to God that the individuals just buy into what we’re doing here and this culture.”

Bartlett’s Kennedi Gaines, left, defends as Keelie Kronberger, of Mountain City Christian Academy, drives for the basket in the Alaska 4A state girls basketball championship game at the Alaska Airlines Center on the UAA campus in Anchorage, AK on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Bob Hallinen Photo)

Star player’s journey comes full circle

The Lions’ second leading scorer in the state title game was senior guard Keelie Kronberger with 20 points in her final high school game.

“I feel incredibly grateful,” she said. “I feel like God really just blessed our hard work as a team. We played with so much dedication, and it just feels incredible that God was able to reward us with that. I can’t express how happy I am.”

After the team failed to advance to the finals last year in a five-point loss to Wasilla, Kronberger vividly remembers feeling a surge of disappointment.

“I was sitting in my locker before the game and remembering the feeling I never want to have, and I feel like I put in so much work in to not have to feel that,” she said. “I’m just so grateful to be able to come to victory and be able to relax these next couple of days and feel so accomplished.”

The Lions led by as many as 19 points at one point in the second half. At times when it felt like the Golden Bears might gain momentum, either Kronberger or one of her teammates would knock down a clutch shot to swing it back in their favor and keep a double-digit advantage on the scoreboard.

Jasmine Schaeffer, of Mountain City Christian Academy, goes up for the shot against Bartlett in the Alaska 4A state girls basketball championship game at the Alaska Airlines Center on the UAA campus in Anchorage, AK on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Bob Hallinen Photo) The loose ball gets away from Rochelle Koenig, of Mountain City Christian Academy, and Bartlett’s Aurora Bernard-Alli in the Alaska 4A state girls basketball championship game at the Alaska Airlines Center on the UAA campus in Anchorage, AK on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Bob Hallinen Photo)

Kronberger couldn’t have imagined a better ending to her high school career than this run, which included ups and downs, her receiving Gatorade Player of the Year honors and capping everything off with a state title.

“I had a great senior year,” she said. “I couldn’t have written it any better.”

This brings her career full circle, bookended by championships. As a freshman on varsity in 2023, she was a key role player who came off the bench for the Lions when they won a second straight state title with the likes of Sayvia Sellers and Morgan Maldonado at the helm.

“Freshman year, I didn’t have a big role, I was sixth/seventh man,” Kronberger said. “I am so grateful now that I’m being able to be in a leader role and have all this pressure. One thing I remind myself before each game is that pressure makes diamonds.”

That mindset served her well throughout the season and especially at the state tournament, where she opened with a 45-point game in the semifinals, followed by 19 points in the semifinals and 20 in the title game.

“I want to have the pressure and I want to take big shots and I want to have the ball in the big games,” Kronberger said. “I’m so grateful to have this goal and start with a bang and end with a bang.”

Bartlett’s Kennedi Gaines controls the ball as Keelie Kronberger, of Mountain City Christian Academy, defends in the Alaska 4A state girls basketball championship game at the Alaska Airlines Center on the UAA campus in Anchorage, AK on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Bob Hallinen Photo)

Beating the same team three times in a season can be a challenge, especially when that opponent is led by an elite all-around player like Bartlett’s star sophomore guard Kennedi Gaines. But the Lions were able to do just that, and in convincing fashion Saturday night.

“That was super challenging,” Kronberger said. “We did a lot of scouting, we did a lot of film and just being able to know what they’re going to do and be so prepared. The confidence that I have is just because I know we’re the most prepared team and put in the most work.”

Up next for her is heading off to college at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she will continue her playing career.