AOTW: From the kitchen table to state supremacy, Ridgeway family leads Mountain City to another championship

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - In 2023, Brooklynn Ridgeway was another new face on Mountain City’s campus.

Joining the Lions as a freshman that fall, Ridgeway had just watched the likes of Sayvia Sellers and now senior teammate Keelie Kronberger lead their pride to back-to-back championships.

Today, she’s one of biggest reasons they’ve lifted the 4A trophy again.

“Keely and Jasmine [Schaeffer], they’ve been a big part of my basketball journey and all my success,” Ridgeway said. “I really wanted to win this for them.”

Facing a tenacious Bartlett Offense with a chance to cut down the net, Ridgeway made sure her play lived up to that statement. The 5′7″ junior guard scored 22 points in the championship in route to a 55-45 victory over the Golden Bears.

“I feel like I just went into this with a different level of head on me,” Ridgeway said. “I just really wanted to win this, and I didn’t want to feel like how I felt last year in the semis when we lost. I’m glad that I could help my team out by winning this.”

While her play in the game itself was impressive, she’s already done that and more for Lions Head Coach, and her father, Lonnie Ridgeway.

“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.”

The elder Ridgeway was in his second year at the helm of Mountain City’s program. Before this, the now bench boss was a 2x state champion with Heritage Christian and spent several years as a player at the University of Alaska Anchorage from 2006 to 2012.

Sharing this win, and all the hours of training with his daughter has been something special.

“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.”

Watching her light it up in a big moment didn’t hurt either.

“She’s been a good guard, but her work off the court has been consistent throughout,” he said. “A lot of players, they work out and they get these shots up and they get thousands of reps and they don’t know what moment that they’re working for. They’re just getting reps hoping that a moment comes. It’s very cool that all the moment of all her reps came in came into today in the championship.”

Their family moment helped Mountain City to its 3rd championship at the 4A level, and barring any changes over the summer, the duo will both return to help defend the title next season.

“We don’t have a big team. And so, finding a group of girls that buy into a system and buy into the conditioning schedule and the practice rotations and all that stuff. And then our coaches, our assistant coaches have a huge part in what we do, Like the individual workouts, the breaking down film, the breaking down stats. It’s hours and hours spent,” Lonnie said.

“I’m just grateful to God that to find, you know, just the individuals that just buy into what we’re doing here and help build this culture.”

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