The Haines Lady Glacier Bears sent off seniors Abby Jones and Jolene Lemieux with two wins over Mount Edgecumbe last weekend.
Haines topped the visitors 64-52 Friday and 52-33 Saturday.
Coach Brian Elliott late in the game Saturday subbed for Lemieux, and then Jones, so each girl could receive an ovation from the home crowd.
“It’s been my privilege to coach them for four years,” Elliott said. “They’ve really become strong leaders on our team. Just looking at the difference, not just in who they are as basketball players but as people, from when they came on our team as freshmen until now, it’s just phenomenal to see the growth and progression of these two.”
The Haines girls dominated Edgecumbe early Friday before a fourth-quarter surge narrowed the margin.
Jones led Haines with 24 points. Junior Marnie Rasmussen scored 10 points after missing about a month’s play to a sprained ankle.
The team on Saturday met Elliott’s goal of holding Edgecumbe under 35 points. Rasmussen scored 12 points and snatched 16 rebounds and six steals. Jones tallied 10 points and Lemieux had six in their home finales.
The Haines boys traveled to Mount Edgecumbe, losing to the Braves 87-31 Friday and 81-48 Saturday.
“They’re really fast and shoot really well,” said coach Steve Fossman. “They’ve assembled a really tough team this year, and they play a lot of pressure defense.”
Junior Tyler Swinton was the top Glacier Bear scorer each night, with 16 points and 25 points, respectively.
“He poses a lot of problems for teams when he gets the ball in the paint, whether it’s high or low, and we emphasize that,” Fossman said.
Swinton also made three three-pointers Saturday.
Sophomore Caullen Taylor added six points Friday, and senior Eric Klinger chipped in eight points Saturday.
“We broke the full-court pressure pretty well, but we just didn’t capitalize when we had numbers,” Fossman said. “Also, when we got into the front-court, our half-court offense, we struggled with their speed and strength..”
Haines varsity teams next head to Juneau for a regional tournament that begins Wednesday, March 2.
Fossman this week said the Glacier Bears likely would play Petersburg, which split two games with Haines earlier this season.
“It’s tournament time, and everybody plays a little differently when it’s the end of the season, and it will be a battle, no matter who we play,” he said.
Elliott said the Lady Glacier Bears will face either Edgecumbe or Metlakatla.
“We beat both of them,” he said. “Obviously, it’s easy to overlook your first-round opponent, so we’re certainly not going to do that. If we can advance, then most likely we’ll play Craig, which we definitely want another shot at.”
Sophomore Syerra Braaten, who was ineligible against Edgecumbe, will return for regional play, Elliott said.
“We finally have our starting lineup back for the first time all season,” he said. “I’ve never started my real starting lineup, and when we play our first game at regionals, that’s when it’s going to happen… We’ve dealt with tons of injuries this year, but we’re getting healthy at the right time.”
The Haines girls finished second at their first tournament this season, Feb. 10-12 at Valdez. Haines edged Valdez, 54-49. Junior Hannah Wing’s 17 points and nine steals paced the team.
Jones scored 14 of her 22 points from the free-throw line in a 52-37 win over Kotzebue. She also grabbed 16 rebounds.
The Lady Glacier Bears then fell to top-ranked Barrow, 78-38, in the championship.
“They had a girl hit seven out of eight three-pointers,” Elliott said. “They pressed us and got us flustered from the start. We turned the ball over more than 30 times.”