After the first Haines High School boys’ basketball games of the season were snowed out last weekend, the girls’ team is making its own weather-dependent attempt at picking up some non-conference competition before the new year.
The girls were slated to play in Petersburg starting Thursday, Dec. 19 through Saturday as part of a four-team field including the host Vikings, Cordova and Thorne Bay.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to learn about ourselves and what we need to improve on,” said coach Brian Elliott. “It’s a really welcoming tournament, and it’s a familiar face for us.”
He said the Glacier Bears have participated in the tournament “almost annually,” and it helps the team transition into conference play so the first game “isn’t such a shock.”
Elliott said Cordova and Thorne Bay are two new opponents for Haines, and he expects Class 3A Petersburg to be “very strong” this season, so facing all three teams on the same weekend is especially valuable.
“We’re on a limited budget,” Elliott said. “It’s hard to get non-conference games.”
The Glacier Bear roster of 17 athletes includes five freshmen. The nine girls scheduled to make the trip to Petersburg for the tournament are sophomores and up, but Elliott noted that could change throughout the season. “Players develop at different rates.”
Conference play opens Jan. 10-11, with the girls at Metlakatla and the boys at home. Season previews will be published in the Jan. 9 issue of the CVN.