Girls’ basketball coach Greg Brittenham endured a rough stretch of games recently, with his sense of humor intact.
“I think I might be the only coach in U.S. high school history to lose six games in 24 hours,” he said.
Brittenham coached both the boys’ and girls’ squads on a trip to Craig, when boys’ coach Steve Fossman was unavailable. The teams went 0-6, over four varsity and two junior varsity contests.
The Panther girls won the varsity games by scores of 36-25 and 55-25. The first night, junior Kayley Swinton scored 13 points; junior Jenae Larson and freshman Brittany Bradford, 4; and senior Paige Winge and freshman Makayla Crager, 2.
Swinton tallied a dozen points the next night, followed by Larson and junior Destinee Cowart, 4; Winge and sophomore Jordan Stigen, 2; and freshman Tulsi Zahnow, 1.
The Glacier Bears were short-handed at the guard position, as senior Natalia Taylor and sophomore Olivia Wing missed the series.
The boys then returned to Haines, while the girls headed to Metlakatla for another series, this one varsity only. Metlakatla took two victories, 49-32 and 46-29. Swinton continued to be the top scorer, with 10 points in game one. Winge added 9 points, all on 3-pointers; junior Autumn Gross, 6; Cowart, Larson and Crager, 2; and Bradford, 1.
Cowart grabbed 9 rebounds, and Brittenham noted the team moved the ball well, dishing out a season-high 8 assists.
Scoring in the second match-up included Swinton, 14; Cowart, 9; and Gross, 6. The Glacier Bears trailed by 3 points at halftime.
Brittenham said the Haines freshmen “have really stepped up,” and said Zahnow is becoming a top defensive player.
The girls have a quick turnaround, facing Metlakatla at home this weekend. The boys, whose home series with the Chiefs last weekend was postponed to Feb. 27-28, will be traveling to Metlakatla for a series this weekend.
The Feb. 14 girls’ game will promote breast cancer awareness, with door prizes for pink-clad fans, a 3-point shooting contest, and a 50/50 raffle. The event will be part of Senior Night for the Glacier Bear girls.