Senior Night turned sour for the Glacier Bear girls’ basketball team Saturday, as visiting Metlakatla overwhelmed Haines with a 31-0 blitzkrieg before halftime.
“We hit a buzzsaw that night,” said coach Greg Brittenham. “They played better than I’ve ever seen that team play before.”
Senior Paige Winge drained a 3-pointer in the second quarter to finally break the scoring drought. The MissChiefs held a 39-5 lead at halftime and went on to a 58-14 victory.
Metlakatla is ranked No. 1 in the state for Class 2A, according to this week’s Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches poll. Its scoring attack Saturday triggered the “mercy rule,” which keeps the clock running when one team reaches a 40-point lead in the final quarter.
Winge tallied 8 points in her final home game, with a pair of 3-pointers. The team’s other senior, Natalia Taylor, added 2 points, as did juniors Autumn Gross and Kayley Swinton.
Metlakatla had a torrid shooting night, sparked by senior Theresa Wellington-McGilton, who tallied four 3-pointers in the second quarter alone. She had 19 points in the first half and 23 for the game.
The Saturday match-up also served as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. Fans were encouraged to wear pink, and activities, including a baked goods auction, generated an estimated $1,000.
The Glacier Bears were much stronger on the court Friday, falling by a 56-32 margin. Swinton scored 15 points, junior Destinee Cowart, 6; Gross, 4; Winge, 3; and freshmen Brittany Bradford and Tulsi Zahnow, 2.
Metlakatla flummoxed Haines all weekend with a relentless full-court press. Although Saturday’s loss was more dramatic, Friday’s game started the slide.
“It was after the first game that we were feeling pretty bad about how we came out so flat,” Brittenham said.
He said the Glacier Bears continued to play hard despite the large deficits. The team’s earlier series with the MissChiefs this season was more competitive, and a truer reflection of his team’s ability, he said.
The girls travel to Wrangell this weekend for another conference series.
“My understanding is that it’s a pretty hostile gym,” Brittenham said. “It’s important that we still have confidence and we believe in ourselves and one another.”
The Haines boys, who went 0-2 against the Metlakatla varsity, will host Wrangell this weekend. The boys lost to the Chiefs by scores of 61-34 and 58-24.
Results and statistics from both boys’ series will be reported in next week’s CVN.