Conference play opens this weekend for Haines High School’s basketball teams, with the boys at home and the girls away against the Craig Panthers.
The Craig series is varsity only. The home games are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights in Karl Ward Gymnasium.
The Glacier Bears already have competed in several game situations, hosting Whitehorse for two nights of scrimmages and traveling to Petersburg for the annual Little Norway Tournament in December.
The boys went 0-3 against Thunder Mountain, Petersburg and Cordova at the holiday tournament.
Sophomore Dylan Swinton tallied 18 points against the Falcons. Swinton also led the Glacier Bears in scoring against Cordova with 14 points, followed by senior Trevor Cox’s 11.
Coach Steve Fossman said Swinton still is a young player with potential to improve quickly.
“By the end of the season, you could see a completely different kid than you see this weekend,” Fossman said.
Cox scored all nine of his points on 3-pointers as the top scorer for Haines in the Petersburg contest. He transferred from Skagway last school year and sat out of games until making a splash at the regional competition.
“Trevor is a nice player,” Fossman said. “He is going to be real valuable playing the point for us and shooting guard.”
The Glacier Bear girls picked up one win and two losses at the competition. Senior Kayley Swinton earned all-tournament recognition, pouring in 23 points in a last-second loss to Cordova; 10 points in a loss to Petersburg; and 11 points in a victory over Wrangell. Senior Autumn Gross added 10 points in the 47-37 Wrangell win.
“We dominated the boards and played more physically,” said coach Greg Brittenham. “We pretty much controlled the entire game.”
He noted senior Destinee Cowart snatched about 20 rebounds in one of the games.
The boys’ roster includes seniors Cox, Zane Durr and Matthew Green; juniors Ketch Jacobson, Dylan Palmieri and Jacob Stigen; sophomores Swinton, Marty Fowler, Ivan Hotch, Hudson Sage and Seth Waldo; and freshmen Patrick Cunningham, Kamakana Kanahele and Gilbert Slawson.
Fossman said he expects the conference to be strong again this year, with Metlakatla “pretty much having their whole team back” as a favorite. Petersburg has dropped down from Class 3A. This year’s regional tournament is in Sitka.
The freshman Cunningham appears to be the top newcomer for Haines. Fossman credited his court vision. “He’s started for us a couple games.”
The girls’ roster includes seniors Cowart, Gross, Swinton, Jenae Larson and Nattaphon “Ice” Wangyot; junior Jordan Stigen; sophomores Brittney Bradford, Makayla Crager, Zoe Hamilton, Saldie Wilson and Tulsi Zahnow; and freshman Marissa Haddock.
“This senior class knows that their whole identity and what they’re going to remember the most is this season,” Brittenham said.
Several of the players attended basketball camps during the summer, he said, and the team showed great improvement in Petersburg rebounding and cutting down on turnovers.
Brittenham said Stigen and Zahnow are taking on more responsibility at guard on offense. “They know the importance of keeping the ball.”
The Glacier Bears this weekend, though, will have the extra challenge of the long trip to Craig and a time crunch to reach the court.
“We’re going to walk into the gym and the clock’s going to be running,” Brittenham said. “Last year I walked in and there were 16 minutes on the clock.”