Haines hoopsters faced some international competition – complete with shot clock – last weekend in Whitehorse.
Coach Greg Brittenham brought his Haines High School junior varsity girls’ team north to play Whitehorse in two match-ups. The Glacier Bears posted a 1-1 record and adjusted quickly to Canada’s International Basketball Federation rules, including a 24-second shot clock.
“I don’t think it was that big of an issue, because the girls weren’t really paying attention to it,” Brittenham said.
Haines opened with a 45-36 loss on Saturday night. Sophomore Makayla Crager tallied 14 points and 9 rebounds, and Tulsi Zahnow added 9 points.
The scoring floodgates opened the next morning, with the Glacier Bears snatching a 64-54 victory.
Point totals included Crager, 25; Zahnow, 22; junior Jordan Stigen, 8; sophomore Brittney Bradford, 5; and senior Nattaphon “Ice” Wangyot, 4. Crager also grabbed 18 rebounds, and Zahnow shot 8-for-10 from the foul line.
Brittenham said Haines was down to six players after an injury, and Whitehorse, with a roster of about a dozen girls, “pressed us every single possession” in a strategy more akin to hockey.
“They just kept putting fresh legs in every two minutes,” he said.
The Glacier Bears withstood the pressure throughout a longer game (40 minutes instead of the usual 32); with only eight seconds to advance the ball across half-court (rather than the typical 10); and without an opportunity to slow down the offense.
“You can’t really stall,” Brittenham said of playing with a shot clock. “You have to keep attacking.”