For their final away games of this year’s regular season, the Haines Glacier Bears traveled to Metlakatla to take on the Chiefs and Miss Chiefs. It was the end of a grind that included four games and two trips within six days. The Metlakatla teams each lead the division, and a recent poll rated the unbeaten boys program second in the state for 2A teams. Under these challenging conditions, each Haines team lost its games, but gained valuable experience.
On Wednesday night, to kick off their final home series of the season, Metlakatla celebrated Senior Night. Their senior-laden squad jumped out to an early lead and after three quarters Metlakatla led 42-11. Haines once again demonstrated their refusal to quit and Makayla Crager sank a buzzer-beating shot to give her 12 points in the game. The final was 56-22, Melakatla. It was the Glacier Bears first attempt at deploying a new spread offense, which features one player in the post rather than two. The next day, their new game plan showed signs of its effectiveness as the Glacier Bears almost doubled their point production.
In the first half of the Thursday afternoon game, the Glacier Bears came out and gave the Miss Chiefs a run for their money, with five players putting points on the board and Brittney Bradford draining a pair of threes. Midway through the second quarter, Becca Wheeler converted an offensive rebound into a three-point play, cutting the Metlakatla lead to two, 19-17.
At this point Metlakatla Coach Julian Russell decided to start pressing Haines in an attempt to create turnovers, but the Glacier Bears fought fire with fire. Bradford grabbed a steal and drove the floor for a fast-break lay-up to trim the lead to one. Haley Boron followed with another steal and Crager hit a pair of shots late in the half. The teams went to the locker room with Metlakatla clinging to a 26-22 lead.
In the third quarter, Metlakatla came out pressing hard and quickly doused the Glacier Bear fire. The Miss Chiefs had a run of 16 unanswered points and led 47-26 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, Haines again went to its strengths as Bradford drained a three. After she was fouled on another three-point attempt, she hit all three of the resulting free throws. Boron had a pair of steals, one of which led to her dribbling up the court and feeding Marirose Evenden for a fast-break lay-up.
The final score was Metlakatla 68, Haines 41. Crager had a “double-double” game, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Bradford had a 17-point game, featuring some precision shooting from the perimeter.
“You’ve got to think outside the three-point lines,” she quipped. “As a freshman, I was very hesitant to shoot a three-pointer. After I started shooting, they started falling, so you just got to be confident with it.”
Coach Greg Brittenham commended the play of first- year baller Megan Whitermore. “This is her first year playing, her first year trip with us and her first time scoring. She’s out there playing good defense against a tough team.”
Bradford echoed his sentiments. “We have a very dedicated group of girls, they all want to learn the game, which is nice.”
The Glacier Bears boys once again came out playing their fast-paced, hard-nosed style of basketball, picking up their defensive assignments full-court, diving on the floor for loose balls and pushing the ball up the court quickly after every make, turn-over or miss to create opportunities in transition.
Metlakatla enjoyed a good shooting night from a range of players and built their lead steadily for the first three quarters. With four seconds to go in the third, Dylan Swinton scored on a fast-break, was fouled and sank the free throw to make it Metlakatla 57, Haines 40.
In the fourth quarter, each team put 16 points on the board, the last of which came on a long three-pointer at the buzzer by Mark Davis. Swinton finished the game with 19 points and Davis added 13, as the Glacier Bears fell 73-56.
In their second game, the Haines boys attempted to compensate for some cold shooting early on with their trademark scrappy defense, forcing six turnovers in the first quarter. Wesley Verhamme drew a steal and then managed to draw a charge.
Metlakatla went into the second half with a 31-15 lead and hit three 3-pointers in the first minute. Haines responded with their own bout of long-range marksmanship. Kirby Faverty hit back-to-back threes. Crager, Davis and Swinton also went on to connect from downtown. Kamakana Kanahele came off the bench and Davis fed him a couple of passes that he turned into a pair of baskets in a second half that saw the Glacier Bears outscore the highly ranked Chiefs 39-38.
The final score was Metlakatla 69, Haines 54. Crager had 16 in this one, Swinton had 12. Kanahele’s four points were his first as a Glacier Bear. He reflected on the team’s trip.
“Metlakatla was a great time, very enjoyable. The school had good hospitality and everyone was very friendly. I was glad I got to play,” Kanahele said.
Now that they have paid their dues on the road, the Glacier Bears return home for their last two regular season series. This Friday and Saturday, the Petersburg Vikings will be in town, followed by the Wrangell Wolves on Feb. 23 and 24. After that, it’s the Region V tournament in Ketchikan March 6-10, where each of two of the 2A teams will earn the right to travel to Anchorage for their shot at state.