Alison Benda drives to the basket against the Lady Chiefs this week.
The Lady Bears took on the Metlakatla Chiefs on Haines’ home court Feb. 14 and 15. On the first night, the Bears gained a comfortable lead early on. In the first quarter, MacKenzy Dryden hit a buzzer beater to lead 10-6. Dryden ended the night with eight points. The Bears continued to outrun the Chiefs throughout the second quarter, ending the half with a seven-point lead.
At the start of the third quarter, the Miss Chiefs came out in an aggressive full-court press, forcing the Lady Bears to make turnovers. They maintained pressure throughout the rest of the game. With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Metlakatla took their first lead of the night.
With 10 seconds left on the clock, the Lady Bears fouled, which put the Chiefs into the bonus. Chloe Guthrie sank both free throws, giving Metlakatla a four-point lead. Haines’ coach Stanford called a time out to put the ball at the half court line and they drew up their final play.
Haley Boron passed to Natalie Jobbins. She shot, but missed short. The Miss Chiefs rebounded and held the ball until the buzzer for a 35-31 victory.
On the second night, the Miss Chiefs started off the game in a full-court press. Metlakatla was up 17-9 at the end of the first quarter.
The Chiefs stopped full-court pressing for the second quarter. This gave Haines an 8-0 run. Dryden helped Haines take their first lead with a steal and fast break layup. Dryden finished the game with four points. The Bears were down one at the end of the half.
Metlakatla started the third quarter with a full-court press, trapping the Lady Bears on the baseline and sidelines. The Bears didn’t score until there were three minutes left in the quarter.
In the final five minutes of the game, Metlakatla’s coach had his players slow down, run their offense, and stop full-court pressing. The Lady Bears played aggressive man-to-man defense on both sides of the court, outscoring the Chiefs 10-8.
In the last 30 seconds, the Chiefs held the ball and waited for the buzzer. The final score was 46-33, Metlakatla.
The Lady Bears have a conference record of 0-2. They’ll be traveling to play Wrangell and Craig Feb. 23 through 27.