Haines Girls versus Craig
The Haines Lady Glacier Bears took on the Craig Lady Panthers and won an exciting contest, 47-45, in their first game of the regional tournament weekend.
Emma Dohrn led Haines with five 3-point shots and 17 total points.
Haines started the game looking like the person they were crushing on wasn’t crushing on them back, getting behind 12-7 at the end of the first quarter. It could have had to do with Craig playing ferocious defense.
Ari’el Godinez-Long was able to keep Haines in the game with her leadership and perseverance adding nine points in the first half.
All the players were giving it the buckle-down full effort. In tournament play: a win and you play for the championship of the conference two days later, lose and you drop into the losers’ bracket with the other remaining teams.
Craig’s Sara Steffan was a rebound machine. She was like a comic book villain if you were a Haines fan. She had 19 points and 18 rebounds in the game. Haines was behind 26-20 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Godinez-Long, Dohrn, and Ashlyn Ganey stepped it up a notch, scoring a combined 17. Ganey got a rebound, and took off like someone late for work at the 16 Mile straightaway, dribbled past Craig players and made an easy layup. It seemed to boost the team’s confidence. Haines held the lead at the end of the third quarter, 37-35.
Both teams pushed and scrambled hard in the fourth quarter.
Dohrn sank one of her patented 3-point shots with 1 minute 55 to go in the game to put Haines up by 1. Then, Godinez-Long fouled out. Sofia Long came in, got fouled, went to the free-throw line and made the first one. On the missed second free throw, CC Elliott was hustling and got the rebound.
Ashlyn Ganey got fouled soon after that and made one of two free throws. With 14 seconds to go and Haines ahead by 1 point, Long got fouled again and made one of two free throws.
Craig had one last chance with 13 seconds to go, down by 2 points, to tie, or win with a three. A Panther got off a shot which rolled around the inside of the rim but popped out. Guess who got the rebound? Did you say Sara Steffan? You would be correct. She turned to her right to shoot but CC Elliott was there and got her hand on the ball, the shot fizzled, the horn blew and Haines won, 47-45.
Those one of two free throws in the last minute made all the difference between a W or a L.
Haines Girls versus Metlakatla
Glacier Bear Ladies returned to the gym Friday to take on top-seed Metlakatla Miss Chiefs for the championship of the regional tournament. It didn’t go well for Haines.
The Miss Chiefs were just too big and strong underneath and too competent at handling the ball, passing, and shooting for Haines to have a chance. Haines got behind 23-8 at halftime. They tried a press defense in the third quarter but the Miss Chiefs were able to solve that.
The final score was 53-22. Haines made one 3-point shot in the game.
The Miss Chiefs won the state of Alaska Division 2A championship last year and had several players from that squad still playing this year. If you take on a quality team like that, you’ll need to make shots. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this time.
The Glacier Bear Ladies then dropped to the loser’s bracket and played Wrangell on Saturday to see who would get second place in the region and receive a state tournament bid.
The ladies on both teams played for keeps. CC Elliot had two put-backs for 4 points in the first quarter. Defense on the Haines girls was intense but Emma Dohrn got two 3-point shots to go down in the second quarter to keep Haines close. The score at halftime was Wrangell 20, Haines 19.
The third quarter came and it was like a bolt of lightning hit Ariel Godinez-Long, Haines’ senior point guard and dynamic leader. She had six steals and 17 points in the third quarter.
She harassed the Wrangell players, got the ball, and took off for the other end, again and again. It was quite a show.
To be fair, one reason she was able to dominate is because Wrangell’s best and tallest player, Elana Harrison, was on the bench with four fouls. But in any league, that kind of performance is phenomenal. Probably one of the best one-quarter performances in Haines basketball history. I think her dedication and competitor’s spirit just met the right court at the right time and she left the crowd jaw-dropped. The final score was Haines 55-32. Haines is headed to the state championships March 12-15 in Anchorage to play the best teams.
Haines boys versus Wrangell
During the boys’ first game of the tournament, Wrangell Wolves had 11 3-pointers for the game and Haines had two, in garbage time. Garbage time is when you are behind by 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Haines didn’t have much chance to get off good looks at the basket as Wrangell was right on them. When Haines did get off a shot, it was hurried and not precise.
The score was 8-8 at the end of the first quarter, but then Wrangell’s shooters found their mark and started pulling away. One Wrangell shot went in from several steps behind the 3-point line with one second to go in the first half to make the score 22-14.
There’s something about those shots, buzzer beaters, that put a team in the right groove and make them tough to beat. Wrangell was tall, in shape and played like a team. They were second seed in the conference with a 6-2 season record, with their only losses to Metlakatla.
In sports, sometimes you are the buzzsaw and sometimes you are the wood. In this game Haines was the wood. The final score was Wrangell 49-31.
Haines Boys versus Craig
Haines boys Glacier Bears took on the Craig Panthers in the loser’s bracket the next day. Craig just wasn’t the caliber of Wrangell and Haines was able to operate more smoothly, holding the lead at the end of the first quarter, 13-8.
Colton Combs, Haines’ main ball handler and a tenacious player, had three fouls by the second quarter and went to the bench for a bit. Kyren Sweet came in and, well, basically, won the game for them. He had 18 points and six rebounds for the game. He had help, of course, but his calm demeanor and efficient play were the boost Haines needed.
Haines led 37-20 when right at the end of the first half, with six seconds to go, a Craig player launched a shot from 3-point range and Alex Weerasinghe fouled him. The shot went in and the Craig player made the free throw for a rare 4-point play — a bit of bad luck for Haines that kept Craig lurking.
In the second half, Combs immediately got his fourth foul and went to the bench.
Haines had trouble handling the ball, as the Craig players pressed and trapped and scrapped their way back into contention. With 3:22 to go in the game, Craig was behind, 60-57.
Haines brought the ball down and found Sweet underneath for a two. He has a knack for playing around the rim. Up 5 points with Combs back in, the Haines boys had the upper hand. J.C. Davis took a charge foul from a hard drive by a Craig player with 45 seconds to go that helped them win.Colton Combs made five of six free throws in the fourth quarter that helped seal the deal.
Haines won 70-60. Phoenix Swaner had 19 points and James Stickler had 13.
Haines boys versus Petersburg
The Haines Glacier Bear boys team, after beating Craig, got to take on Petersburg on Friday. Neither team could get their offense to sing.
Right at the end of the first quarter a Petersburg player nailed a 3-pointer, giving them an 8-7 lead. Petersburg led at half, too, 17-11.
Haines’ tower of power James Stickler went to the bench with his third foul at the 4:30 mark of the second quarter. In the third quarter, Colton Combs committed an offensive foul and the Haines boys were behind 21-11.
Then, finally, they figured out something and came back to make it a game. With 4:30 to go in the fourth quarter, Alex Weerasinghe got a steal and passed to a running Phoenix Swaner, who then had an easy layup to make the score Petersburg 25, Haines 24.
Haines had the ball and some chances but didn’t have the magic. Down 2 points with 10 seconds to go and possession of the ball, Combs dribbled over half court and passed it to Swaner on the left, behind the 3-point line for a chance to win. Swaner got off a shot but the defender was right under his arms messing it up. The ball went short and there’s not a foul if the ref doesn’t call one, so Haines lost 28-26. Season over.
I feel a just review of this tournament would have to include a note about Metlakatla’s dominance of the games. In both boys’ and girls’ divisions, Metlakatla beat everyone without difficulty. The Metlakatla boys didn’t lose a conference game all year.
They had a player, Brody Booth, who was basically giving a clinic on how to play basketball. His passes hit his teammates right in the hands, not in the feet or out to the side. When the pass came to him, he caught it, and it didn’t bobble around or go through his hands. He shot well when he was open and anticipated what the opposing players were going to do and had a plethora of steals. It was very impressive to see that caliber of play.
The Metlakatla ladies lost only one conference game all year. They came to the tournament and took care of business like a pack of lions roaming the plains. They won the state last year and it will take an excellent team to beat them this year.
Maybe we could figure out what they are doing and do it in Haines.
Joe Parnell has lived a life that could have been a Wide World of Sports episode. He was a four-year letterman in tennis in high school, walked on as a football quarterback for Vanderbilt and Ohio universities and made the teams and practiced a lot. He was on the ski team at the University of Alaska Southeast. He surfed the north shore of Hawaii for a year, he worked out with a semi-pro Australian rules football team for a season. He got his 10,000 hours on fields, courts, and rec centers playing basketball, soccer, racquetball, tennis, dodgeball, golf, etc. He has won three gold medals at the famous Gold Medal Basketball Tournament in Juneau and won gold medals in pickleball at the Alaska Senior Games in Fairbanks this past summer. He lives for a good match.