By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
In back-to-back games, the Mt. Edgecumbe High Braves and Lady Braves scored lopsided victories over the Eielson Ravens, Wednesday evening at the B.J. McGillis gym.
Edgecumbe’s girls toppled the Lady Ravens 66-15, and the boys beat the Ravens 68-26.
While the Lady Braves have struggled this season against powerhouse teams such as Sitka High, this time the tables were reversed.
For Edgecumbe junior Shaedyn Barr, from Kiana, the game was a chance to run new plays.
“We’ve also been in the same position, so I feel like we should take this opportunity… to run things that we wouldn’t be able to run against a harder team,” Barr said after the win.
With several players absent from the game, Eielson faced the Lady Braves shorthanded and with only a single player on the bench at any given moment.
Lady Braves junior Tessa Anderson shoots against the Eielson Lady Ra-vens, Wednesday at MEHS. Mt. Edgecumbe won the game in a blowout. The teams play again tonight.
(Sentinel photo by James Poulson)
Barr complimented her opponents’ resilience.
“The thing that they did well was not giving up, because some teams shrug and just give up and I felt like they kept pushing through no matter what,” she said.
Lady Braves sophomore Bessie Williams, of Akiak, said her team excelled at communicating on defense.
“To do more plays and talk on defense, because we had that opportunity to be loud on defense and we were screening on offense,” Williams said.
Like Barr, Williams praised the Lady Ravens’ grit.
“They played really well… They had really good hustle and good teamwork,” Williams said.
Looking forward to her team’s upcoming conference games in Wasilla next week, Barr said her team is more prepared than it was before.
“Our team is going to be more well prepared, because we did play them before and we’ve been practicing and we also have more players since we last played them,” she said. “So I think we’ll be more prepared and ready to see what comes next.”
Edgecumbe coach Kathy Forrester underscored the importance of maintaining respect in such a one-sided competition.
“We know what it’s like to be on the other end of that losing game, and (I) just tell them to play with respect and dignity,” the coach said.
With the Lady Braves in control of the tempo from the outset, Forrester said the game provided chances for her team to slow down and practice the fundamentals of basketball.
“We’re not used to being the ones getting a lot of the playing time and scoring and making layups and stealing, so that’s new for us. It really is, so it was hard for me to say slow down, pull back, let’s go back into a zone,” Forrester said. “Let’s run an offense instead of just fast breaking all the time… Let’s work on the things we need to work on for our conference games. We’re going to have five next week.”
The Lady Braves, she noted, will be short handed in their northern games next week.
On the boys side, the Braves came out on top 68-26.
Like the Lady Braves, Edgecumbe junior Ranen Wassillie, of Newhalen, saw the game as an opportunity to practice the fundamentals. One of the Braves’ most capable players, Wassillie returned to the basketball court only last week for the first time this season.
“Running the plays that we need to run… basically fundamentals so we can be ready for regions in March,” he said.
Braves senior Shane Angnaboogok, from Shishmaref, seconded this.
“We really just want to get the fundamentals down so we play right when we get to March… Hustling, communicating and playing with confidence for sure,” he said.
Wassillie noted that his team rebounded well.
“We had a bigger team in rebounds – rebounds are a big thing,” he said.
The Braves excelled at catching offensive rebounds against Eielson, allowing them to maintain their momentum through all four quarters. While the Ravens held a scant lead for a fleeting moment in the first quarter, that evaporated within minutes as Edgecumbe’s full-court press proved a formidable obstacle.
Angnaboogok was eager for a chance to face off against his team’s new conference rivals Redington and Houston next week.
“It’s going to be more difficult this year, considering they added Houston and Redington to our conference,” he said. The Braves fell twice to Houston High earlier in the season but have yet to face Redington. Both schools are located in the Mat-Su valley and have been paired recently in a conference with Mt. Edgecumbe and Sitka high schools.
In his first somewhat normal basketball season in years, Angnaboogok appreciated the chance to play and travel.
“I’m very grateful for that, considering there’s COVID, and I’m glad we’re able to travel and teams are able to come down here,” the senior said.
Wassillie was glad to play in front of a crowd again.
“It feels pretty good. I missed the crowd, getting hyped up by the crowd, being able to play against different teams, travel more,” he said.
Prior to the varsity games, Sitka’s junior varsity girls beat Edgecumbe 51-44.
The Braves and Lady Braves face Eielson again today before the Ravens shift gears to play Sitka Friday and Saturday.
