By KLAS STOLPE
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Mt. Edgecumbe High basketball family honored the senior members of the girls program on Saturday in the B.J. McGillis Gymnasium and the Lady Braves said thank you with a 35-23 win over the visiting Sitka Lady Wolves.
Four seniors put the first points on the board – Sanora Bell (Yakutat), Brystel Charlie (Kwethluk), and Faith Kameroff (Emmonak) found scores inside and Catherine Sunny (Nightmute) hit from behind the arch to open a 9-0 score with three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Both teams went silent on the scoreboard until Sitka freshman Tawny Smith went 3-4 at the charity stripe with 30 seconds remaining.
“I liked our defense,” Mt. Edgecumbe coach Kathy Forrester said. “With the exception of the fouls we played strong defensively.”
The Mt. Edgecumbe press flustered Sitka on the evening, allowing just four field goals in the game, and the Sitka press was just as hounding. The Lady Braves committed 23 turnovers and the Lady Wolves 31.
“Whatever the cause, we played very poorly,” Sitka coach Sondra Lundvick said. “The good news is that it is all within our control. We will see where this takes us.”
Edgecumbe’s Charlie opened the second quarter with a steal and score and senior Tyra Brown rebounded a missed shot for another basket and a 13-3 lead.
Sitka senior Joei Vidad notched a free throw and classmate Abby Forrester added two more from the line to inch closer, but Brown outback a miss inside for the Lady Braves and sophomore teammate Autumn Beans hit back-to-back runners for a 19-6 advantage.
MEHS so. Autumn Beans (20) and sr. Tyra Brown (33) defend SHS so. Jocelyn Brady (34) (Sentinel Photos by Klas Stolpe)
Sitka’s A. Forrester answered from the line again and Beans answered by putting down Mt. Edgecumbe’s last bucket of the half. Sitka’s Smith hit two more free throws and A. Forrester hit the Lady Wolves’ first field goal of the game as the second quarter ended with Mt. Edgecumbe up 21-12.
Early foul trouble for Mt. Edgecumbe meant that senior Leticia Skaflestad (Hoonah), who started the game, had to play point at moments in the game while notching a steal and four rebounds.
MEHS sr. Leticia Skaflestad (21) defends a pass to SHS junior Tiffany Elefante (Sentinel Photos by Klas Stolpe)
“It was great playing all the seniors,” MEHS coach Forrester said. “And they all stepped up and played well.”
Both teams managed just 5 points apiece in the third stanza.
Bell and Kameroff scored inside for Mt. Edgecumbe and Beans hit from the line to push their score to 26. Sitka seniors Shaye Jensen and Jessica Davis hit from the line for the Lady Wolves and freshman Chloe Morrison scored inside to notch 17 on the scoreboard.
Mt. Edgecumbe senior Sanora Bell and Sitka senior Shaye Jensen share a laugh during the Lady Braves senior appreciation ceremony at the B.J. McGillis Gym on Saturday (Sentinel Photos by Klas Stolpe)
Charlie had a steal and basket to give the Lady Braves a 28-17 start to the fourth quarter, and Brown hit a free throw to push the lead to 12 points, 29-17. Sitka’s A. Forrester answered with a shot and the Lady Wolves called time out with just under six minutes to play to talk a full minute of strategy.
Both teams went colder from the field and had turnover issues until Mt. Edgecumbe’s Beans hit another runner and then a soft floater for a 33-19 advantage.
After both teams turned the ball over, Mt. Edgecumbe called a full time out to get their house in order.
Turnovers from both sides ensued until Bell hit a tough shot inside for Mt. Edgecumbe’s final bucket of the night with just over a minute remaining and a 35-19 lead.
Vidad hit Sitka’s final field goal with 26 seconds left for a 35-21 deficit, senior Kyleigh McArthur added a Lady Wolves free throw with 20 seconds left, and Smith added the final point from the charity stripe for the Lady Wolves to close to 35-23.
“We still missed a ton of shots,” MEHS coach Forrester said. “But we got a lot of second-half rebounds.”
Beans led Mt. Edgecumbe with 11 points, Charlie and Bell 6 apiece, Brown 5, Kameroff 4, and Sunny 3. Kameroff had 7 rebounds, Brown 6, Sunny 5, Beans 3, Charlie, senior Ashyln Strom (Ft. Yukon), and Brown 2, Bell and junior Maggie Miller (Nome) 1. Charlie had 5 steals, Beans 4, Bell 3, Sunny and sophomore Lizzy Allen (Dillingham) 2 apiece, Skaflestad (Hoonah) and Sunny 1 apiece.
SHS sr. Jessica Davis and MEHS sr. Ashlyn Strom go for a ball. (Sentinel Photos by Klas Stolpe)
The Lady Braves went 2-10 from the line, the Lady Wolves 16-24.
Sitka was led by 8 points from A. Forrester, Smith had 6, Vidad 3, Morrison and Davis 2 apiece, and McArthur 1. Davis led the Lady Wolves with 6 rebounds and Vidad led Sitka with 4 steals.
The Sitka Lady Wolves, 9-11 on the season, will honor their seniors before the 7 p.m. Wednesday game at SHS against the visiting Mt. Edgecumbe Lady Braves, 13-9. The teams are 1-1 against each other, both winning on home courts.
