By KLAS STOLPE
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Mt. Edgecumbe High School girls basketball team was in a thriller in the opener of the Kotzebue Invitational on Thursday.
The Lady Braves withstood a late Lady Huskies rally to win 33-30 over the hosts.
Mt. Edgecumbe led 9-4 after the first quarter on baskets by seniors Faith Kameroff (Emmonak) and Sanora Bell (Yakutat) and 20-6 at the half as Bell continued to score inside and was joined by junior Vernae Ramoth (Ambler). Kotzebue, from the 3A Western Conference, managed just one free throw in the second quarter.
Mt. Edgecumbe senior Faith Kameroff (44) reaches to snare a rebound from Ketchikan senior Emmie Smith (5) during the Lady Braves win last week over the Lady Kings at the B.J. McGillis Gymnasium. MEHS is playing at Kotzebue this weekend. (Sentinel Photo by Klas Stolpe)
“It was 20-5 in the first half because we took care of the ball and played defense,” Mt. Edgecumbe coach Kathy Forrester said.
The Lady Braves would stumble in the second half, scoring just 6 points in the third quarter while the Lady Huskies hit 9 and started to realize they were on their home court.
“We got into foul trouble in the second half,” Forrester said. “I looked up at one point and we had nine fouls to their zero. It also didn’t help that we had 15-45 for field goals, mostly short shots and layups.”
The Lady Braves scored 7 points in the fourth quarter and could not slow down the hosts. Kotzebue’s Grace Gallehorn and Ally Martin hit from deep to get the home team going.
The Lady Huskies would connect on three shots from beyond the arch in the final 8 minutes, two from Gallehorn and one from Alanna Coronell, and totaled 16 points in the stanza but they missed four deep shots in the last minute that would have tied the score. Kotzebue also missed 13 free-throws in the game.
“It is a good thing they missed some free throws,” Forrester said. “We got stagnant in our defense, not moving as quick as the first half.”
Kameroff led Mt. Edgecumbe with 9 points, Ramoth added 8, Bell 7, so. Autumn Beans (St. Mary’s) 4, sr. Catherine Sunny (Nightmute) 3, and jr. Maggie Miller (Nome) 2.
The Lady Braves were 3-7 at the line, the Huskies 5-18.
Gallehorn led Kotzebue with 11 points, Coronell added 8, Martin 5, Kaila Short, Shilah Sidwalk, and Jessa Swenson 2 each.
Mt. Edgecumbe improved to 6-8 on the season and will play 2A Buckland today and 2A Unalakleet on Saturday.
“I’m glad we hung on,” Forrester said. “I knew they would be tired because we were up at 3:30 a.m. to get ready to catch the flight here. We didn’t get into Kotzebue until 6 p.m. and played an 8 p.m. game. It’s a long day for sure. Hopefully we can last longer tomorrow. I hear Buckland is quick and can shoot the ball well.”
The Mt. Edgecumbe boys basketball team lost 62-58 to the host Kotzebue Huskies on Thursday. Scoring and statistics were not available.
“It was a very similar game to Tuesday,” Mt. Edgecumbe coach Archie Young said, referring to the Braves game against Sitka that was a 55-49 win. “Except we couldn’t finish.”
Mt. Edgecumbe led 17-11 after eight minutes of play but scored just six points in the second quarter and Kotzebue hit for 20 points to lead 31-23 at the half.
Both teams scored 12 points in the third quarter for a 43-35 Huskies lead starting the final stanza.
Braves sr. Bear Brown (Anchorage) hit a floater in the key to tie the gave with six seconds left but the basket was waved off and a charging foul called.
Senior Emmmett Dunaway (Dillingham) led the Braves with 18 points, Fred Myers (Pilot Station) 16, so. RJ Alstrom-Beans (St. Mary’s) 11, Brown 8, So. Jeff Adams (Mentasta) 4, and jr. Keith Johns (Glennallen) 1.
Mt. Edgecumbe hit 11-20 at the line, Kotzebue 11-15.
Mikey Herbley led the Huskies with 15 points, Andrw Berger added 13, Henry Stermen 12, Frank Sheldon 11, Billy Nelson 7, and Mick Jones 4.
Mt. Edgecumbe (4-9) is scheduled to play 2A Noatak today and 2A Unalakleet on Saturday.
