The Sitka Lady Wolves pose for a shot last week at practice. Kneeling in the front row from left are Kaleena Tucker, Nai’a Nelson Tawny Smith, Harlee Nelson and Rean Famini. Standing in the back row from left are Maitlyn Young, Ava Brady, Jocelyn Brady, Chloe Morrison, Makenna Smith and Marina Olney-Miller. (Sentinel Photo)
The Mt. Edgecumbe Lady Braves pose for a team shot earlier this week. Kneeling in the front from the left are Jelsey Gologergen, Tessa Anderson, Laci Prince, Cameryn Olson, Shaedyn Barr, Mia Anderson. Standing in back from the left are Carliese O’Brien, TeHana Baldwin, Lisa Strom, Kathy Jones, Ella Dale, Charlee Korthius, Madison Alstrom-Beans, Marina Westdahl, Twila Strom. (Photo provided by Kathy Forrester)
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
The basketball season heated up Tuesday when the Sitka High Lady Wolves notched a 49-32 win against Mt. Edgecumbe’s Lady Braves. With about two dozen spectators looking on from the bleachers at Sitka High, the atmosphere was more intense than at the crowd-less boys game last week.
Despite the crowd Tuesday, the air in the gym remained fairly quiet. There was no pep band, and the cheering was not enough to rattle the stands or shake the gym as would be typical for a rivalry match.
Wolves’ junior Tawny Smith said after the game that it took some adjustment to get used to the unusual setting.
“It’s definitely an adjustment, I feel like usually at the Battle of the Bridge games – the energy in there, the both schools – the entire school shows up. Having dead quiet on a free throw is pretty foreign,” Smith said.
However, Smith said, the team found its own, internal energy.
“We kind of have to create our own energy instead of getting it from the crowd,” she said.
Smith’s teammate Chloe Morrison, also a junior, agreed.
“We have our team there so it’s kind of the same thing, but it’s a lot different,” Morrison said.
Lady Wolves coach Mindy Bartolaba seconded this, adding that she’s glad for her athletes to be on the court.
“The kids bring energy to these kinds of things. We miss our families and our fans but having this opportunity to play seems pretty special,” Bartolaba told the Sentinel after the game.
Smith noted that when her team played in Ketchikan over the weekend, there was more of a crowd, with a number of Kayhi students watching from the gym balcony. At Sitka, only parents were allowed to attend, no siblings, no friends. Both schools brought their cheer squads, but while there was something of an audience, the atmosphere remained muted and masked. Players wore masks on the bench, but removed them while playing.
The Lady Wolves led the game from the start and were up by 18 points at the half. But Edgecumbe tightened up and prevented Sitka from expanding their lead for the remainder of the game.
Smith noted that while her team came out strong in the early game, there’s room for improvement.
“We came out pretty strong in the first quarter… (but) we have a lot of room for improvement,” Smith said. She cited rebounds as an example.
Morrison noted that the Lady Wolves’ communication was on point.
“Definitely communication was good. And I feel like we kept our intensity high,” she said.
Moving forward into the remainder of the shortened season, the coach hopes to keep the tempo high.
“All season we will work at trying to maintain the tempo of the game and go from there,” Bartolaba said.
While the Lady Wolves came out on top in the first rivalry game for the girls teams this year, on the other side of the bridge Mt. Edgecumbe High athletes saw positives as well.
Like her counterparts, MEHS junior Lisa Strom said that even without a roaring crowd, her team generated their own energy.
“It’s not as exciting without a crowd, but the energy on the bench we had (Tuesday) was nice… Everyone gets along really well, so that keeps us energized and motivated,” Strom said at her team’s practice on Wednesday.
Lady Braves freshman Tessa Anderson, a Sitkan who has previously played basketball with some members of the Sitka team, agreed.
“The energy was really nice, and I used to play with some of those girls, and we’re still friends, so it was fun,” Anderson said. Despite her age, Anderson led Edgecumbe’s scoreboard with 10 points, netting two three-pointers in the process.
Strom argued that her team improved in the second half as the jitters wore off.
“The first half we were all just first-game jitters… and we came back with even more intensity,” Strom said. While Sitka played over the weekend in Ketchikan, Tuesday’s game was the first of the season for the Lady Braves.
Regardless of crowds or coronavirus mitigations, Lady Braves coach Kathy Forrester, like many coaches and athletes now returning to sports, told the Sentinel she’s happy to be back on the court.
“I’m already just ecstatic that we’re in the gym. And for us to be able to play games, for me that’s the key… They get to be in the gym and they’re learning. Maybe they don’t get as many games or trips as next year, but they’re learning,” Forrester said.
The coach noted that while her team this year isn’t big, the players are quick on their feet.
Anderson said the Braves need to work on their defense so that they foul less often.
“The fouls killed us a lot, so I think we just need to work on good defense without fouling,” she said.
Strom hopes the season will continue all the way to regionals.
“I hope that we make it to regionals without quarantining and cases. Helping each other grow as a team to make better people out of ourselves, not just basketball,” she said.
Coming all the way from Fort Yukon, the junior noted that back home schools are closed and gyms shuttered. Strom said she’s happy to be back in school and on the court with her friends.
“They haven’t been in school for a long time, they’ve been given homework packets through the mail. They’re not doing any school, any sports. I’m grateful to be here and be on the court,” Strom said.
Anderson agreed.
“It’s really nice to be able to come here especially because a lot of my friends can’t,” she said.
Meanwhile, the coach remains focused on improving her team incrementally through the season.
“If we get better one percent every time we step into the gym, we’re doing OK,” Forrester said.
As if to physically express that optimism, the coach arrived at practice wearing a comedic shirt depicting the iconic cartoon characters Spongebob and Patrick riding a cat through space.
Thunder Mountain’s basketball players flew in from Juneau to play against both local teams this week, but Wednesday’s scheduled girls game between Thunder Mountain and Sitka High was postponed. The remaining schedule is below.
TODAY, FEBRUARY 4 at SHS
Girls basketball, Sitka v. Thunder Mountain
5:30 p.m. JV
7 p.m. Varsity
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5 at MEHS
Girls Basketball, MEHS v. Thunder Mountain
4:15 p.m. C Teams
5:45 p.m. JV
7:30 p.m. Varsity
SATURDAY. FEBRUARY 6 at MEHS
Girls Basketball, MEHS v. TMHS
5:45 p.m. JV
7:30 p.m. Varsity
All games are livestreamed, with Mt. Edgecumbe using its own site, mehs.us, and Sitka High using NFHSnetwork.com.
Audiences aren’t allowed, except for parents of players at games played at Sitka High. Masks must be worn.
