By KLAS STOLPE
Sentinel Staff Writer
It was open gym night for the Mt. Edgecumbe High girls in a 57-41 loss to 4A power Thunder Mountain during the Coastal Holiday Shootout on Thursday at Sitka High.
Playing as a last-minute tournament substitution, the Lady Braves gathered what varsity players hadn’t left for the holidays, a few wrestlers who had just garnished their required practices, and a compliment of junior varsity hoopsters and headed for the gym to face the Falcons.
“And we did all right,” Mt. Edgecumbe coach Kathy Forrester said. “I was pleasantly pleased with how hard the mixture of Varsity and JV players worked together.”
The Lady Braves worked well enough together to earn a 19-14 lead after eight minutes and a 30-25 advantage at the half.
Catherine Sunny (Nightmute) and Lizzy Allen (Dillingham) hit from deep in the first quarter. Ashlyn Strom (Fort Yukon) collected 7 of her 9 game points and Vernae Ramoth (Ambler) 4 of her 6 in that stanza. Kayla Kasheverof (Anchorage) hit for 5 of her 11 game points in the second quarter.
Brystel Charlie (Kwethluk), fresh off her 135-pound ASAA State Wrestling Championship, led the defensive charge as the Lady Braves quieted the lightning fast sophomores Khaye and Neal Garcia.
“The Varsity girls remaining from Christmas break stepped up their defense that I wanted them to do,” Forrester said. “I also wanted to limit the TMHS twin towers in points and we did that.”
The twin towers are jr. Tasi and sr. Nina Fenumiai, and they scored 7 and 8 points, respectively, and gathered the same number in rebounds.
“They are a force,” Forrester said.
Thunder Mountain’s Charlie Lewis played constantly solid through the whole game, playing both ends of the court to keep the Falcons close. Lewis scored 6 of her game high 16 points in the third quarter as the Falcons knotted the score at 37-37 starting the final stanza.
The Falcons stepped up their full court press and the Lady Braves went cold from the field, scoring just 7 points in the third quarter and 4 in the fourth. The Lady Braves also lost Charlie and Sunny to fouls in the stanza.
Kasheverof led the Lady Braves with 11 points, Strom added 9, Sunny and Ramoth 6 apiece, Allen 5, Celeste Katchiak (Stebbins) and Charlie 2 each.
Ramoth had 5 rebounds, Charlie and Strom 4 apiece, Sunny 3, Katchiak 2, and Allen 1.
Sunny, Katchiak, and Charlie had 3 steals each. Charlie had 4 assists, Sunny 2, Katchiak and Allen 1 apiece. The Lady Braves also tallied 36 turnovers.
Mt. Edgecumbe hit 5-9 from the charity stripe, Thunder Mountain 9-22.
Lewis scored 16 for the Falcons, jr. Tzadi Hauck 12, N. Garcia and N. Fenumiai 8 apiece, T. Fenumiai 7, K. Garcia 4, and so. Samantha Dilley 2.
The Lady Braves now go on holiday break and next play January 11 at Ketchikan.
Today’s Holiday Coastal Shootout schedule: 3 p.m. boys, Delta vs. Ketchikan junior varsity; 4:30 p.m. girls, Craig vs. Thunder Mountain; 6 p.m. boys, Sitka vs. Craig; 7:30 p.m. girls, Sitka vs. Thunder Mountain.
Saturday schedule: 10 a.m. contests; 1 p.m. boys, KTN JV vs. Sitka JV; 2:30 p.m. girls, Sitka JV vs. TMHS JV; 4 p.m. boys, Craig vs. Ketchikan JV; 5:30 p.m. girls, Sitka vs. Craig; 7 p.m. boys, Sitka vs. Delta.
