Mt. Edgecumbe High School senior Cameryn Olson shoots a three-pointer in the first half of a game Wednesday night at the B.J. McGillis Gym. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
At the final girls rivalry match of the season prior to the Region V tournament, the Lady Braves took time to honor their seniors Wednesday night at Mt. Edgecumbe High, as the unconventional basketball season wraps up. Sitka High won 36-27, though the Lady Braves showed significant improvements over previous matches.
Prior to the game, Mt. Edgecumbe’s three seniors received recognition in front of the largest crowd yet assembled this season.
While the ongoing pandemic has curtailed travel and limited audience sizes, Edgecumbe’s seniors were glad for the opportunity to play basketball in the first place.
“It’s very chaotic, but we are very fortunate being able to be in school playing basketball right now,” Lady Braves senior Cameryn Olson told the Sentinel after the game.
Her teammate Madison Alstrom-Beans concurred, and added that in her village no one is playing sports at the moment.
“It’s hard, but we have to go with what we have and be grateful with what we have, because most people aren’t even playing. Back home they’re not playing,” Alstrom-Beans said. She hails from St. Mary’s, which is north of Bethel.
The Lady Braves third senior, Laci Prince, agreed as well.
“To be a senior in this crazy time feels very honorable, very fortunate to be playing… It’s very different, but we’re pulling through,” Prince said.
Their coach praised the seniors for their hard work on and off the court.
“Our three seniors really stepped up tonight. They put everything out on the court and I hope they continue to do that because they did a remarkable job. I was super proud of them. That was their best game since I’ve been coaching them,” Mt. Edgecumbe coach Kathy Forrester told the newspaper. “I’m super proud of them, it’s hard to say words. And they deserved that tonight.”
Forrester stressed the good interpersonal dynamics of her team.
“They’ve got great hearts, great spirits, and I’m very grateful… All of our seniors have really big hearts and they’re very kind to each other. And that for the most part trickles down and teaches the younger girls that we can be older and still be kind,” the coach said.
Wednesday’s basketball game was the tightest matchup between the two rival teams so far this season. Unlike previous games in which Sitka High often doubled Mt. Edgecumbe’s points, the Lady Braves led for much of the first half, and stayed level with the Wolves for the entire match.
Forrester noted that this was the first game of the season in which her team had fewer than 20 turnovers.
At the end of the first quarter, Edgecumbe led by a scant 4-2. The Lady Braves held their lead through much of the second, but faltered in the final minute of that quarter. Sitka’s Tawny Smith and Nai’a Nelson tagteamed to score 6 points in a single minute, propelling the Lady Wolves to a 21-14 lead at the half.
From there Sitka stretched its lead in the third, and while the Braves made up some lost ground in the fourth, it was too little too late to keep Sitka High from another win.
Looking back, Olsen said that the opening of the game was the best she has seen her team play all year.
“We started off the first quarter with the best defense we’ve had all season,” she said.
In a separate interview, Prince echoed this almost word for word.
“The first half we came out really strong. We played hard defense and we got a little tired,” she said.
With the Region V tournament only days away, Alstrom-Beans hoped her team would make some final improvements to their offense.
“We just need to work on our offense a little bit more, we need to find better shot selection… We should keep working hard and improving our offense,” she said.
Win or lose, Forrester was happy with her players.
“The first half I thought we played really well. There were that last two minutes that we let them score, like, 12 points in a row with the turnovers. We were very generous in our passing to them… (But) if we can keep Sitka to a low-scoring game that’s a win for us,” Forrester said.
On the Sitka side of the court, Lady Wolves freshman Nai’a Nelson said Edgecumbe’s early lead pushed her team to work harder.
“Usually, the first quarter of us playing them it’s always super close, but we pulled through at the end. So to be under in the first quarter was pushing us to work harder,” Nelson said.
Though Sitka has now notched three wins over the Lady Braves this season, Nelson said it would be wrong to take the Edgecumbe squad for granted.
“This game we kind of got ahead of ourselves but we’re not going to take it for granted next time… We’re just hoping to go to state,” she said.
So far, the state championship is still scheduled for late March at schools in the Mat-Su Valley.
Much like her counterparts on Japonski Island, Nelson looked back on the season and was happy to be playing basketball.
“Since I’ve been through most of (the season), I’m just thankful that our coaches have worked so hard to give us this season and we’re going to make the most of it. But as a freshman I’d say I’m glad I at least have a season,” Nelson said.
Moving into the final stretch of the season, Lady Wolves coach Mindy Bartolaba said her team will work on their in-game tempo.
“We’re just trying to work on controlling tempo when we can and setting the pace whether we want to work on something or want to push,” Bartolaba said. “This is kind of the time of the season when you try to perfect the things you’ve been working at all season long.”
As the basketball season hurtles towards its conclusion, the local boys teams play each other for the last time before the regional tournament tonight at Sitka High.
