By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Spectators packed the stands at Sitka High Tuesday night to watch the first cross-bridge rivalry games of the basketball season. In a pair of hard-fought games that were close in the first half but more one-sided in the second, the Sitka High Lady Wolves beat the Mt. Edgecumbe Lady Braves 41-29, while in the boys’ game Edgecumbe beat Sitka 56-43.
Sitka senior Marina Olney-Miller shoots against Mt. Edgecumbe High, Tuesday
at Sitka High. The home team won. (Sentinel photo by James Poulson)
The Braves held a scant, two-point lead at the half, but turned up the heat in the third and fourth quarters, outscoring Sitka’s boys by a wide margin to secure a double-digit lead. Edgecumbe’s Kaison Herrmann led his team’s scoreboard with 21 points, followed by Mason Ivanoff with 13 and Ranen Wassillie with 12.
The Braves stepped up their game in the second half, but there remains room for improvement, Herrmann said.
“After halftime we just came out with more intensity and, you know, we just fought harder. First half wasn’t really what we wanted,” he said after the win.
The three-month season is still young, and in the future Herrmann, a junior from Kenai, hopes his team reduces turnovers and moves the ball more freely around the court.
Edgecumbe senior Mason Ivanoff, of Unalakleet, also thinks his team needs to improve before upcoming rivalry matches that lead to the four-way Eastern Conference tournament.
“I felt like us as a team should have done better. It’s the first game of the rivalry. A whole bunch of emotions are going through our heads,” he said.
Though the Wolves managed to stymie Edgecumbe’s offense in the first half, as the game wore on the Braves moved the ball around the court more easily, creating gaps and scoring opportunities that Sitka struggled to counter. In the final quarter, Edgecumbe scored 15 points to Sitka’s 9.
Despite that, Ivanoff highlighted the Wolves’ resilience.
“They’re just always there. They don’t quit,” he said.
Herrmann agreed: “They work hard, they’re fast.”
Despite the loss, Sitka senior Angelo Elefante said the game was a good experience for his team.
“That was actually really fun, because in the past games (this season), we’ve just been going up and up, like we’ve just been advancing, getting better through each game,” said Elefante. “So after that one, it felt really good even though we lost… We kept our heads up more than before. That really helped us because after people make mistakes, everyone would just be like, ‘It’s OK, we’ll get it next time.’”
He highlighted Edgecumbe’s ability to move the ball and shoot as a key factor in Sitka’s loss.
The Wolves opened the game well, but will need to improve their staying power, Sitka coach Jarrett Hirai told the Sentinel.
“We play with the intensity that we need to start in the first half, and we just need to finish the last 16 minutes of the game,” the coach said. “There were spots when it was and spots when it wasn’t… We just need to stay focused on what we do well.”
His team’s defense is solid, he added, though things have yet to coalesce offensively.
“We play tough defense. We try to make stops, we exert a lot of energy - which I love. We just have to make sure we don’t get ahead of ourselves on the offensive side.”
While Edgecumbe’s boys won their game, on the girls’ side the Sitka High Lady Wolves won by 12 points, though the home team held only a three-point lead at the half. Edgecumbe pushed back in the fourth, outscoring Sitka and closing the gap, but the final resurgence was insufficient to overcome Sitka’s lead.
Sitka senior Marina Olney-Miller expects the Lady Braves to put up fierce competition this year.
“The season is going to be a really good season, and that was our first game against them,” she said. “But I just know that throughout the season coming up to regions it’s just going to get harder and harder. We’ve got some good match-ups this year, and I’m really excited to see where it takes us towards the end of the season.”
In her last year with the team, Olney-Miller is glad for the chance to play basketball with her friends once more.
“Every season has its high points. And I’m just glad that I get to play my senior year with the people I’m playing with.”
Sitka junior Nai’a Nelson agreed.
“I’m thankful to spend it with my team and all the people I’ve been playing with for pretty much my whole life; it’s their last year,” she said.
About half of the players on Sitka’s 2023 varsity squad are seniors.
Nelson intends to put her best effort forward in future games against the Lady Braves.
“We’re still going to put in our best game and we’re just going to play how we always do and just play as a unit. Play positive and play hard,” Nelson said. She scored 10 points Tuesday night, second only to her teammate Ava Brady, who netted 15.
At this early stage in the season, Sitka coach Mindy Bartolaba thinks her players are performing well as a unit.
“Ava had a really strong night, and Nai’a did a great job bringing the ball up the floor, and Marina defensively played a big role for us,” said Bartolaba. “All those kids, everybody really stepped up. The bench was amazing, and they were supportive and did everything we’d ask. It was so cool to see the team kind of come together.”
Despite her team’s win, Bartolaba, like her athletes, expects the Lady Braves to perform well and improve through the season.
“There is a lot of season left and they’re going to be tough for the rest of the season. They’re fast and quick; we’re fast and we’re quick. It’s going to be a close, competitive season between the two schools,” the coach said.
In addition to the varsity games, Sitka’s junior varsity boys beat Mt. Edgecumbe 54-49 and the Lady Wolves’ JV won 47-36 against MEHS.
All four local basketball teams will face Homer High School in a number of games through the remainder of the week at Sitka and Mt. Edgecumbe high schools. The schedule is below.
TODAY, Sitka v. Homer at SHS
4:30 p.m. C Team Girls
6 p.m. Varsity boys
7:30 p.m. Varsity girls
THURSDAY, Sitka v. Homer at SHS
3 p.m. C Team boys
4:30 p.m. JV boys
6 p.m.. Varsity girls
7:30 p.m. Varsity boys
FRIDAY, at MEHS
3 p.m. JV girls
4:30 p.m. JV boys
6 p.m. Varsity girls MEHS v. Homer
7:30 p.m. Varsity boys MEHS v. Homer
