After a brief coronavirus scare shut down all boy’s basketball for Juneau schools, teams got back on the road in a thoroughly-shaken schedule.
High case counts in Ketchikan caused games there to be canceled as well as throwing future matches in question.
“We’ve been off since Thursday. We won’t play this week and we’ll play at the end of next week against Mt. Edgecumbe I believe,” said Thunder Mountain High School girls coach Andy Lee. “We prepared the kids for it to be fluid. This is us adjusting to adversity.”
The JDHS girls split a pair of games against Sitka, losing Friday and winning Saturday, said coach Steve Potter.
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“Our girls are starting to play better together. Our starting group is doing most of the scoring. They’re looking for each other and doing a better job of passing the ball to people who are open,” Potter said. “On Friday, even though we lost, Skylar Tuckwood had nine steals in that game. Our numbers looked pretty balanced for both games. We’re still not setting the world on fire with our shooting but we’re doing better.”
The Juneau-Douglas High School Yadaa.at Kalé boys teams did particularly well, continuing a formidable winning streak.
“Our focus is always getting better. We did some nice things. We improved,” said JDHS coach Robert Casperson. “We ended up winning all four games. Both our varsity and JV are undefeated right now, which hasn’t happened in a while. Both teams are 8-0.”
The JDHS boys played a four game series against Sitka and Mt. Edgecumbe last week, winning handily.
“Friday night against Mt. Edgecumbe was one of the better high school basketball games I’ve been associated with,” Potter said. “It was really a tough game. We ended up winning by 9. It was a battle the whole way through.”
The TMHS boys weren’t able to play against Ketchikan last week due to a coronavirus case close to the team but will compete against Mt. Edgecumbe and Sitka this week, said coach John Blasco.
“All players were protected and they tested negative,” Blasco said in a phone interview. “That’s positive.”
The boys are ready to get back to it, Blasco said.
“We’re looking forward to getting to play. It’s been two weeks since we gotten to play a game. Assuming it goes well, we’ll go down next week,” Blasco said. “We’re looking forward to seeing new opponents and seeing if the things we worked on for the last few weeks translate. I’m happy for the kids.”
Regionals are just a few weeks away, but the schedule and contingencies in place are fluid with coronavirus levels in the Southeast.
“I’m confident about my team and its competitiveness and ability to win,” Lee said. “I’m not so confident in the schedule.”
The boys teams will be playing Mt. Edgecumbe and Sitka at home beginning Wednesday. The JDHS girls will be traveling to Sitka to play Sitka and Mt. Edgecumbe beginning Wednesday. The TMHS girls are scheduled to play Ketchikan this weekend, but that’s likely canceled due to elevated coronavirus levels in the community there, Lee said.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
The Juneau-Douglas High School Yadaa.at Kalé girls basketball team compete with the Sitka High School on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Kim Andree)
Juneau-Douglas High School Yadaa.at Kalé player Malakai Nichols shoots for three as Sitka’s Shane Webb looks on Thursday night at Sitka High. (Sitka Sentinel / James Poulson)
