The Juneau-Douglas High School girls got it done and then some in the first of the a two-game crosstown rivalry series this weekend, routing the visiting Thunder Mountain girls 55-27.
Fast break points are expected from JDHS’ run-and-gun offense, but on Friday the girls produced buckets in their halfcourt sets, where they’ve sometimes struggled this season.
“We hit our teammates and finished our layups, that made a huge difference in the game. We had a chance to be patient and run some things,” JDHS coach Lesslie Knight said.
Sophomore Alyxyn Bohulano — normally a team leader on defense — led the Crimson Bears offense with 14 points. Junior post Cassie Dzinich followed Bohulano in scoring with 12 points. Kendyl Carson added 11 and Caitlyn Pusich had 10.
Thunder Mountain post Nina Fenumiai led the Falcons in defeat with 10 points. Charlee Lewis added seven.
JDHS is streaking while TMHS is rebuilding, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something for the Falcons to gain out of these games. The Falcons girls held their own on the offensive glass and Thunder Mountain coach Chandler Christensen said she saw a lot of great defensive energy, a crucial building block for her developing team.
“We didn’t make a lot of the shots, but we knew at the beginning of the season we weren’t going to be a great shooting team and would need to pick that up on defense,” Christensen said. “I think our defense was pretty good. We implemented a couple of new things this week and the girls picked it up well.”
Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain played again Saturday, but that game finished after press deadline. Look for coverage at the juneauempire.com.
CRIMSON BEARS 55, FALCONS 27
Juneau-Douglas 15 10 15 15 —55
Thunder Mountain 6 4 5 12 —27
Juneau-Douglas (55) — Bohulano 14, Dzinich 12, Carson 11, Pusich 10, Tuckwood 3, Batija 3, Balovich 2
Thunder Mountain (27) — N. Fenumiai 10, Lewis 7, Uddipa 4, Jenkins-Hayes 4, T. Fenumiai 2
Free throws — Juneau-Douglas 12-18, Thunder Mountain 3-8
3-point goals — Juneau-Douglas 3, Thunder Mountain 0
Team fouls — Juneau-Douglas 10, Thunder Mountain 15
