The Crimson Bears girls got off to a fast start, but it turned into a long night against the state’s second-ranked high school basketball team as Colony High School coasted to a 73-20 win Thursday at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé.
JDHS (11-8 overall, 3-1 conference) jumped out to a 4-0 and shut down the Knights inside during the first few minutes. But the Crimson Bears were overcome by a constant pressure defense by Colony (18-2 overall, 7-2 conference) that resulted in multiple turnovers and an offensive show by Knights stars including Hallie Clark, who led all scorers with 24 points, including four 3-pointers.
“Colony is a tremendous team,” said JDHS Head Coach Tanya Nizich. “I mean we’re talking if not the best, then right there in close quarters. And that’s what we want our schedule to be full of is good 4A competition all the way through the season, so it’s a privilege to be able to play teams like this. And unfortunately we struggled. Hopefully we learn something from each and every game.”
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s Gwen Nizich tries to get out of a corner against Colony High School’s pressure defense during Thursday’s game at JDHS. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
JDHS freshman Layla Tokuoka, a 5’5” guard, continued to be a bright spot for the Crimson Bears with eight points to lead the team, while sophomore guard Gwen Nizich had six points. Besides Clark, players scoring in double figures for Colony were Morgan Ainsworth with 16 and Alycia Shelley with 14.
Colony led 17-6 after the first quarter, 41-12 at halftime and 65-18 after three quarters.
“We have to have every game enthusiasm and talking on defense, and when we get beat we’ve just got to hustle back and play to the buzzer,” Nizich said. “And that’s something that we lacked.”
Mila Hargrave takes a shot for Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s during Thursday’s game against Colony High School at JDHS. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The game may have also offered lessons for the Thunder Mountain High School girls’ team (15-1 overall, 5-1 conference), which plays at home against Colony on Friday and Saturday nights, as several members of that team were in the stands Thursday at JDHS’ George Houston Gymnasium. Both MaxPreps and the Alaska Sports Report coaches poll rank TMHS fourth in 4A statewide competition.
The Crimson Bears next play at Ketchikan High School (4-15 overall, o-6 conference) on Friday and Saturday.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
