Dreams of a state championship turn to learning experiences for most teams, and the 2017 Crimson Bear squads are no exception.
The ladies found that out in short order as they lost a pair of games to Dimond in Thursday’s opening match and Lathrop on Friday.
“It was an incredible opportunity just for our kids to be here, none of my kids had ever been to a state tournament,” said head coach Lesslie Knight following a 51-42 loss to the Lynx and a 58-43 decision to the Malemutes.
“I was scared we were going to get mercy-ruled,” said Knight, “ ‘cause I’ve watched them (Dimond) play. I knew they were going to press us most of the game, so we focused on their top three, Pili, Hajdukovich and Maia Carle. Keep them off the boards, and block out. We held her (Pili) to 14 points.”
Although the Lathrop game was tied at the half, the girls lost their energy in the third quarter.
“We’re just not a second-half team,” said Knight.
Senior Megna Bathija agreed with her coach, saying, “We played better against Dimond, against Lathrop we were just tired.”
Sophomore Caitlin Pusich led her squad in scoring with 37 points for the tournament while Georgia Robinson contributed a dozen rebounds.
For the boys team, the lessons will have to be assimilated at a much faster pace, following a 88–57 thrashing by No. 3 seed East, and a narrow one-point, 41-40 escape over West Valley to play on in Saturday’s fourth-place game with Bartlett.
From Thursday’s opening possession, East defenders harassed Juneau-Douglas ball handlers, creating turnovers and generally disrupting offensive flow throughout the game.
“East was every bit as good as advertised,” said head coach Robert Casperson. “We thought were prepared for their pressure, but we had 30 turnovers and so many empty possessions. The boys played hard, nothing we did really worked against East.”
Against West Valley, the game was tight throughout. The Wolfpack led by six in the third quarter when the Bears made a run to retake the lead and make it last until the final moments, when Lathrop failed to score to overcome the one-point deficit.
Casperson expected Bartlett to be pretty similar to East in its style and their way of attacking an offense.
“For us, I would like to see a little better execution throughout the game,” he said.
“We are going to have to have better control of the ball, I learned a long time ago, that if you’re going to win at this game, you can have turnovers, or you can miss shots, but you can’t have both,” he concluded.
Casperson did like the way his team hung together in both games, especially against East.
“Yesterday when we were taking our lumps, they never got down on each other, they never quit, they just kept playing,” he said.
Sophomore Caitlin Pusich reflected on her tourney by saying, “It was a really good experience to come here, it was really fun. Looking forward to next year, she said the team was “going to work really hard and get in the gym as much as we can, and work together and hope to get back here to play.”
Knight was optimistic about the future, saying “seven of those nine kids will be back next year … so the question for my athletes is, what are they going to do to get back here next year?”
Juneau’s Caitlin Pusich works against the defense of a pair of Dimond defenders.(Michael Dinneen | For the Juneau Empire)
Juneau’s Kolby Hoover is harassed by East’s Kaeleb Johnson and Trey Huckabay. (Michael Dinneen | For the Juneau Empire)
Juneau’s Erik Kelly flies to the hoop.(Michael Dinneen | For the Juneau Empire)
Juneau’s Kasey Watts goes to the hoop. (Michael Dinneen | For the Juneau Empire)
Juneau’s Erik Kelly and Tristin Eidsness celebrate their one-point win over West Valley. (Michael Dinneen | For the Juneau Empire)
