It would have been easy for Chandler Christensen to pack it up and leave.
In her first year as the head coach of the Thunder Mountain High School girls basketball team, last year, the team won just two games. Their season began with a 40-point loss on the road against Chugiak, and things didn’t get much prettier from there.
Christensen, 24, hasn’t gone anywhere though. It appears last season only fortified the young coach’s resolve to revamp the team and program.
The Falcons return a powerful frontcourt tandem of juniors Nina Fenumiai and Kyra Jenkins Hayes, who will be tasked with setting the tone on both offense and defense.
With an an influx of agile guards to play alongside senior guard Cyrene Uddipa, the team wants to speed up the pace of play. As long they can limit turnovers, this style of play will almost certainly result in more scoring than last season. Three freshmen guards — Samantha Dilley, Neal Garcia and Khaye Garcia — have already been named to the varsity roster. Several other freshmen guards will jump between junior varsity and varsity this season.
“I think it’s going to be fun this year — we’re looking to get out and get running,” Christensen said.
Fenumiai, as capable rebounding the ball as she is leading fastbreak, could thrive in this setup. Fenumiai is in the best shape of her basketball career after electing to train throughout the summer.
“I worked out every single day,” Fenumiai said. “It takes a long time for me to get in shape so I had (Cyrene) sometimes with me and then I had a personal trainer and then I went to camps and I worked out with my dad (assistant coach Jason Wilson) here in the mornings. So it was definitely new, I’ve never done that before.”
How much the team will again rely on the Fenumiai-Jenkins Hayes show remains to be seen. The backcourt has become quicker, but it’s unclear how much scoring the team’s guards will be able to shoulder.
When she’s not facilitating the offense, Uddipa will be asked to pick up some of the scoring slack. One of three seniors on team, Uddipa understands conference wins can be tough to come by these days.
“That two-win (season) should not carry over to this season at all,” Uddipa said. “We’re looking to win more games and hopefully at least split our conference games with JD and Ketchikan. Looks like we’ll all be very competitive with each other.”
Coach Bio
Chandler Christensen (2nd year)
Age: 24
Assistant coaches: Vince Yadao, Jason Wilson
Occupation: TMHS Plato (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations) Lab Monitor
Playing experience: Ashe County H.S. (2007-2011), Methodist University (2011-2014)
Greatest coaching influence: High school coach Laura Foster
Fast Facts
Last season record: 2-21
Key returners: Nina Fenumiai, Cyrene Uddipa, Kyra Jenkins Hayes
Incoming freshmen: Samantha Dilly, Neal Garcia, Khaye Garcia
Roster
Cyrene Uddipa, senior
Andee Johnson, senior
Lezille Sagrado, senior
Nina Fenumiai, junior
Kyra Jenkins Hayes, junior
Tasi Fenumiai, sophomore
Tzadi Hauck, sophomore
Kira Frommherz, sophomore
Samantha Wiley, sophomore
Yelana George, freshman
Samantha Dilley, freshman
Neal Garcia, freshman
Khaye Garcia, freshman
Iayanah Brewer, freshman
Sydnee Sartain, freshman
Chayla Ault, freshman
Mackenzie Gray, freshman
2017-18 Schedule
12/14 at Lathrop
12/15 at North Pole
12/16 at Hutchison
12/21 Sitka, 7 p.m.
12/22 Sitka, 7 p.m.
1/5 JDHS, 5 p.m.*
1/6 JDHS, 5 p.m.*
1/10 at West Valley
1/11-1/13 Joe T. Classic (Fairbanks)
1/26 Mt. Edgecumbe
1/27 Mt. Edgecumbe
2/1 West Anchorage
2/2 Ketchikan, 7 p.m.*
2/3 7 p.m. Ketchikan, 7 p.m.*
2/7-2/10 Dimond Lady Lynx Shootout (Anchorage)
2/23 at Ketchikan*
2/24 at Ketchikan*
3/2 at JDHS, 7 p.m.*
3/3 at JDHS, p.m.*
3/6-3/9 Region V 2A/3A/4A Basketball Championships (Ketchikan)
3/22-3/24 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska State Basketball Championships
*Conference game
Home games bolded
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
Nina Fenumiai, center, shoots against teammate Andee Johnson during Thunder Mountain High School girls basketball practice at TMHS on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
