The Thunder Mountain High School girls were neck-and-neck with Wasilla High School for three quarters.
But the Lady Falcons weren’t able to keep pace in the fourth as they were outscored 19-4 to close out a game they lost 54-36. The final score is nearly identical to Friday night’s 52-36 loss, but each game took a drastically different course to the outcome with TMHS trailing just 35-32 at the end of the third quarter.
“I love both nights, but I love this one better,” said TMHS coach Andy Lee after Saturday’s game. “That last four minutes, that’s on me. I keep talking about their lack of experience, their youth, but I have not coached them situationally in close games against a high level of competition, so my learning curve has to get better, I have to get better.”
Lee said the largely competitive game on the heels of a tough loss speaks to the character of the team, something he attributed to the culture established by past tenacious TMHS teams.
“They set a standard of hard work, they set a standard of work ethic, of off-season work that these kids are only beginning to feel the result of,” Lee said.
Saturday, sophomore Cailynn Baxter led her team in scoring with 10 points, none of her teammates reached double figures, but her sister, Kerra Baxter came close with 9 points.
After the loss, TMHS has an 11-6 record (1-1 in-conference) and will get nine days off before taking on Mt. Edgecumbe High School, traveling to Ketchikan and playing Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé in a cross-town conference clash.
“How good we are at the end of that nine days, will determine the rest of the season,” Lee said, adding that the team’s best basketball lies ahead.
TMHS senior Kiara Endicott gets ready to sink two free throws late in a home game against Wasilla. Kookesh would finish as her team’s co-leading scorer on the back of 5 fourth-quarter points. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Last Friday night
While TMHS was able to narrow the visitors’ lead to six in the third quarter, the home team trailed be double digits for much of its first game against Wasilla.
Wasilla menaced TMHS on defense throughout the game. Tipped passes and consistent pressure on the ball handler disrupted the flow of the offense, generating turnovers and transition points for Wasilla. Swatted shots near the basket —generally courtesy of Hays —forced the Lady Falcons to rely on jump shots that didn’t fall often enough to chip away at Wasilla’s lead.
arm
The top TMHS scorers were senior Kiara Endicott and junior Mikah Carandang, who each put up 7 points.
Hays led all scorers with 22 points, one of three Wasilla players to crack double figures.
• Contact Ben Hohenstatt at bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com or (907)308-4895. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt.
TMHS sophomore Cailynn Baxter (23) attempts to maneuver around the outstretched arm of Wasilla sophomore Layla Hays (52). (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
