Return To Sports |
Return to Home |
The Mt. Edgecumbe Lady Braves faced an uphill climb to the state tournament after losing to Haines 46-45 Thursday.
But the Lady Braves beat the Glacier Bears when it mattered most, taking a 37-36 win over Haines Saturday afternoon to punch their ticket to Anchorage's Sullivan Arena.
"I thought we showed great resiliency,'' MEHS coach Carl Blackhurst said. "We're excited. There's a real opportunity here for us and hopefully we can take advantage of it.''
Blackhurst said he feels Southeast is the toughest region in the state for 3A girls basketball and that both Mt. Edgecumbe and Sitka could be in the running for a state title.
Nothing would please local fans more than a bridge battle in the state championship game, though tough games are ahead for both of the local girls teams.
The Lady Braves, the two seed out of Southeast, will play Glennallen at 9:45 a.m. March 15. Barrow and Cordova are also in Mt. Edgecumbe's bracket.
After working their way through the losers bracket over the weekend, Blackhurst said the Lady Braves should have no trouble with the early tip off next Monday.
Mt. Edgecumbe won games at 8 a.m. both Friday and Saturday as they took a circuitous path to state tournament. After beat Craig 49-45 Friday morning, the Lady Braves downed Petersburg 41-39, setting up a re-match with Haines.
The Lady Vikings were not an easy out for Mt. Edgecumbe. Petersburg led the game 39-38, before Aeshia Upton (Togiak) made a key steal for the Lady Braves. Utpon aand Christina Fields (Kotzebue) made clutch free throws in the final minute to seal the game.
Nothing came easy for the Lady Braves during the Region V tournament, and the final game Saturday was no exception.
The Braves led 8-0 after the first quarter, but Haines trimmed the Edgecumbe lead to 18-14 at the half. The score was 26-24 after three quarters, and the Lady Braves just couldn't put Haines away. A bucket by Fran Daly put Haines up 36-35 late, but Lainey Beaver (Kotzebue) hit two foul shots to get the Lady Braves back on top at 37-36.
Haines had the ball with 12 seconds to go, and got two good looks at the basket. Hannah Wing missed a 15-footer, and Abby Jones was unable to score the put back as time expired. When the buzzer sounded, the Lady Braves celebrated another trip to the state tournament on their home court.
The Lady Braves had won the last two Region V titles. Sitka broke that streak this year, but Blackhurst said the team's main focus was making it to state.
Now, he said, the Lady Braves need to "sharpen up.''
"We're going to try and peak at state,'' Blackhurst said. "The focus will really be honing the girls in our game. We're not going to worry too much about what they're (Glennallen) going to do to us.''
The Lady Braves will enter the state tournament battle-tested after winning three games in two days.
"That was good preparation,'' Blackhurst said, adding that Mt. Edgecumbe would face "winnable games at state.
"I think we have some real weapons,'' he said. "I know we can play much better.''
Nicole Pingayak (Chevak) was a big part of the Lady Braves' win over Haines, drawing key charges in the fourth quarter.
Hampered by foul trouble, Blackhurst also got big minutes off the bench from Upton and Caroline Long (Point Hope).
Fields, Pingayak and Beaver made the all-conference team for Mt. Edgecumbe.