JDHS basketball teams finish season-opening road trips
- Klas Stolpe
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Crimson Bears will next host Christmas tourney Dec. 27-30
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears girls and boys varsity basketball teams continued their respective road trips Saturday, with the girls defeating the North Pole Lady Patriots 49-36 at the Doc Larson Roundball Classic in Wasilla and the boys defeating the Sunnyside Wildcats (Fresno, California) 47-43 at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“We dialed in on the things that hurt us the night before and made adjustments,” Crimson Bears girls coach Tanya Nizich said of their win over North Pole. “Much better job taking care of the ball and being patient on offense. Most importantly we contained their dribble penetration dish-offs. We rotated defensively quicker. I thought Layla (Tukouka) and Cambry (Lockhart) both offensively and defensively were composed today and made some big shots and set their teammates up with good passes for successful shots. Gwen (Nizich) was grabbing boards for us and finding put-backs. Freyja (Shelton-Walker) and Sadie (Lockhart) tag-teamed on containing their three-point shooter. All around the team found a way to contribute to this win.”
JDHS led 11-9 after the first quarter and added 14 points in the second quarter to North Pole’s five for a 25-14 lead at the half. North Pole flipped the switch in the third quarter and held JDHS to just four points while scoring 12 to pull within 29-26 with the eight-minute stanza remaining. In that last period JDHS found range outside and power inside and scored 20 points to North Pole’s 10 for the 49-36 final.
Crimson Bears junior Tukuoka led with 15 points, senior G. Nizich 14, senior C. Lockhart and freshman Athena Warr six apiece, sophomore S. Lockhart five, and sophomore Kyndal Saceda three.
North Pole was led by 16 points from junior Jade Skipps, junior Dawson Smothers scored 12, junior Alyssa Pearson four, sophomore Anneliese Holsing and senior Julia Good two apiece. Smothers had scored 24 points against JDHS Friday, Pearson 14, Skipps 11, Holsing and Good two apiece.
On Friday the JDHS girls had lost to North Pole 53-46. Nizich led with 11 points, Saceda nine, C. Lockhart eight, Warr seven, Tokuoka six, S. Lockhart and sophomore Lydia Goins two apiece, Shelton-Walker one.
On Thursday they fell to last season’s 4A state runner-up Wasilla Lady Warriors 74-34. G. Nizich scored 13, Tokuoka six, C. Lockhart five, S. Lockhart and Warr four apiece, Shelton-Walker two. Wasilla was led by senior Savannah Kroon scoring 21 points and senior Katie Jackson 13.
“The takeaway from the trip is we need to know what we are capable of, adapt to changes and apply it to every game,” coach Nizich said.
The JDHS boys put a first-half hurting on Sunnyside, holding the Wildcats to just three points in the first quarter and six in the second while scoring 19 and 15, respectively, to take a 34-9 lead at the half.
The lopsided scoring switched in the second half with JDHS netting eight points in the third quarter and just five in the final stanza while Sunnyside compiled 16 and 18, respectively, to pull close but fall 47-43.
JDHS was led by 16 points from senior Joren Gasga, senior Elias Dybdahl had 10, junior Logan Carriker nine, junior Hunter Carte three, sophomore Micah Nelson, senior Christian Rielly, senior Tyler Frisby and sophomore Zachary Polasky two each, and senior Noah Ault one.
Sunnyside senior Lorenzo Lamar Jr. scored 14 points, junior Carlos Castillo eight, junior Nolan Kai seven, senior Ayden Limon six, sophomore Jereimiah Monia four, senior Michael Johnson and senior Kurtis Wingfield two apiece.
On Friday the JDHS boys had defeated Wasatch Academy (Utah) 75-31 and lost to St. George’s (Vancouver, British Columbia) 62-57. On Thursday they lost to C.I. Gibson Senior High School (Bahamas) 60-36.
“Two wins and two losses,” Crimson Bears boys coach Robert Casperson said. “And a lot of lessons learned from these four games…Those are ‘industry secrets’ that I can’t give away.”
The Crimson Bears next host the George Houston Capital City Classic, Dec. 27-30 at JDHS.
The GHCCC girls tourney lineup includes the two-time defending 1A state champion Fort Yukon Lady Eagles, last season’s 3A state third-place finisher Monroe Catholic Lady Rams (Fairbanks) and the 2A Petersburg Lady Vikings
The GHCCC boys tourney lineup features the Kake Thunderbirds, Monroe Catholic Rams and Petersburg Vikings.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
