Kaylyn Easterly lobs for two points during Wednesday's fast-paced game against the Glacier Bears.
Haines and Wrangell players rush after a loose ball during Wednesday's evening game last week. The Lady Wolves ended up winning with close to a 30-point lead their first game, but won the next day by a much closer margin.
The Lady Wolves won a pair of games last week against Haines, during Wrangell's first home games of the 2017/18 season.
The two wins put Wrangell at 4-2 so far during its regular basketball season, which had been preceded by an eighth-place showing at an interregional tournament at the Clarke Cochrane Christmas Classic in Ketchikan late last month.
During January 17's midweek game the Glacier Bears had started out with a 14-9 lead after the first quarter. Wrangell's girls fought back, outscoring Haines the next two quarters by a 3-1 margin to hold a 53-28 lead before the final eight minutes. An about evenly matched last quarter meant a big win for Wrangell, finishing 71-44.
"The girls worked very hard," said Lady Wolves coach Laurie Brown. "Wednesday night we came out really strong."
Though they weren't able to field junior varsity teams, during Wednesday's second half Brown was able to play more of her second string, getting them experience on the court.
"Kaylyn Easterly had some big numbers the first night," she commented. Easterly led her team for points overall with 24, dropping 10 of 16 two-pointers thrown and scoring all four of her attempts from beyond the three-point line.
"Anna Allen also had a really good game," Brown added. Allen was just behind Easterly in points with 21, making half her free throws and better than half of her goal attempts overall. Brown noted she had also led the team for rebounds.
Thursday's afternoon game was more tightly contested, with Haines maintaining a close score throughout.
"I could tell my girls were tired," said Brown.
By the half Wrangell still held an eight-point lead, and after some back and forth in the lead came out on top with a 60-52 win over Haines.
Brown said her girls would need to work on their consistency, but that they had done a good job both with offense and their defense. Penalties too would be another area to work on, with Wrangell outpacing Haines in fouls 30 to 16 during Wednesday's game.
The team heads next to Metlakatla, one of the region's top contenders.
"We've been really preparing," said Brown. "They have some big middle people," able to play strong in the center, as well as good outside shooters. The team also tends to play zone defense, something Brown said her girls would be preparing for.
After Metlakatla the season enters its second half. Wrangell will be back at home for most of it, hosting Craig next February 7 and 8.
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