The girls' All Tournament Team of this year's Rally the Regions. The all tournament teams are made up of players who show considerable qualities, on and off the court, during the rally. The team is as follows (left to right): Jewel Wilson, Unalakleet, Most Valuable Teammate; Meghyn Parker, Petersburg, Outstanding Servant Leader; Kaia Beebe, Tanalian, Total Effort; Kiara Harrison, Wrangell, Best Attitude; and Kaylyn Easterly, Wrangell, Student Athlete.
The Wrangell Lady Wolves spent the beginning of 2020 in Anchorage, taking part in the Rally the Regions Hardwood Classic. The tournament, held on the first four days of January, brings together schools from across the state, from Southeast to western Alaska. The Lady Wolves won the championship last year, in 2019, and were returning to defend their title this year. While the championship went to Unalaska this year, Wrangell still saw several big wins during the tournament.
"We had four really good matched games," said Coach Laurie Brown. "It was a really good experience to help get us ready for state."
The rally kicked off for the Lady Wolves with a game against Unalaska. It was a strong start to the tournament, with Wrangell taking a victory with a score of 50-34. Their next game, on Jan. 2, pitted Wrangell against Unalakleet. This was a very hard-fought game, and was very close. Unalakleet claimed a narrow victory at 52-46.
The Lady Wolves went up against the Tanalian Lynx in the third day of the tournament. The Lynx were the only undefeated girls team left in the tournament at that point. Things did not go well for Wrangell for a good chunk of the game. Tanalian held a 30-15 lead as of the third quarter. However, the Lady Wolves still had some fight in them and made a comeback in the remainder of the game. According to the Rally the Regions Facebook page, they took the lead with only three minutes of game time left. They pulled ahead and claimed a close win at 43-38, just in the nick of time.
Nearing the end of the tournament, four teams were still within reach of the championship: Wrangell, Tanalian, Unalaska, and Unalakleet. To determine who the finalists for the championship would be, a three-point shootout was held on the evening of Jan. 3. After three rounds of the shootout, it was determined that Unalaska and Unalakleet would be the championship finalists.
While Wrangell did not make it to the championship game, they still had one more match for the tournament. They went up against the Tanalian Lynx again on Saturday. The Lady Wolves did not manage to pull ahead for a last-minute victory this time, however, despite playing hard. It was a high-scoring game, with the Lady Wolves losing narrowly at 61-57. This was a "de facto" championship game, as described on the Rally the Regions Facebook page, as both teams were not in the official championship because of the three-point shootout.
As well as showing lots of skill in a very competitive tournament, several Wrangell players received individual recognition. Two members of the Lady Wolves were among the top 10 scorers for the rally. Kaylyn Easterly was the fifth highest scorer of the tournament, making 58 points altogether. Kiara Harrison was the tenth highest scorer with 37 points. Easterly and Harrison were also recognized and named to the girls' All Tournament Team for the rally. Players for these teams are selected for their character traits, both on and off the basketball court. Harrison was recognized for having the best attitude of the tournament, while Easterly was named the girls' top student athlete.
"It was a good learning experience for us," Brown said. "We got some things to work on ... Overall I'm pleased with their performance."
The Lady Wolves will be facing off against Metlakatla this weekend, Jan. 10 and 11. The games will be streamed on the Wrangell School District's Youtube channel, "WPSD.us Streaming."
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