The Wrangell high school girls basketball team opened their season with back-to-back home losses against Metlakatla. In the Dec. 20 game, Wrangell lost 64-22. The next day, the Wolves fell 62-24.
Though neither game was much of a contest, head coach Christy Good understands that at this point in the season generating results comes second to building positive habits. She also noted that the Wolves were without four of their 11 rostered players, including star sophomore Alana Harrison.
“We have a lot of things to work on,” Good said. “We needed the games to have some exposure. Exposure can also really point you to the things you need to work on.”
The games against Metlakatla were out-of-conferences matchups, meaning the losses will not contribute to Wrangell’s standing in Southeast.
Additionally, the defeats were not without any glimmers of good.
Due to the notable absences, Good opted to plug in sophomore Alexis Easterly down low. Though Easterly managed 11 points in both games, Good hopes to eventually move her farther from the basket and give the sharpshooter some more space to operate on the wing. Regardless, Easterly was Wrangell’s highest scorer in both the Friday and Saturday games.
Good also mentioned she was impressed with Christina Johnson’s performances. She praised “the great three-point shooter” for her offensive contributions across both games.
The Wolves were on a bye this past week, but will play in Metlakatla on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 3-4.
After the home defeats, Good understands it likely isn’t a realistic goal to travel to Metlakatla and expect to get winning results.
“I’m telling them, ‘I don’t want you guys to focus on the score. I want you to focus on what you can do individually and as a team. Work on the things you’re working on at practice.’ I want them to be consistent in shooting, ball handling, just depending on each other. … It’s the smaller things,” she said. “At this point in the season, they just have to learn to trust one another.”
After the upcoming trip to Metlakatla, the Wolves will play at Petersburg on Jan. 10-11 before their second home series of the season, this time against Haines on Jan. 17-18.
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