By Liam Wirak-Cassidy

The Haines Glacier Bear basketball teams are back from a whirlwind five-game 1,300 mile road trip featuring two games in Fairbanks and three games at the Richard Fraser Memorial Tournament in Tok. The boys went 4-1 on the trip while the girls went 5-0 and added another tournament championship to their growing list of accomplishments.

Traditionally, a Glacier Bear basketball season is made up of four home series and four away series against their Region V 2A rivals. This year is something of an anomaly in which the teams play Wrangell and Craig at home and travel to Petersburg and Metlakatla. To flesh out their regular season schedule, they’ve added two lengthy road trips into Alaska’s interior. Next season the schedule is set to return to the normal pattern of hosting and visiting the other four teams that they compete with in the region.

Long days sitting in a van instead of riding the state ferry or flying have pros and cons according to senior Eric Gilham. “It hurts more. It’s harder to get loose at least for the first day or so.” But in terms of what it does for team bonding, “It’s a lot better. I like it.”

“The girls’ van is pretty quiet,” reports senior Grace Long Godinez. “We sleep a lot.”

At this point in the season, the Glacier Bear girls are a well-oiled machine and when they arrived at the Eielson Air Force base to face the Ben Eielson Ravens, they were firing on all cylinders. Godinez Long led the charge scoring 18 points in a 63-13 trouncing of the Ravens. Next, they faced the Effie Kokrine Early College Charter School in Fairbanks and took a 48-1 lead at the half on the way to a 74-10 victory. Ashlyn Ganey and Gracie Stickler were the high scorers with 14 points apiece.

In the boys’ game against Ben Eielson, Haines emerged with a 60-55 victory, paced by Gilham’s 23 points and Luke Davis’s 19. Against the Effie Kokrine Warriors they let a seven-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter when the Warriors drained two free throws to tie it with 11 seconds left in regulation. Gilham brought the ball across midcourt and dished to Davis who dribbled and fired off a running three pointer as time expired. The shot didn’t go in, but Davis was fouled on the play and drained his first free throw for an 81-80 win. Gilham finished with 38 points.

Then it was tournament time in Tok. In the first round the girls faced a team that combined players from Nulato and Minto High Schools. Ten different Glacier Bears put points on the board including Raven Hotch who came off the bench for eight second-half points. Ari’el Long Godinez was the high scorer with 17. Haines came away with a 65-46, their narrowest margin of victory on the road trip.

In the second round against the hometown Tok Wolverines, the same 10 Glacier Bears put up points, 16 apiece for Long Godinez and Gracie Stickler. Early in the fourth quarter with the Glacier Bears leading by 40, the “mercy rule” went into effect, meaning the clock no longer stopped after a whistle or a made basket. Haines won 78-31 to advance to the tournament finals.

In the final, they faced the Fort Yukon Eagles and scored a whopping 29 points in the first quarter. The comfortable lead allowed Coach Coleman Stanford to give ample playing time to all 12 players on his roster. By the fourth quarter, Stanford called off the tenacious full-court trapping press that has been his team’s signature defense and rested his seniors. They won the game 60-30 for their second straight tournament championship. Ari’el Long Godinez led the way with 19 points by hustling on defense to create fast break opportunities and converting seven free throws after she was fouled while shooting.

Gracie Stickler earned her way onto the All-Tournament Team with her solid play in the low post. Ashlyn Ganey was named to the Sportsmanship Award Team.

The average margin of victory over the five games was 42 points for the Haines girls. The seniors on the team remember being on the other side of some lopsided games not too long ago. Senior Malia Jorgenson-Geise reflected, “From our freshman year being the ones mercy-ruled to our senior year being the mercy-rulers, it shows how much hard work and dedication we put into it.”

The first round of the Richard Fraser Memorial tournament featured a rematch between the Glacier Bear boys and Effie Kokrine, two days after their epic barnburner in Fairbanks.

This time Haines was unable to hold off a late game surge by the Warriors who started the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run and came away with a 72-69 win. Gilham had 38 points in the losing effort.

Unlike the previous tournament, there was no way for a team to advance to the finals after a loss, the way the Haines boys had two weeks earlier when they won the Rally in Denali Tournament in Talkeetna. The next two games would serve only as opportunities for the Glacier Bears to continue to progress as a team. As Coach Don Nash was eager to point out, “The boys are playing at a very high level as a team right now. We’ve changed our goals because we feel that much better about what we can expect.”

Despite the tough first round loss, the Glacier Bears showed no signs of letting up against their second-round opponent, the Nulato Wolves. Four different players took turns running the point, senior Luke Davis, sophomore Alex Weerasinghe and freshmen Colton Combs and JC Davis. Ten players scored as coaches Nash and James Hart gave a lot of playing time to the reserves on the very deep Haines bench. Gilham only played about half of the game, but when he was on the floor there was very little the Wolves could do to stop him. He finished with 33 points and Luke Davis had 24. Haines won 85-43.

In their last game of the tournament, Haines faced Fort Yukon. Luke Davis came out hot and scored his team’s first eight points. He led the way in scoring with 24 points and once again all 12 players saw significant court action. The Glacier Bears won 69-48, their seventh victory in the last 10 games. Garrett Stickler was named to the Tournament’s Sportsmanship Award Team.

Now the teams have just a few days to prepare for their final home series this weekend against the Craig Panthers. Gilham is looking forward to an opportunity to play Craig in the regular season, something they haven’t had a chance to do since his freshman year. “I’m excited we’re going to meet them before regionals. It’s very nice to see them before the games really count.”

The girls have already met Craig once this year, in the finals of the Rally in Denali, a game that Haines trailed in until they won with a last second three pointer and they’re ready to play their fellow tournament contenders on their home court.

“If we were to go back to our freshman year and compare it to now, the gym is packed and people are excited,” said Jorgenson-Geise. “It gives us confidence and makes us excited.”

Godinez Long agreed, “After games, it’s exciting because community members want to talk to us about the games.”

Fans can get in on the excitement this Friday, Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m. and Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. in the Haines Gymnasium. Games will also be broadcast on Glacier Bear YouTube.

After that, the Haines teams travel to Metlakatla for their final regular season series.