Teams take on Petersburg players with mix of wins and losses

The high school basketball teams traveled to Petersburg last Friday for two days of intense play against the Vikings and Lady Vikings that resulted in a mix of wins and losses for the junior varsity and varsity boys teams and hard wins for the girls varsity.

Junior varsity

The competition began Friday afternoon when the Wrangell JV boys team took on the home team in two 10-minute periods. Due to illness, there weren't enough players, so a modified game of four-man teams took place.

Unlike the previous week when Petersburg came to Wrangell and the JV team far outscored the visiting team, this time Petersburg put up a much bigger fight during its homecoming weekend. It was a tight game at times, but the first period ended with Wrangell ahead, 21-15.

In the second period, Petersburg increased its defense and began sinking buckets. The score was tied in the final 90 seconds of play, but the home team started breaking through Wrangell's defense to score three goals, leading to a final score of 33-28, Petersburg.

Saturday's JV game was much of the same, with both teams presenting a strong defense. This time, Wrangell was able to hold on to its lead, winning 32-30.

Boys varsity

The Vikings put the first two points on the board in last Friday's game against the Wolves on free throws. Wrangell didn't score any points until four and a half minutes into play. Both teams presented a strong defense throughout the game, keeping each other from the net. By the third period, the score was 14-13, Petersburg. Neither team scored until almost three minutes into the quarter.

Every time Wrangell would catch up, Petersburg would pull ahead, eventually winning 29-26.

On Saturday, the Wolves were slow to get on the board, but once they started scoring, they started widening their lead. At times, Wrangell held a 10-point lead over Petersburg. The Vikings showed aggressive playing, stealing the ball every chance they had. In the fourth quarter, the home team surged from behind to a cheering crowd. Down to the last few seconds it looked like Petersburg could overcome the visiting Wolves, but it wasn't enough and Wrangell ended the weekend with a win, 39-37.

Girls varsity

After the close matches in the previous weekend's games against Petersburg, the Lady Wolves seemed to have a new confidence stepping onto court in last Friday's rematch.

Within 15 seconds of play, junior Kiara Harrison sank a three-pointer and followed that with another basket. The Lady Vikings weren't about to be shown up on their home turf and started upping their defense, while plowing ahead in points. The first period ended with Petersburg ahead, 10-7.

In the second period, a series of fouls against Wrangell gave the players a chance to keep the game tied with free throws. Throughout the third and fourth periods, the fouls kept coming, but Wrangell used them to slowly gain on the home team.

Much like the last time the Lady Wolves faced the Lady Vikings, there was only a two-point difference in the final score, and much like last time, the Lady Wolves won, 32-30.

Despite winning the tipoff in last Saturday's game, Petersburg quickly lost possession of the ball and Wrangell scored within moments. The play was often frenetic, with the Lady Vikings keeping defense solid. In the final few seconds of the first period, a Petersburg player made an overhand hook shot to tie it, 7-7.

Wrangell was not about to have a repeat of previous close calls. The Lady Wolves held their opponents to seven points in the second period until less than a minute left, when Petersburg finally scored to make it 22-10 Wrangell after two periods.

Wrangell continued with a strong second half, particularly a strong defense, and won 36-19.

"The Lady Wolves were focused and balanced this weekend," said head coach Christina Good. "Better passing and rebounding efforts helped tremendously in both games. I feel fairly good where we are right now, but we will continue to work hard on mental toughness and staying strong as a team."

Good said the team's theme for the season has been "'play with a purpose,' and that's what we intend to do."

Wrangell is scheduled to travel to Ketchikan for Southeast regionals March 9-12.