Lady Wolves get a split in tight games against Craig

The Wrangell varsity girls split against Craig in tight games last weekend, ending their nine-game losing streak in the second game. The team ended the regular season with a 3-and-9 record.

Craig hosted Wrangell on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23 and 24. In the first game, the home team beat the visiting Lady Wolves 52-48, but Wrangell came back on Saturday to defeat the Lady Panthers 49-41.

Both games were tight contests. The first one could have easily gone in their favor, but it was in the second game’s fourth quarter where Wrangell steadily pulled ahead, giving them a definitive lead.

Lady Wolves head coach Christina Good said that while her team suffered from momentum changes in the first game, she felt the girls played great games on both nights, citing the players’ efforts in putting together an excellent press and great rebounding. “Our defense in general was just really good,” she added.

She admitted that in their first game, the team didn’t do a good job of shutting down Craig’s star player Sara Steffen, who scored 34 points. However, in the second game they were able to contain her and held her to just 10 points.

Friday’s top scorers for Wrangell were freshman Alexa Easterly with 11 points, while sophomore Christina Johnson and freshman Hailey Cook both scored 9. Freshman Alana Harrison was at the top scorer Saturday with 17 points, while Easterly scored 10.

Leading in rebounds on both nights were sophomore Shailyn Nelson, Easterly and Harrison.

Good also gave a special shout-out to senior Mindy Meissner for her tremendous defense on Saturday.

During Craig’s senior recognition event prior to Saturday’s games, where athletes playing their final home games are recognized and honored by the school and fans, the school also recognized seniors from Wrangell, including Meissner.

The final games of the regular season will be between Craig and Petersburg on March 1-2 in Petersburg, which will determine if the Lady Wolves will be ranked third, fourth or fifth seed in regionals and whether the first team they play will be Metlakatla, which is currently ranked as the first seed with a 16-2 record. Good is hoping that her team won’t play Metlakatla too soon in the tournament.

“Everything is going to depend on Craig and Petersburg,” she said. “It’s super important. There’s a lot of pressure on that, so we’ll see.”