The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé girls varsity basketball team played their first game of the season Wednesday in the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, defeating the local Cimarron-Memorial High School Spartans 45-21.
The game was played at Durango High School and with a 35-second shot clock. All nine Crimson Bears found the court and seven scored, giving a balance to the game that is special so early in the season.
“It was a good shake-down game for us,” JDHS head coach Tanya Nizich said. “Great to be able to get lots of minutes for everyone. We coaches were pleased with how the team looked for the open player, and later in the second half our ball movement created a nice flow where we could find better open shots and were able to enter the ball into the inside.”
JDHS led 32-13 at the half.
“You always can improve from each game moving forward,” Nizich said. “This game in particular I would have to say being patient and allowing things to develop. Not using a shot and looking for an easy score. We don’t need to make it difficult on ourselves. Defensively, we got a lot of touches, hustled and dove on loose balls.”
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears girls basketball team pose at The Orleans Hotel upon their arrival in Las Vegas for the Tarkanian Classic Tournament. (Photo courtesy JDHS Crimson Bears)
JDHS junior Gwen Nizich led the Crimson Bears with 11 points, including three past the arc, senior Kerra Baxter added nine points, junior Cambry Lockhart eight points (two shots past the arc), senior Addison Wilson six points on two shots past the arc, senior Cailynn Baxter five points (including one basket past the arc), senior Mary Johnson three points on a deep shot and sophomore Layla Tokuoka three points on a field goal and a free throw.
The Crimson Bears hit 2-7 at the charity stripe, the Spartans 4-10.
Cimarron-Memorial’s Kiera Kaughi led all scorers with 13 points, Jazlyn Arellano added six and Jasmine Ponce two.
JDHS next plays Thursday against Carle View (Colorado), a 64-16 winner over Clark (Nevada). There are 16 teams in the Crimson Bears bracket and 48 teams playing in four brackets. The tournament runs through Saturday.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
