Last season:<\/strong> 13-16, 4-4 Southeast<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Top Players:<\/strong> Senior guard Bryson Echiverri, senior guard Brady Carandang<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Outlook:<\/strong> The Falcons return an experienced senior class that includes its strongest offensive weapons from last year — Bryson Echiverri and Brady Carandang. Echiverri was named to the All-Southeast Conference<\/a> team after averaging 14 points per game as a junior. The Falcons have been eliminated in the Region V Tournament four years running by Juneau-Douglas: Yadaat.at Kalé. Twice in the last four years, the Region V 4A champion — JDHS in 2016 and Ketchikan earlier this year — has gone on to win the state championship.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Coach John Blasco:<\/strong> “I really am pleased with my senior class and how much work they’ve put in this offseason. I think we’ve got some good returning talent — several starters and some key players from last year. They’ve got a close camaraderie that early in the season is valuable and hopefully they stay strong throughout the year. They’ve been playing together a long time and really hold each other accountable and I think that’s important.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t JUNEAU-DOUGLAS GIRLS<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Last season:<\/strong> 16-11, 6-2 Southeast<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Top players:<\/strong> Senior guard Kendyl Carson, senior guard Sadie Tuckwood<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Outlook:<\/strong> Kendyl Carson, who won an Oregon Class 3A state championship with Prairie High School in March<\/a>, is set to make her return for the Crimson Bears after playing the last two years in the Lower 48. The senior guard will help fill the ball handling and scoring void left by Caitlin Pusich and Alyxn Bohulano, two all-conference guards that graduated in the spring. New head coach Steve Potter<\/a> said the squad has more depth this season to apply full-court defense. With the return of Carson, Sadie Tuckwood, Jenae Pusich and Kiana Potter, JDHS will be the favorites to end Ketchikan’s six year run of Region V championships<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Coach Steve Potter:<\/strong> “I was disappointed with how we finished last year, but I still feel like the program has been getting stronger. When I started (coaching the girls team about five years ago), there were no decisions really on how who was going to play because you had just a couple kids that had really any idea what was going on. Now, there’s going to be competition for playing time.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t THUNDER MOUNTAIN GIRLS<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Last season:<\/strong> 8-21, 1-7 Southeast<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Top players:<\/strong> Senior forward Tasi Fenumiai, senior guard Taz Hauck<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Outlook:<\/strong> Despite the valiant play of since-graduated Nina Fenumiai, the Falcons ended last season on an 11-game losing streak, with six of the losses coming against JDHS and Ketchikan. New coach Andy Lee will try to turn the ship around this season and has been encouraged by a strong turnout from open gyms. The Falcons will again be the underdog against Juneau-Douglas and Ketchikan.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Coach Andy Lee:<\/strong> “The challenge is maintaining that excitement level and a part of that is creating a fundamentally sound system so that they enjoy playing. If you don’t have skills and you’re not in shape, this is a very difficult game to play. If we can instill the self-discipline that it takes over the next six, eight, 10 weeks to enhance their skills, in February, we’re going to have a lot of fun.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
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