Cordova’s Lady Wolverines dropped a pair of Interior Conference games to Nenana here on Jan. 22 and 23.
The unusual Monday-Tuesday games came only one day after Cordova High School won the three-day Cordova Tipoff tournament, and the seven-member squad was clearly running on empty by the completion of a marathon five games in six days.
Nenana also had their share of issues. After arriving in Cordova late Sunday, Jan. 21, they were roused from their classroom beds and sent to Mt. Eccles Elementary when it was discovered the heating system at the high school was out of order. Their stay at Mt. Eccles was interrupted by the tsunami warning early Tuesday, with the elementary school serving as a gathering point for many evacuated Cordovans.
The Lady Lynx finished second at 2A State last year. It was their first appearance in the finals, and their visit to Cordova also provided another first.
Nenana is located on the banks of the Tanana River near Fairbanks, and over 300 miles from the nearest ocean.
“It’s safe to say the kids had never heard a tsunami warning siren before,” chuckled longtime Lynx Coach Colin Stone. “However, they are used to hearing a siren go off when the Tripod of the Nenana Ice Classic tips over.”
That very Tripod can be seen right outside the windows of Nenana High, a boarding school which attracts students from all over the state.
Cordova stayed close to the Lynx through the first half of the Monday game, trailing 18-16. But CHS managed only one basket in the third quarter, a three pointer by Jieller Tabara, while all five Nenana starters combined for 15 points in that stretch.
The Lynx won by a 37-29 final in what was only their third game of the season. Tabara led Cordova with 12 points, all on three pointers.
Nenana was in cruise control the next night, pouring in 22 points in the second quarter enroute to a 52-30 win. Edrea Navarro topped the Cordova scoring with 10 points.
The Lady Wolverines are now 2-2 in conference play, and 6-5 overall, excluding a pair of endowment game losses to Valdez back in December.
Their next games will be here on Feb. 2 and 3 versus Glennallen, during the Iceworm Festival.
