When was the last time you saw a basketball team down to three players hang on and win?
That’s what happened in the Saturday, March 7, game between the Cordova and Glennallen girls, as the Panthers, who suited up only five players, had two of them foul out in the closing minutes, yet somehow hung on to win by a 30-24 final.
Cordova trailed 9-8 at the quarter, 17-12 half time, and 21-14 after three periods. CHS outscored Glennallen 10-9 in the final stanza, with the Panthers deploying a skimpy 1-2 zone in the late going, but couldn’t close the gap.
Jacey Pallas led Cordova with 8 points; Grace Jacobsen topped Glennallen with 13.
The Friday, March 6 matchup was almost as bizarre. One of the Glennallen players sprained an ankle early in the game, so Cordova had a 5-4 advantage for most of the first half. CHS held the Panthers scoreless in the second quarter to take a 12-11 lead.
In the second half, Glennallen had the injured player, wearing an ankle brace, stay on the defensive end of the court, opting to go 4 against 5 on offense only. Cordova gradually pulled away to win 29-25.
Andrea Vargas led the Lady Wolverines with 8 points; Alexandra Hoke topped the Glennallen scoring with 12.
Both games ended with basketball-wise local fans applauding the teams for their efforts.
“It’s been quite a season”, said Panther Coach Jubilee Sutherland, a former Alaska 2A Player of the Year at Glennallen. “We went out to play Unalaska and got stuck there for 9 days due to weather. And then these two unusual games.”
The Lady Wolverines finished the regular season with a 7-14 overall record, and a 5-5 mark in conference play.
The three-day conference playoffs will be held at SuValley, from March 12-14.
Individual scoring
Game 1: Cordova: Hamberger 3, Ronkar 7, Vargas 8, Pallas 4, Jacobs 6, Tiedeman 1. Glennallen: Palacios 8, Hoke 12, Jacobsen 5. Game 2: Hamberger 3, Ronkar 1, Vargas 6, Pallas 8, Jacobs 6. Glennallen: Nollner 3, Palacios 9, Hoke 2, Finau 3, Jacobsen 13.
