Cordova’s Lady Wolverines seem to be headed in the right direction. With conference playoffs a few weeks away, they notched a win and lost three close games at the Ninilchik Invitational Tournament on Feb. 15-18.
In the opening round game against Bristol Bay, Cordova was literally seconds away from victory. Battling back from a 12-2 first quarter deficit they trailed 22-23 with six minutes to go, and took the lead 33-32 on a three-pointer by Shaunessi Schandel with 1:30 left in the game.
But a foul by Cordova with two seconds left put Bristol Bay at the free-throw line, and they made both shots to win 34-33.
Katie Pallas led Cordova with 10 points.
“I was really proud of the girls,” said Coach Stacie Chappell. “We left Cordova on the ferry at 3:45 a.m., arrived at Whittier at 11:45 a.m. The bus was an hour late due to snow drifts, so got to Ninilchik with 30 minutes until game time. The girls were a bit lethargic at first, but kept improving as the game went on.”
Next up was Nenana on Feb. 16. Cordova lost another close contest by a 45-39 final.
“We played with patience and as a unit on offense,” said Chappell. “Shaunessi Schandel lead our scoring with 21 points.”
On Feb. 17, Cordova exploded for 50 points to defeat Ninilchik by a 50-30 final. Alayna Goss, Katie Pallas and Shaunessi Schandel each had 11 points for Cordova.
“Day three and Lady Wolverines pull away with a win,” said Chappell. “Our girls pulled together even stronger than yesterday and it resulted in a well-deserved win.”
In their fourth game on Feb. 18, Cordova lost to Tri-Valley 26-39.
“The girls worked hard and battled,” said Chappell. “One of our best games of the year even though we lost.”
Cordova’s Shaunessi Schandel was named to the All-Tournament team.
Cordova faces Tok here on Feb. 24-25 to wrap up the regular season before regionals at Glennallen on March 9-11.
The Cordova girls have gone through growing pains this year with a 3-16 record. This series could be a chance to gain more momentum going into regionals.
