Nanook teams get to play two games
Both Nanook teams, boys and girls, played games on Saturday against local squads. The Lady Nanooks played the boys junior varsity team and the boys played a strong alumni team.
The alums proved getting older can mean getting better as they downed the varsity team by a score of 56 to 54 in a game that was intense and entertaining to watch. The boys game was scheduled for Friday but had to be postponed a day because of the storm.
“There was a lot of talent out there with the adults, a lot of guys who played here and were great players,” said Nanook coach and school athletic director Pat Callahan. “At the half we were up 27-13 and I knew that the old guys would have a lot more pride than to keep it going the other way and so it was good. We wanted a close, competitive game. Didn’t care if we won or lost? We needed a good close game.”
The alums went ahead in the fourth quarter and then it was close all the way to the final horn. It looks like there will be games with Unalakleet this coming weekend. The Nome-Beltz boys will travel to Unalakleet and Unalakleet girls will play in Nome on Saturday. After two more weeks, the boys will play in Nome and the girls in Unalakleet. A vote by the Bering Strait School District Board of Education on Friday made travel for the sports teams possible.
“Half of us play together in city league, so just to get a rhythm and get the right rotations, we finally figured it out in the fourth quarter,” said alum David Stickel after the game. He was upbeat about the victory. Half the team plays city league together as the Eskimobros. Did he think their size advantage helped them to the win? “They’re kind of big, too,” said Stickel. “Dawson’s a big guard. Caden is a big guard. They’ve got good shooters. They’ve got a good year ahead of them if can get to play anybody.”
On the girls side the game was lopsided, the JV boys winning 70 to 25. “We really appreciated that game,” said girls coach Brooks Fry. “We had the opportunity to work on things against a bigger, faster, stronger team, which is incredibly beneficial for us. We really appreciated and enjoyed the experience.”
The JV boys showed some great skills and also demonstrated yet one more time that taller height pays off in basketball. “I thought it was fun,” said Lady Nanook player Claire Fry. “I really appreciated being able to play rough on the boys because they don’t mind. They don’t get mad at me if I scratch them.”
“A lot of times, the girls coach will ask JV boys to come in and play in their practice,” said Coach Callahan. “They can press and be aggressive and this year we decided to run it as a regular game because the kids need games. I was hoping it would be more competitive than it was but that’s the way it went.”
Summary of game action from Saturday, Feb. 6
Nome JV Boys 70 Lady Nanooks 25
Lady Nanooks - Della Medlin 5, Claire Fry 7, Aralye Lie 0, Sophia Marble 0, Kellie Miller 4, Natallie Tobuk 9, Macey Witrosky 0, Georgianna Ustaszewski 0, Kaitlyn Johnson 0.
Nome JV Boys - Richard Cross 9, Son Erikson 8, Beah Jorgensen 2, Deacon Callahan 7, Joe Martinson 8, Alfred Omedelina 15, Jon Smith 12, Bert Kuzuguk 5, Hayden Leeper 2, Michael Marvin 3
Adult Team 56 Nome Varsity Boys 54
Adult - Lonnie Gooden 5, Skye Shipton 9, Tyler Eide 11, Jesse Blandford 12, Jens Irelan 2, Cody Sherman 2, Casey Sherman 8, Brandon Thomas 2, Michael Hawkins 2, David Stickel 3, Bobby Koezuna 0
Boys Varsity - Dawson Schaeffer 24, Caden Hanebuth 8, Haylen O'Connor 3, Ethan Hannon 2, Jade Greene 8, Stephan Anderson 9, Son Erikson 0, Richard Cross 0
Middle School Girls White 37 Middle School Girls Blue 34
White - Taylor Gorn 17, Kaya Kent 2, Brooklyn Crowe 8, Jada Sherman 5, Katie Minix 1, Claire Fagerstrom 2,
Jocelynn Takak 2
Blue - Wookie Nichols 10, Alora Stasenko 9, Benny Lie 11, Julia Sinnok 0, Sage Gregg 4, Cassidy Martinson 0, Sara James 0, Miranda Iyutunguk 0
Nome JV Boys 38 Middle School Boys A 34
JV Boys - Richard Cross 15, Son Erikson 8, Beah Jorgensen 4, Hayden Leeper 0, Deacon Callahan 3, Joe Martinson 4, Alfred Omedelina 1, Jon Smith 1, Mike Marvin 0, Bert Kuzuguk 0
Nome Middle School Blue 23 Nome Middle School White 10
Blue - Patrick Ongtowasruk 2, Phoenix Hall 0, Shane Ozenna 0, Trent Osbrone 15, Treydon Thomas 0, Fred Holmes 0, Cole Gray 0, Rylee Weyanna-Olanna 2, Brandon Rose 4
White - Carter Gray 2, Charles Mayac 0, Jaiden Sookiayak-Moriarty 0, Josh Contreras 1, Kevin Angusuc 5, Korbin Knifer 0, Ethan Moore 2, Talan Johnson 0
Cohen Booth 0, Finn Gregg 18, Lane Schurch 6, Mason Janke 0, Orson Hoogendorn 5, Peyton Weyiouanna 3, Young Erikson 0
