Lady Nanooks put on a show in Kotzebue

If basketball fans wanted to witness competitive games in Kotzebue last week, their best bet was to find out when the Nome-Beltz girls took the floor. Three of Nome’s four games came down to the wire, with two of those contests decided in overtime.
In the Husky Shootout hosted at Kotzebue High School between January 28 to 31, the Nome girls split their four games. The Lady Nanooks began the round robin tournament last Thursday with a convincing win over Hutchison (Fairbanks), 45-31.
On Friday, the Lady Nanooks played an entertaining double-header. The Nome girls prevailed in overtime against Galena, 45-37, then fell to Delta, 42-39, in the afternoon. The Lady Nanooks came up short in an instant classic in Saturday’s finale, 44-43, in overtime against Kotzebue.
In the thriller against Galena, Nome relied on Benny Lie, Sage Gregg, and Luella Tumulak to make critical plays down the stretch. The Lady Nanooks squandered a 24-10 lead by allowing Galena to go on an 18-1 run that stretched from the third quarter into the fourth. 
Nome’s composure at the charity stripe then propelled the girls on an 8-0 run of their own, with Tumulak sinking five of Nome’s eight free throws.
“We practice our free throws a lot during breaks,” Tumulak, a junior point guard, said after the Galena game. “I usually air ball a lot. I was locked in today. I had faith in my team. We kept our composure.”
However, Galena was not finished. Davaloree Echuck’s deep 3-pointer cut the Nome lead to two with 40 seconds remaining. Galena managed to get the ball back after a Nome turnover, setting up Madison Andrew’s short jumper that tied the score, 33-33, with six seconds on the clock.
In the four-minute overtime, the Nome girls left nothing to chance. Gregg’s two buckets in the paint and a pair of free throws and Lie’s basket down low gave Nome a commanding 41-35 overtime lead.
Gregg and Lie each contributed six points in the overtime period. Lie finished the game with 14 points, Gregg notched 12 and Tumulak added eight.
“It was very exciting, the most exciting game so far this season,” Gregg said after the Galena game. “We needed this game. We knew that by bringing it defensively, it would help us offensively. We brought energy.”
The next two games involving the Lady Nanooks were nearly as exciting as the overtime win.
Against Delta, the Lady Nanooks fell behind, 40-28, early in the fourth quarter. The Nome girls then went on a 9-0 run, culminated by Gregg’s baseline jumper with 1:48 left.
A basket by Gregg cut the Nome deficit to 41-39, but Galena added another free throw to make the difference three. Lie nearly sent the game to overtime, but her 3-point attempt with six seconds remaining hit the rim and Nome couldn’t secure a rebound.
The rivalry game between the Lady Nanooks and the Lady Huskies lived up to the hype, capping off an exciting week for the Nome girls. After trailing for nearly the entire game, Gregg’s two free throws finally tied the score, 32-32, in the fourth quarter.
Kotzebue eventually took a 40-38 lead, but Tumulak’s risky outlet pass found Lie for a fastbreak. Lie’s layup tied the game, 40-40, with 1:10 on the clock. BrookLynn Crowe’s running 3-point attempt nearly won the game for Nome at the buzzer, but fate didn’t favor the Lady Nanooks.
In overtime, Lie’s bucket in the paint gave the Nome girls their first lead of the night since the score was 1-0 in the first minute. With the Lady Nanooks leading 42-40, Tumulak picked up her fifth foul, sending Nome’s most confident ball handler to the bench at the 2:28 mark.
Both teams played rugged defense down the stretch, with Norah Madison’s basket proving the difference for the Lady Huskies, who finished with a 44-43 win.
On the boys side, Nome-Beltz easily went undefeated with a 34-point average margin of victory.
Nome beat Hutchison, 77-37, last Thursday. In Friday’s double-header, Nome defeated Galena, 78-42, and knocked off Delta, 56-36. Nome closed the action with an 81-40 victory over Kotzebue.
E.J. Kone and Cohen Booth were standout players for the Nome boys. Kone led Nome with 19 points against Hutchinson and 21 against Galena.
Kone especially enjoyed playing in front of the crowd in his hometown of Kotzebue. This is Kone’s first year playing in Nome, and he hopes to eventually help deliver a third consecutive state championship to the Nanooks.
“It felt great playing against my old buds,” Kone, a senior guard, said. “In this environment, it was amazing. We went out and did our thing. I think we played with great energy.”