The Haines Lady Glacier Bears captured their second straight Jamie Shaw Memorial Tournament title this past weekend.

The girls’ bronze medal game featured the Porter Creek Secondary School (PCSS) taking on the St. Francis Crusaders.

PCSS only had one sub, whereas the Crusaders were working with a deep bench.

Despite that, PCSS started out strong, grabbing an early 8-2 lead on the strength of Navaeh Malcolm’s strong shooting. They ended the first quarter up 14-4.

The Crusaders came storming back in the second quarter, as PCSS’s shooting went stone cold. The half ended with St. Francis on top 22-14, as they shut out PCSS in the second quarter.

Winnie Zhang was having a strong game for St. Francis, including a couple of steals, one of which resulted in a layup for her.

PCSS seemed to be running out of gas in the third quarter, only managing to finally score another basket midway through the frame. The score stood at 35-18 Crusaders at the end of the third.

PCSS and Navaeh Malcolm regained their shooting touch in the fourth, but the hill was too steep to climb, as they fell 44-30 to St. Francis.

St. Francis acting coach Janet Clarke said she thought the game was “excellent.”

She said the energy was a little low at the beginning, but then “one of their teammates, Mia Warren, said, ‘C’mon, they want this more than we do, we need to push up the game.’ They delivered. And lots of support, so it made my coaching job very easy.”

Clarke said the key was “working on shots and positioning.”

Besides Zhang, Clarke said Warren had a strong semifinal and Sarah Svoboda had a strong bronze medal game.

“Both of them are very strong.”

Clarke attributed their big bench to a lot of girls wanting to play.

“Today, we put all of our stronger players out and then once we got a little ahead, I wanted to make sure everybody on the bench had a chance to get out there.”

Clarke added, “I knew Jamie Shaw. My boys both went here and he was their teacher, so it’s wonderful that this continues on in his memory.”

PCSS coach Becky Miller said, “I was so proud of these young athletes. We had no subs this weekend, really, and they played with grit and determination and they didn’t stop the whole time. So I’m a little bit in awe of their ability to rise to the occasion. Also, we had mostly juniors playing for us in a senior tournament. And to watch them come out and not be intimidated and to work their butts off, it was really nice, really inspiring.”

Miller said they had some girls out sick, at work, and injured.

Miller confirmed her girls were very tired at the end of the game.

“They’re exhausted.”

Miler added it was nice to see the team from Haines there.

“They’re a very well-disciplined team. They have really strong foundational skills. It’s good for our girls to play against better players. They’ve learned a ton.”

The final featured the Haines Lady Glacier Bears versus F.H. Collins Warriors in a lively atmosphere.

Haines had a short bench, while F.H. had many subs.

The tight contest was 15-15 after the first quarter.

The Glacier Bears point guard, Ari’El Long Godinez, had another strong final, drawing multiple fouls that kept her going to the free-throw line.

The Bears had success by concentrating on getting the ball down low to Gracie Stickler and Raven Hotch.

The hard-fought game featured many battles over the ball.

The score was deadlocked at 26-26 at the half.

Haines held a narrow 41-39 lead after three quarters.

Emma Dorn had a hot hand for Haines in the fourth, while Warriors’ point guard Grace Machtans did her best to match Dorn basket for basket.

F.H.’s offence was slowed down by multiple travelling calls in the quarter.

Haines pulled away and ended up winning 63-54.

After the game, Haines coach Coleman Stanford said, “We lost four seniors from our team, so they’re filling roles and they’re figuring it out and they’re doing a good job.”

As for the key to victory, Stanford said, “It’s always hard work. That’s what I told them before the game, that’s what I told them at halftime.”

Stanford added, “I think the key to that game was the press at the end. It blindsided them; I don’t think they expected that. And our three-point shooting.”

Of the game, Stanford said, “I loved it. That was great. That’s exactly how you want it to go. You want good competitive play. Everybody was working hard and the last three minutes of the game went our way. I couldn’t ask for more.”

F.H. coach Ann Jirousek said, “I thought it was a winnable game for us. It was nice and tight, which was great. It’s a good teaching moment for the girls to battle in those tough game situations.”

Jirousek said they also had a few injuries to contend with.

She said her team made a few mistakes.

“We threw the ball cross-court, so it was an easy pick-off.”

Jirousek said, “It was nice playing against Haines. It was nice to battle against another team like that.”

Jirousek pointed to Robyn Mueller, who was home sick earlier in the day, as having a strong game.

“She wasn’t 100 per cent, but gave 100 per cent of what she could and played with a lot of heart.”

Machtans played with knee and ankle injuries and never left the court.

Jirousek added it was good to honour Jamie Shaw in doing something he loved to do.

In the boys’ semifinal game, F.H. Collins won a close game over Skagway 78-73.

In the boy’s final, St. Francis triumphed over F.H. Collins 95-46.

There were 140 players on two alumni teams, six senior boys teams and four senior girls teams playing in the tourney.