Back again: Ninilchik girls look to add to 8 state titles

Because it draws teams to Anchorage from Bush communities all over Alaska, the Class 2A state tournament is known for first-round mystery opponents.

Many times, players or coaches are lucky if they know where an opponent is located on the map, much less whether the point guard can shoot the 3 or drive to the bucket using the left hand.

That's not the case with the Ninilchik girls basketball team this year. Thanks to a trip to a Southeast tournament in early January, the Wolverines have faced off against four teams in the eight-team tournament, including first-round opponent Noorvik. Ninilchik faces Noorvik on Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at Sullivan Arena.

But even with that rare familiarity, Ninilchik coach Rod Van Saun sounds an awful lot like any other coach at the tournament.

"What it all comes down to is who brings their A game when they get up under the bright lights," said Van Saun. "Great players make great plays when they step up on that big stage."

At the Yakutat tournament on Jan. 9, Ninilchik lost to Noorvik 33-22.

"They are a good team with a strong inside game and a strong point guard," Van Saun said. "They probably have the best decision-making point guard I've seen in 2A this year."

Ninilchik has been to every state tournament since 1992, winning eight titles in that time. Such success does not lead to backing down after a previous defeat.

"I feel that we can beat them this time," said Ninilchik senior Lindsay Schnabl. "We weren't as strong as we are now. We learned from the past."

Ninilchik's roster lists five seniors, but looks can be deceiving. Schnabl and Lindsey Rohr have been playing together 10 years, but fellow seniors Brittani Motoyama, Stevie Klein and Cassie Fefelov transferred into the program this year.

"We've had a lot of problems adjusting to everything this year, but I think we've been doing better," Rohr said. "We had three senior transfers, so we're just really learning how to play with each other."

Rohr also said injuries and sickness have kept the team apart enough to impair the bonding process.

Fefelov has been out the last month with a leg injury. She has been testing the injury this week in practice, but she still is a question mark for state.

"She is very fast and changes our defense completely," Rohr said. "Without her, we're probably missing 15 to 17 points a game."

The injury bug also bit Rohr in the Peninsula Conference tourney game, when she smacked her head on the floor and broke her nose in an opening-round victory over Seldovia. She came back to play in that game and in every game for the rest of the tournament.

The Wolverines lost in the championship game, but came back to win second place.

"It's pretty good now, but it's still hard to breathe out of," Rohr said. "The cuts on the top of the nose are going away."

Both Rohr and Schnabl said the Wolverines were not at their best in the conference tournament.

"Hopefully, it was a wake-up call to get our stuff together and play together as a team," Schnabl said.

Ninilchik fell behind early in both the championship and second-place games.

"I feel like I'm never out of the game with this team," Van Saun said. "At the same time, we want to stop putting our backs against the wall. That's getting a little old."

Also in Ninilchik's half of the bracket is three-time defending state champion Yakutat, which edged the Wolverines at the buzzer, 39-37, in January.

Van Saun said he doesn't think Yakutat is the tournament favorite, though. He said the favorite is Skagway, which beat Ninilchik 62-24 and lost to Yakutat in last year's Class 2A state title game.