The Juneau-Douglas High School girls team fell to Marysville Getchell High School on Friday in the finale of the Capital City Classic. Marysville, visiting from Washington, took the Crimson Bears down 33-28.
After trailing nearly the whole game, JDHS almost put together a seven-point rally when junior post Cassie Dzinich scored a putback off a rebounded free throw to draw the score within three with 43 seconds to go.
The Chargers looked to run the clock down on the ensuing possession, forcing the Crimson Bears to foul in the double bonus. Leading scorer Gabby Grandbois split her free throws to give the Chargers a two-possession lead with just 10 seconds left.
“It was weird, because our coach was yelling at us, ‘slow it down, you don’t need to get a shot now,’” said Grandbois, who is used to playing with a shot clock. “We really had to work hard to slow things down and keep control of the ball.”
“We knew that they were a good team and a shooting team, so we tried to keep their three pointers down. We got out on their shooters and pressured them a lot.”
[PHOTOS: See photos from Day 3 of the Capital City Classic here]
Grandbois led all scorers with 14, followed by her sister, Maddy Grandbois with 10.
JDHS was led by Caitlyn Pusich with eight, Dzinich with seven and Kendyl Carson with six.
“I think we just weren’t being smart with the ball, I know I wasn’t,” Carson said. “We grew up playing together from HoopTime, and we played well together when we were little. I think we just have to rebuild that trust. … We weren’t listening as good as we should have.”
Down 22-12 a half, Dzinich’s offensive rebounding and Carson’s ball handling in the backcourt kept the home team in the game.
“We turned the ball over 27 times, that was the difference in the game,” JDHS coach Lesslie Knight said. “I think that’s just nerves and we have to figure out how to get past those nerves.”
JDHS hosts West Valley Jan. 3 and 4.
CRIMSON BEARS 28, CHARGERS 33
Juneau-Douglas 3 9 9 7 —28
Marysville 8 14 6 5 —33
Juneau-Douglas (28) — Pusich 8, Dzinich 7, Carson
6, Bohulano 4, Bathija 3
Marysville (33) — G. Grandbois 14, M. Grandbois 10,
Wika 7, Norton 1, Palm 1
Free throws — Juneau-Douglas 6-10, Marysville 6-17
3-point goals — Juneau-Douglas 2, Marysville 3
Team fouls — Juneau-Douglas 15, Marysville 14
Girls:
FALCONS 38, MOOSE 59
Thunder Mountain 5 14 11 8 —38
Palmer 12 18 12 17 —59
Thunder Mountain (38) — Jenkins-Hayes 15, N. Fenumiai
13, Kish 2, Lewis 2, Luna 2, Johnson 2, T. Fenumiai 2
Palmer (59) — Bowman 16, Suaava 10, Busbey 9, Ushmann
6, Alley 6, Dixon 6, Pettingill 4, Sutton 2
Free throws — Thunder Mountain 5-12, Palmer 13-23
3-point goals — Thunder Mountain 1, Palmer 4
Team fouls — Thunder Mountain 17, Palmer 15
Boys:
GLACIER BEARS 45, KNIGHTS 25
Haines 13 17 12 3 —45
Highlands Ranch 2 6 5 12 —25
Haines (45) — Sage 18, Swinton 11, Stigen 6, Fowler
3, Light 3, Cunningham 2, Clay 2
Highlands Ranch (25) — Littlejohn 12, Botsford 8,
Taylor 5
Free throws — Haines 8-16, Highlands Ranch 1-3
3-point goals — Haines 3
Team fouls — Haines 8, Highlands Ranch 13
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Read more Capital City Classic coverage here:
Dimond takes championship rematch
Crimson Bears boys gain experience in blowout win
JDHS girls go to wire with Palmer