The Koliganek Huskies couldn't capitalize on their home-court advantage in their season opener. They suffered a rough 48-26 defeat at the hands of Manokotak on Friday. While losing is never fun, Koliganek can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Alaska basketball rankings (they are ranked 81st, while the Lynx are ranked 19th).
Koliganek's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kristin Tunguing, who scored 11 points. Another player making a difference was Emily Tunguing, who scored eight points.
Manokotak had a senior duo take command as Vicki Paul scored 21 points and Kelisha Gloko scored 21 points. That makes it three consecutive games in which Paul has scored at least a third of Manokotak's points.
Koliganek's defeat dropped their record down to 0-1. As for Manokotak, their win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-2.
Koliganek won't have much time to rest: their next match is against the Lynx at 10:00 a.m. on January 20th. As for Manokotak, they won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against the Huskies at 10:00 a.m. on January 20th.
