Bethel girls drop OT thriller to Kotzebue

It's the Warriors vs. the Huskies during last weekend's basketball action at the WarriorDome. Above Bethel star Courtney Williams shoots over a defender for 2 points.

by Tommy Wells

For the Bethel Regional High School Lady Warriors, a scoring drought came at the worst possible time on Friday in the opener of their two-game series with the Kotzebue Lady Huskies. It came in overtime.

Kotzebue escaped with a tough 29-25 victory by outscoring Bethel by a narrow 4-0 margin in OT. The Lady warriors carried the momentum into the extra frame, having outscored the Lady Huskies by a 14-12 in the second half en route to tying the game at 25-25 at the end of regulation.

One of the Western Conference’s top scorers, Courtney Williams helped BRHS get off to a quick start. She pushed in a shot from the field and then hit on three of five attempts from the charity stripe and helped BRHS scratch out a narrow 9-8 lead.

Deja Jackson and Brittney Boney also added shots from the field in the first.

The offense went stone cold for both teams from there. Both teams combined for seven points in the second quarter.

Kotzebue held a slim 13-11 advantage at the half.

The Lady Huskies posted a 7-6 run in the third and built a 20-17 heading into the fourth.

Katie Crow came alive for the Lady Warriors in the final eight minutes. She poured in six of her team-high 10 points in the frame and helped the BRHS girls reel off an 8-5 edge and tie the game at 25-25.

Kotzebue sank four free throws in the OT frame to account for the scoring.

Williams finished with nine points. Jackson, Boney and Sabrina Crow all added two.

Alanna Conwell led all Kotzebue scorers with nine.

Kotzebue reeled off a stunning 7-0 run in the second quarter on Saturday and raced to a 42-31 decision.

After fighting their way to a 13-10 lead after the first quarter, Kotzebue blew the game open in the second. Backed by a stifling defensive push, the KHS girls raced into the half with a 20-10 cushion.

Williams helped the Lady Warriors rally back in the third. She scored 11 of Bethel’s 15 points in the frame and led Bethel to within 32-35 at the start of the fourth.

Williams finished the contest with a game-high 17 points.

Amber Wade also played well for Bethel, chipping in six.

The Lady warriors will travel to Sitka this weekend for games with Sitka High School and the Mt. Edgecumbe Braves.