Standout senior Brooklynn Haywood, who grew up in Anchorage, got to play two games against old friends in Alaska over the weekend, a trip that is already being credited with helping the Union Titans build even better team chemistry

Paul Valencia
Clark County Today

For someone who grew up in Alaska, 32 degrees Fahrenheit might officially be freezing, but it really does not feel that cold.

“When it gets to negative, that’s when it hits me a little bit,” said Brooklynn Haywood, who lived in Alaska before moving to Vancouver when she was a seventh-grader.

So she could really feel for her teammates this past weekend, with many of them never having been to Alaska, never having experienced that kind of cold.

The low temperature Saturday night in Anchorage? Negative-4 degrees.

The reception for the Union Titans, though? Very warm indeed.

The Union girls basketball team was invited to Anchorage to play two games over the weekend, to give Anchorage basketball fans an opportunity to watch Haywood play high school basketball in front of her hometown before Haywood embarks on her college journey to the University of Oregon.

The Titans embraced the trip as a salute to their star teammate and also an opportunity to bond as a squad with lofty goals this season.

They certainly had a lot of fun at each other’s expense.

“They were wearing three jackets, three hoods, a hat, zipped all the way up,” Haywood said, referring to her freezing teammates. “They were trying to run to the car, but they would slip. ‘You guys, I’m not catching all of you every single time you guys fall.’”

They spent a few minutes at Earthquake Park, gazing at glaciers and staring in awe at rivers with sheets of ice.

There was an animal or two, but not as many as they were hoping to see.

“I can’t whistle and make them appear,” Haywood said incredulously.

Still, Haywood was the perfect tour guide on a unique trip. 

Friends of the Haywood family in Alaska thought it would be a great idea to invite the Union Titans to Anchorage for a couple of games. That way, Haywood’s hometown could watch her in action.

Big-time college programs often schedule a game close to a player’s home. In this case, it was a high school team going to a player’s former hometown.

“It was cool to see her in her environment. It made a big impact on our team, for sure,” said Myla Larry, a junior. “I heard a lot of people cheering for Brooklynn.”

The Titans played Friday and again on Saturday. The Anchorage fans were there to support their teams, as well as the visitors.

“It definitely got a little extra volume when Brooklynn Haywood was announced,” said freshman Kadee Spike.

“It was very loud in the gym,” freshman Aleya Smith said. “When they said everyone was going to be there, everyone was there. That was probably the loudest gym I’ve been in.”

For the freshmen, while they are used to traveling on club teams, this was the first time traveling with their high school team, representing their community.

Most of the Titans returned to Portland on Sunday evening. Haywood and her family stayed up north a few more days for Christmas. Haywood was appreciative of this trip.

“It means a lot to me. I haven’t played a game in Anchorage since sixth grade,” Haywood said in a phone interview, noting she got to play against people she grew up with and play in front of coaches and athletic trainers who helped her become the player she is today. “The fact that my teammates got to experience this … it made me really happy.”

She will always remember the player intros and hearing the crowd cheer for her.

“That showed me that my city is behind me,” Haywood said. “They know I’m here to play, perform for them, and I’m going to move on and do bigger things. Everybody I’ve known since I was super young showed up to watch.”

The Titans, who came into the Alaska games at 6-0, went 1-1 in The Last Frontier. They lost in a controversial finish on Friday night. Haywood said there were a lot of plays before the frantic finish that could have changed the result. The Titans weren’t interested in pointing fingers.

“There was definitely some adversity in Alaska. We hadn’t faced that yet,” Haywood said. “Being able to face that. I think it’s really good for us. We grew and learned a lot from it.”

Union coach Gary Mills agreed.

“I think we got exactly what we wanted out of it. We wanted the girls to see a little different culture. We wanted them to face some adversity. You’re always trying to teach young people that they can do hard things and that they can overcome things,” Mills said. “We could have gone somewhere where it was sunny. Instead we chose to go somewhere where it would be a little difficult.”

Plus, they brought an all-star in her final high school season back home.

“Being able to see Brooklynn play in front of Anchorage people … I just thought it would be great,” Mills said. “So many people know her. So many kids know her. They came out to watch her.”

The rest of the Titans embraced the mission, too.

“I had a lot of fun, cherishing every moment with my team. Brooklyn’s homecoming and having everyone come out to support us and her, it just made the whole experience way better for our team,” Smith said.

“That community loves her so much. It was super important,” Spike said. “You could see what her community is like, what her life was like before she came to us.”

Haywood said the Titans grew closer. Being from Alaska, she had never stayed in a hotel in Alaska … until this week with her team.

She loved every part of the trip.

“The cold makes you mad sometimes. You’re not always happy. We somehow managed to be joking around, having fun, being happy at all times,” Haywood said. “We always had a new story to tell.”