3A state hoops: Nikiski girls clinch finals showdown, Kenai finishes 3rd

The Nikiski girls used a powerful fourth quarter to pick up a 62-54 tournament semifinal victory over Barrow Friday night at the Alaska Airlines Center, moving the Bulldogs to Saturday’s Class 3A state title game against Anchorage Christian Schools.

ACS defeated Kenai Central 51-30 in Friday’s other semifinal contest. The Kenai girls ultimately secured third place at state with a 50-42 win Saturday over Barrow. The Kardinals had not finished any better than third since a runner-up result in 1993.

ACS is generally considered the best girls team in the state, regardless of classification, having compiled a 23-0 record prior to the state tournament that includes victories over 4A teams. Having lost twice to the Lions this year, Nikiski would need a big game Saturday to knock off their conference rivals and claim their first state basketball title in 13 years, but it’s exactly what they wanted.

“It’s really exciting for us, this is the furthest any of us have gone,” said senior Kelsey Clark. “We’re really excited to get another chance to play ACS.”

Nikiski lost to ACS at home 86-56 the first time the two schools played, then lost 67-52 two weeks ago in the Southcentral Conference championship. Nikiski head coach Rustin Hitchcock has hinted all season that he feels the Bulldogs have made gains on the Lions, and said Saturday will put everything the team has learned to use.

“We have nothing to lose,” Hitchcock said. “We have absolutely nothing to prove on this stage whatsoever. We got seeded number three, we’re in the finals, already above our seed, and we get to throw everything at the number one seed and try to take them down.”

With three years of state hoops experience under her belt, a Division I college commitment already signed and a championship volleyball trophy on the same court just four months prior with many of the same teammates, senior Bethany Carstens said the Bulldogs are ready to take on the Lions.

“We don’t feel rattled against them in basketball, because we want to beat them,” Carstens said. “It’s just so much motivation.”

Carstens led the Bulldogs yet again with 24 points, 13 rebounds and four steals, including a 6-for-6 night from the charity stripe. Clark recorded eight points and four steals and had some crucial hustle plays down the stretch, America Jeffreys notched 11 points and Lillian Carstens laid in several big buckets late to finish with nine points.

“We all just want it so bad,” Clark said about the finishing kick.

For a second night in succession, Nikiski had to sweat out a victory. The Bulldogs led 32-27 at halftime but the Whalers found a groove in the third quarter, particularly with the hot hand of Jordan Ahgeak, who hit three big shots in the frame and finished with a team-high 16 points.

Barrow’s Lewanne Brower connected on a triple just before the end of the third quarter to put the Whalers up 45-40 entering the fourth quarter. Things looked dire for Nikiski.

But, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the Bulldogs rediscovered their magic for the final eight minutes. Two 3s from Carstens and Jeffreys in the opening minute of the quarter suddenly had the Bulldogs in the lead again at 46-45, which sparked a lengthy 22-3 run.

“They all wanna score 15 points on every shot, so they try so hard,” Hitchcock explained. “Realistically, when we settle in our groove, we’re as good a team as anyone.”

At one point the Bulldogs score 14 unanswered to take a 62-48 advantage. Lillian Carstens poured in eight points of that run herself, getting several big breakaway baskets with assists from teammates.

One such shot was set up by a crucial play by Clark that started in Barrow’s zone. Clark raced off court to snag a loose ball, throwing it back inbounds and right to a teammate, who relayed it to Carstens for the layup on the other end.

“We all just took a minute, and like, ‘Wow, we’re down right now,’” Clark said about the late furious run. “We just got this wave of energy back and were feeding off each other. We were playing more for each other than ourselves.”

ACS girls 51, Kenai 30

The Anchorage Christian Schools Lions secured their spot in the 3A girls final for a third straight year Friday with a 51-30 win over Kenai Central at the Alaska Airlines Center.

For ACS, Friday’s semifinal win was another on the path to a potential undefeated season.

For Kenai, it was another notch in the belt of a season of overdue accomplishments. Head coach Cary Calvert acknowledged that the Kardinals were overmatched against one of the best girls teams in the state, but said he was happy with the fight and resiliency the team showed.

“I don’t know if we hoped to win,” Calvert said. “Win was never in our vocabulary, but compete and keep them under 50 (points). We almost kept them under, and just to where it ended up … ACS just overtaxed us.”

For a program that had not played at a state tournament in 17 years, the quarterfinal win over Mt. Edgecumbe on Thursday and Saturday’s third-place game showing marked big signs of improvement.

“That’s a big deal for us,” Calvert said.

ACS got 20 points and 12 rebounds from Jordan Todd, who sank 9 of her 12 shots from the floor, and 11 points from Mary Kate Parks.

Kenai was led by senior Brooke Satathite, who almost notched a double-double with nine points and 11 boards. Kards teammate Liz Hanson added six points, six rebounds and six steals to the stat sheet. Satathite was named Saturday to the All-State All-Tournament team.

Kenai assistant and conditioning coach Skeeter Creighton added that keeping the score close in the first half helped keep the motivation high.

“We’re playing the best team in the state and you’ve got to give it everything you’ve got,” Creighton said. “The girls gave it everything they got.”

The notoriously difficult Kenai defense held for a little while in the first quarter as ACS struggled to get its offense humming. The Kards took the first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Jaiden Streiff, but it didn’t last long against ACS. The Lions took a 12-3 lead, then pushed it to 27-13 by halftime.

Kenai kept the Lions honest by closing the gap to 32-20 midway through the third quarter.

In Saturday’s third-place contest, freshman Logan Satathite put an exclamation point on the season with 21 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the 3-point line. Senior sister Brooke Satathite added 18 points on 8-for-15 efficiency and pulled down six rebounds, while Jaycie Calvert chipped in eight points. Barrow’s Lewanne Brower paced the Whalers with 18 points.

Kenai led 17-15 at halftime, then pulled away in the third quarter with a 17-9 run. In the second half, Kenai shot 52 percent (12 of 23) from the floor to Barrow’s 27 percent.

Saturday girls

Kardinals 50, Whalers 42

Kenai 7 10 17 16 —50

Barrow 4 11 9 18 —42

KENAI (50) — Calvert 8, Pierce 0, Galloway 0, Hamilton 0, Maw 2, Hanson 0, Streiff 1, L. Satathite 21, Severson 0, B. Satathite 18, Lauritsen 0.

BARROW (42) — Kaleak 9, Kippi 1, Brower 18, Balanza 0, Leavitt 0, Nicely 0, Donovan 0, Ahgeak 9, Manu 0, Brower 2, Wolgemuth 3, Elkins 0.

3-point FG — Kenai 7 (L. Satathite 5, Calvert 2); Barrow 8 (Brower 5, Kaleak 1, Ahgeak 1, Wolgemuth 1).

Team fouls — Kenai 11; Barrow 12. Fouled out — none.

Friday girls

Bulldogs 62, Whalers 54

Nikiski 13 19 8 22 —62

Barrow 17 10 18 9 —54

NIKISKI (62) — Jeffreys 11, Wik 2, L. Carstens 9, Bostic 4, Johnson 4, B. Carstens 24, Epperheimer 0, Clark 8, Druesedow 0, Hooper 0, Reichert 0, Zimmerman 0.

BARROW (54) — Kaleak 10, Kippi 2, Brower 8, Balanza 0, Leavitt 6, Nicely 0, Donovan 8, Ahgeak 16, Manu 0, Brower 2, Wolgemuth 2, Elkins 0.

3-point FG — Nikiski 3 (B. Carstens 2, Jeffreys 1); Barrow 6 (Leavitt 2, Donovan 2, Brower 1, Ahgeak 1).

Team fouls — Nikiski 15; Barrow 17. Fouled out — Kaleak.

Lions 51, Kardinals 30

ACS 12 15 13 11 —51

Kenai 3 10 11 6 —30

ACS (51) — Parks 11, Smallwood 1, Davis 0, Reimers 2, Tiulana 3, Powell 2, Pickard 3, Sorrells 9, Yisrael 0, Todd 20.

KENAI (30) — Calvert 3, Pierce 0, Galloway 0, Hamilton 4, Maw 3, Hanson 6, Streiff 3, L. Satathite 0, Severson 2, B. Satathite 9, Reis 0.

3-point FG — ACS 4 (Sorrells 3, Parks 1); Kenai 2 (Calvert 1, Streiff 1).

Team fouls — ACS 12; Kenai 19. Fouled out — none.