It was a valiant effort, but the Seward girls fell to Anchorage Christian School Lions 48-32 on the first day of the Class 3A state tournament.

The loss drops the Seahawks into Friday’s consolation bracket with a 9:45 a.m. date with Bethel.

Taking on one of the top scoring and rebounding threats in the 3A division — Dallas Dickerson — isn’t easy, but Seward contained her and the ACS offense handily in the first half. ACS shot 18 percent from the floor en route to an 18-11 halftime lead.

Seward coach Mark Clemens called it a “moral victory,” since ACS had beaten Nikiski by over 30 points earlier in the year.

“ACS is a heck of a team, so we had a game plan that the girls bought into,” Clemens said. “I told the girls, I want you to see what team stays within single digits and 10 points of this team for the rest of the tournament. It doesn’t happen very often against ACS.”

Dickerson ended with 28 points in the game.

Seward was led by Ashley VonBorstel with 13 points and six rebounds, while Ashley Whiteshield grabbed nine boards.

With 3 minutes, 39 seconds, left in the first quarter, Seward held a lead of 5-2, and as late as 3:46 left in the second quarter, the two teams remained tied at 9-all.

“Our legs were fresh,” Clemens said.

As stingy as the Seward defense proved to be in the first half, ACS finally found a groove with 30 points in the second half.

But, even with 6:20 left in the game, Seward remained within 10 points of the Lions.

“I’m very happy with the ladies for the most part,” Clemens said. “Composure and patience is what I preached to them about what we need to have with this team.”

Thursday girls

Lions 48, Seahawks 32

ACS 7 11 15 15 —48

Seward 5 6 13 8 —32

ACS (48) — Bowden 0 0-0 0, Ealum 0 0-0 0, Crayton 1 0-0 3, Coderre 1 2-4 5, Warren 1 0-1 2, Dickerson 11 5-6 28, Tennyson 2 0-0 4, Duncan 1 2-2 4, Land 0 0-0 0, Ealum 0 0-2 0, Thibadeaux 0 0-0 0, Williams 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 9-15 48.

SEWARD (32) — Honebein 0 0-0 0, VonBorstel 4 2-3 13, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Kromrey 3 3-7 9, Jackson 3 1-3 7, Whiteshield 0 1-5 1, Clemens 0 2-2 2. Totals 10 9-20 32.

3-point field goals — ACS 3 (Dickerson 1, Crayton 1, Coderre 1); Seward 3 (VonBorstel 3). Team fouls — ACS 19; Seward 14.

Seward’s Iris Anderson is checked by Anchorage Christian’s Dallas Dickerson during their 3A girls state basketball game at Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena on Thursday.