The Anchorage Christian Schools girls basketball team defeated Nikiski 88-38 on Saturday in the championship game of the Southcentral Conference basketball tournament.
With the victory and the cancellation of the state basketball tournament by the Alaska School Activities Association due to the new coronavirus, the Lions finish their season undefeated in the state of Alaska.
ACS took control quickly, leading 27-5 after the first quarter.
Lillian Carstens had 12 points to pace the Bulldogs, while Kaitlyn Johnson had seven, Kaycee Bostic had six, Tika Zimmerman had three, Sidney Epperheimer had three, America Jeffreys had two, Bailey Epperheimer had two, Camila Puente had two and McKinlee Jeffreys had one.
For ACS, Destiny Reimers had 25, Sayvia Sellers had 18, Adara Powell had 11, Mykaila Pickard had 10, Sunny Pedebone had nine, Kelsey Smallwood had seven, Sarah Sorrells had five and Talhia Turner had three.
ACS boys 48, Grace Christian 46
The Lions, the No. 2 seed from the North, knocked off the Grizzlies, No. 1 from the North and previously undefeated in the league, on a last-second 3-pointer from JD McGee, who was 0 for 3 from 3-point land to that point.
Josh Davis led the Lions with 18 points, while Kayden Lamebull-Ingram had 21 to pace the Grizzlies.
Homer boys 49, Seward 42
The Mariners, the No. 2 seed out of the South, became the first conference team other than ACS or Grace to defeat the Seahawks, No. 1 out of the South.
Homer led 10-7 after a quarter, 26-17 at the half and 40-22 after three quarters.
Eyoab Knapp paced the Mariners with 12 points, while Clayton Beachy had eight, Jonathan Raymond had eight, Ethan Anderson had eight, Ty Etzwiler had five, Parker Lowney had two, Travis Kahn had two, River Mann had two and Josiah Raymond had two.
For Seward, Bjorn Nilsson had 14 points, Max Pfeiffenberger had 10, Sam Koster had seven, John Moriarity had six, Tommy Cronin had two, Trey Ingalls had two and Collin Mullaly had one.
Homer girls 40, Kenai Central 30
The Mariners, the No. 2 seed from the South, topped the Kardinals, No. 3 from the South, to take third place in the tournament.
Homer’s defense was key in taking command in the game. The Mariners led 9-6 after the first quarter, 20-11 at halftime and 33-17 after three quarters.
Marina Carroll had a monster game for the Mariners, scoring 16 points while hitting 6 of 9 from the floor and 4 of 6 from the foul stripe. Kelli Bishop added nine by hitting 3 of her 6 shots, including her only 3-pointer. Also for Homer, Laura Inama had seven, Rylee Doughty had six and Kaylin Anderson had two.
For the Kards, Jaiden Streiff led the way with 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting from the floor, including 1 of 2 from 3-point land. Kailey Hamilton added nine points and 13 rebounds for the Kardinals, while Damaris Severson had five points, Bethany Morris had three points and 10 rebounds, and Erin Koziczkowski had two points.
Kenai Central boys 62, Houston 58
The Kardinals, the No. 3 seed from the South, finished up their season by taking third place by nipping Houston, No. 3 from the North.
Houston led 19-17 after the first quarter and 32-27 at halftime. Kenai came back to lead 44-43 after three quarters before winning the final quarter 18-13.
Evan Stockton led Kenai’s effort with 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range. Braedon Pitsch had 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Maison Dunham also was efficient, scoring 13 points by hitting 1 of 2 from 2-point range, 2 of 2 from 3-point range and 5 of 7 from the foul stripe.
Also for the Kardinals, Kayden Daniels had six, Andrew Bezdecny had six and Lucas Tunseth had three.
For Houston, Hayden Howard had 17, Landon Taylor had 13, Braden Cork had seven, Kyle McLaughlin had seven, Tolupo Falaniko had six, Cole Taylor had four and Hunter Jefferson had two.
Redington girls 51, Grace Christian 35
The Huskies, the No. 2 seed from the North, got past the Grizzlies, No. 3 from the North, to take fourth place in the tournament. Grace Christian finished sixth.
Southcentral Conference awards
Good sport teams
Cheerleading — Faith Williams, ACS; Jenna Lapp, Homer; Alissa Maw, Kenai; Calysta Lohman, Seward.
Girls — Kyla Smith, ACS; Faith Annett, Grace; Hannah Hatfield, Homer; Katie Richey, Houston; Damaris Severson, Kenai; Elora Reichert, Nikiski; Abbie Fuller, Redington; Wren Dougherty, Seward.
Boys — Daniel Szepanski, ACS; Luke Leftner, Grace; Jonathan Raymond, Homer; Kyle McLaughlin, Houston; James Baisden, Kenai; Michael Mysing, Nikiski; Jahzeah Williams, Redington; Hunter Hollingsworth, Seward.
Girls
Co-coaches of year — Tim Maki, Redington; Chad Felice, Homer.
MVP — Destiny Reimers, ACS.
First team — Sunny Pedebone, ACS; Rylee Doughty, Homer; Kailey Hamilton, Kenai; Marina Carroll, Homer; America Jeffreys, Nikiski; Lexi Seymore, Redington; Lillian Carstens, Nikiski; Abbi Fuller, Redington; Sayvia Sellers, ACS; Tessa Binder, Grace; Mykaila Pickard, ACS.
Second team — Jaiden Streiff, Kenai; Adara Powell, ACS; Damaris Severson, Kenai; Shelby Sieminski, Seward; Kaycee Bostic, Nikiski; Kaitlyn Johnson, Nikiski; Emily Bitler, Houston; Denali Whitted, Houston.
Honorable mention — Katie Richey, Houston; Sarah Sorrells, ACS; Kelsey Smallwood, ACS; Marian Aparezuk, Redington; Laura Inama, Homer; Kelli Bishop, Homer.
Boys
Co-coaches of year — Al Plan, Seward; Ted Van Dussen, Houston.
MVP — Andrew Beck, Grace.
First team — Trey Ingalls, Seward; Cody Wyrick, Houston; Nathan Ivanoff, Grace; Kyle McLaughlin, Houston; Braedon Pitsch, Kenai; Clayton Beachy, Homer; Daekown Houston, ACS; Josh Davis, ACS; Noah Litke, Nikiski; Kayden Lamebull-Ingram, Grace; Connor Spanos, Seward.
Second team — Paul Kopp, Grace; Ethan Anderson, Homer; Eyoab Knapp, Homer; Sam Koster, Seward; Evan Stockton, Kenai; Bjorn Nilsson, Seward; Andrew Bezdecny, Kenai; Ruben Bond, Redington; Wayde Bowman, Redington.
Honorable mention — Braden Cork, Houston; Hayden Howard, Houston; Cole Taylor, Houston; Michael Mysing, Nikiski; JD McGee, ACS; Sean Malinis, ACS; Jahzeah Williams, Redington; Tony Rogers, Redington; Jaren Miller, Grace.
Cheerleading
Coach of year — Brianna Force, Kenai.
First team — Devon Campbell, Seward; Carissa Houck, ACS; Rileigh Pace, Kenai; Cali Holmes, Kenai; Kyrsten Johnson-Grey, Seward; Ashleigh Martin, ACS; Daisy Terry, Seward; Kenzie Ormond, Homer; Audnia Carlson, Homer.
