The Nikiski girls basketball team used a monster fourth quarter to clinch its first Class 3A state tournament berth since 2009 on Friday at the Southcentral Conference tournament in Cordova, beating Seward 42-32.
The Seahawks were in great shape to claim a fourth-straight state berth through three quarters, but now will be forced to come back through the third-place bracket.
Nikiski led 9-5 after one quarter and 15-14 at halftime, but Seward grabbed a 25-19 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
The Bulldogs ramped up the pressure in the final quarter and blew past the Seahawks, outscoring them 23-7.
Emily Lynch and Rachel Thompson each had six of their 11 points in the fourth quarter, while Katie Costello had all six of her points in the fourth. Alyssa Darch added nine for the Bulldogs.
For Seward, Ashley VonBorstel had 12.
Grace boys 59, Seward 29
The Grizzlies cruised into the finals.
Luke Offord had 13 points to lead Grace, while Alex Fancher added 12. For Seward, Matthew Moore had 18 before fouling out.
ACS boys 100, Homer 42
The Lions emphatically made their way into the championship game.
Immanuel Lopez had 35 points for the Lions, while Levi Auble had 34 points with 10 3-pointers.
Calvin Hoffman added 13 for the Lions.
Filip Reutov paced the Mariners with eight points.
ACS girls 61, Homer 10
The Lions dominated the semifinals against the Mariners.
Dallas Dickerson had 21 points for ACS, while Tayla Cabana had nine of Homer’s 10.
Skyview girls 28, Houston 23
The Panthers came back in the fourth quarter to earn a spot in the third-place semifinals.
Skyview led 10-6 at halftime and trailed 19-16 after three quarters before prevailing 12-4 in the fourth.
Hayley Ramsell had nine points for the Panthers.
Skyview boys 42, Cordova 33
The Panthers moved to the third-place semifinals by coming back in the fourth quarter.
Skyview trailed 25-24 entering the final quarter, but outscored the Wolverines 18-8 over the final eight minutes.
Chad Harley was the lone player in double digits for either team, pumping in 13 points.
Houston boys 61, Bulldogs 49
The Hawks ended the Bulldogs’ season and moved to the third-place semifinals.
Nikiski led 14-11 after one quarter, but was not able to recover from getting outscored 20-8 in the second quarter.
Seth Carstens had 17 for the Bulldogs, while Lincoln Johnson added 12. For Houston, Matt Barron had 24.
Grace girls 38, Cordova 22
The Grizzlies moved to the third-place semifinals by topping the Wolverines.
Mikayla Shamberger paced Grace with 10 points, while Dariah Songer and Lindsay Phillips had six for Cordova.
Friday girls
Panthers 28, Hawks 23
Skyview 2 8 6 12 —28
Houston 2 4 13 4 —23
SKYVIEW (28) — Powers 2 0-1 4, Ramsell 3 3-4 9, Mahan 0 0-0 0, Reynolds 3 1-3 7, Rouse 3 0-2 6, Glaves 1 0-0 2. Totals — 12 4-10 28.
HOUSTON (23) — Malidore 0 0-0 0, Ruth 1 0-2 2, Wilkerson 1 0-0 2, Nida 1 0-0 3, Wells 3 1-2 7, Apangalook 1 0-0 2, Barber 0 2-2 2, Quincy 1 3-5 5, May-Thomas 0 0-0 0, Holmgren 0 0-0 0. Totals — 8 6-11 23.
3-point goals — Houston 1 (Nida). Team fouls — Skyview 14, Houston 16. Fouled out — none.
Lions 61, Mariners 10
ACS 12 24 14 11 —61
Homer 5 2 2 1 —10
ANCHORAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS (61) — Bowden 3 0-0 6, T. Ealum 4 0-0 9, Crayton 1 0-0 2, Coderre 4 0-0 8, Warren 0 0-0 0, Dickerson 9 2-3 21, Tennyson 1 0-0 2, Duncan 1 0-0 2, Land 1 0-0 2, M. Ealum 1 0-0 2, Thibodeaux 1 0-0 2, Williams 2 0-0 5. Totals — 29 2-3 61.
HOMER (10) — M. Fellows 0 0-0 0, Ramirez-Clark 0 0-0 0, Koplin 0 0-0 0, Draves 0 0-2 0, Akers 0 0-2 0, L. Fellows 0 0-0 0, Waclawski 0 1-2 1, Kann 0 0-0 0, Hendrickson 0 0-1 0, Cabana 3 3-6 9. Totals — 3 4-13 10.
3-point goals — ACS 3 (T. Ealum, Dickerson, Williams). Team fouls — ACS 19, Homer 7. Fouled out — none.
Bulldogs 42, Seahawks 32
Nikiski 9 6 4 23 —42
Seward 5 9 11 7 —32
NIKISKI (42) — Riddall 0 1-2 1, Cook 1 1-2 3, Costello 1 3-8 6, Litke 0 1-2 1, Lynch 4 3-4 11, Thompson 3 4-4 11, Litzen 0 0-0 0, Darch 3 3-4 9. Totals — 12 16-26 42.
SEWARD (32) — VonBorstel 5 1-2 12, Kromrey 4 1-2 9, Jackson 1 0-0 2, Whiteshield 1 1-4 3, Clemens 2 2-2 6. Totals — 13 5-10 32.
3-point goals — Nikiski 2 (Costello, Thompson); Seward 1 (VonBorstel). Team fouls — Nikiski 14, Seward 19. Fouled out — none.
Friday boys
Hawks 61, Bulldogs 49
Houston 11 20 9 21 —61
Nikiski 14 8 8 19 —49
HOUSTON (61) — Kleewin 4 0-0 8, Griffith 0 3-5 3, Baird 0 0-0 0, L. Taylor 1 2-2 4, Elson 3 0-0 6, Barron 8 3-6 24, Saechao 0 4-4 4, Ruta 1 2-2 5, J. Taylor 2 3-4 7, K. Taylor 0 0-0 0. Totals — 19 17-23 61.
NIKISKI (49) — Stangel 1 0-0 2, S. Carstens 8 1-2 17, Riddall 1 0-2 2, Anderson 2 2-2 7, Johnson 4 4-10 12, Holloway 1 1-2 5, Tauriainen 0 0-0 0, N. Carstens 2 0-0 4. Totals — 20 8-18 49.
3-point goals — Houston 6 (Barron 5, Ruta); Nikiski 1 (Anderson). Team fouls — Houston 15, Nikiski 19. Fouled out — Holloway.
Panthers 42, Wolverines 33
Skyview 6 14 4 18 —42
Cordova 3 12 10 8 —33
SKYVIEW (42) — Rice 1 0-0 2, Jones 1 0-0 3, Duke 3 1-4 7, Carlson 3 2-2 8, Cook 0 0-0 0, Harley 4 5-6 13, Hilbish 3 2-2 9. Totals — 15 10-14 42.
CORDOVA (33) — Brandt 0 0-0 0, Songer 0 0-0 0, Ridao 0 0-0 0, Perry 0 0-0 0, Muma 3 0-0 6, Jewell 1 0-1 2, Cheshier 1 4-4 7, Sorenson 4 0-0 8, Plant 1 0-0 2, Beedle 3 2-2 8, Warga 0 0-0 0. Totals — 13 6-7 33.
3-point goals — Skyview 2 (Jones, Hilbish); Cordova 1 (Cheshier). Team fouls — Skyview 13, Cordova 19. Fouled out — none.
Grizzlies 59, Seahawks 29
Seward 10 4 9 6 —29
Grace 15 19 13 12 —59
SEWARD (29) — P. Berry 0 1-2 1, Marshall 2 0-0 4, Pahno 0 1-1 1, T. Berry 0 0-0 0, Wolfe 2 0-0 5, Seiverts 0 0-1 0, Moore 6 3-5 18, Broughton 0 0-0 0, Jackson 0 0-0 0. Totals — 10 5-9 29.
GRACE CHRISTIAN (59) — Osborne 3 0-0 9, Strand 0 2-2 2, Karlberg 1 2-2 5, Offord 4 2-3 13, Winkle 1 0-0 2, VanderWeide 1 0-0 2, Johnson 1 3-4 5, Fancher 5 1-1 12, Laker 4 1-2 9. Totals — 20 11-14 59.
3-point goals — Seward 4 (Moore 3, Wolfe); Grace 8 (Osborne 3, Offord 3, Karlberg, Fancher). Team fouls — Seward 16, Grace 18. Fouled out — Moore.
Lions 100, Mariners 42
ACS 32 21 34 13 —100
Homer 10 14 6 12 —42
ANCHORAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS (100) — Hoffman 5 1-2 13, Simmers 2 1-3 5, I. Lopez 13 5-6 35, Reynolds 2 0-0 4, C. Lopez 2 0-0 4, Wilson 1 1-2 3, Scott 1 0-0 2, Kohutek 0 0-0 0, Auble 11 2-2 34. Totals — 37 10-15 100.
HOMER (42) — Beachy 1 0-0 2, L. Harris 2 1-2 5, Reutov 2 4-4 8, Daugharty 3 0-0 6, Schneider 1 0-0 3, Edens 0 0-0 0, Brown 1 0-0 2, Molodih 2 0-0 5, H. Harris 3 0-0 6, Trowbridge 0 0-0 0, Hutt 2 1-2 5. Totals — 17 6-9 42.
3-point goals — ACS 16 (Auble 10, I. Lopez 4, Hoffman 2); Homer 2 (Schneider, Molodih). Team fouls — ACS 10, Homer 14. Fouled out — none.
