The Wasilla girls defeated Soldotna 65-22 in a Northern Lights Conference clash Friday night in Wasilla.
Leya DePriest netted a game-high 15 points for Wasilla, which outscored Soldotna 23-8 in the first quarter and 28-7 in the third to gap the Stars.
Hayley Ramsell and Haley Miller, both seniors, scored seven points for SoHi.
SoHi suffered through a second half that saw only nine field goal attempts with one shot made.
The Stars also turned the ball over 32 times compared to just 13 from the Warriors.
Wasilla boys 77, Soldotna 59
The host Warriors cranked it up in the second half for the Northern Lights Conference victory.
Soldotna had a 27-24 lead at the half before Wasilla won the third quarter 23-17 and the fourth 30-15. Joe Weltzin had 20 for the Stars, while Nathan Spence had 17.
Colony boys 70, Kenai 39
The Colony Knights were forced to show a little different look Friday night.
Colony, hit with its first major does of adversity of the season, took the floor for a Northern Lights Conference game for the first time since losing senior standout Graham Dinkel to a season-ending wrist injury last week during a nonconference road win over North Pole. One of the players Colony hopes will help fill the void left by the loss of Dinkel helped the Knights stay undefeated in NLC play.
Ethan Selmer scored a dozen points in the first half to help Colony race to a win over Kenai Central at Colony High.
“You hate to see a kid get injured. My heart goes out to him,” Colony head coach Tom Berg said of Dinkel, a first-team All-NLC selection last year and a player of the year candidate this season. “He’s a really good kid. He’s been a big part of our program. He’s a good ball player, and he’s a way better kid than a ball player.”
Despite the loss of the senior standout, Berg said the Knights have to remain focused on their goal of reaching the NLC title game for the third straight year.
“It’s been hard on him, certainly hard on the guys. But we’ve got to go out and play. Graham wants us to play. He was here cheering us on tonight and he’ll be here cheering us on the rest of the year,” Berg said.
With the loss of Dinkel, the Knights are not going to reinvent a game plan, Berg said, but Colony will have to tweak some things.
“We’ve got to play a little bit differently than we have in the past. We’ve just got to make sure the next man up is ready to go,” Berg said. “We’ve got good players. It just means slightly different roles for Tucker Looney, Harrison Menard and Ethan Selmer.”
Dinkel’s teammates have already answered the call. Looney and Selmer combined to score 10 of Colony’s first 20 points, and Menard played key minutes in reserve.
“Ethan Selmer has stepped up into the starting lineup since Graham got hurt and has done a good job,” Berg said.
The Knights got more help inside from players such as Robert Sonnenberg and Noah Sessom.
Colony raced to an early lopsided advantage. Colony used 20 first-quarter points and 21 in the second to take a 41-17 halftime lead.
Anton Chamblee scored eight of his game-high 16 in the third quarter.
Looney finished with 11 in the win and Bailey West added 10.
Tanner Wortham led Kenai with nine points.
Colony girls 40, Kenai 18
Big scoreless droughts for Kenai and the inside presence of Colony’s Ashley Turcotte proved too much for the Kards Friday night.
Colony held Kenai to only five field goals and Turcotte scored a game-high 14 to lead Colony to a win over Kenai Friday night at Colony High.
Turcotte scored six of her team’s 16 first-quarter points to help Colony jump to an early lead. Turcotte led the Knights on offense, and a collective effort kept the Kards off the scoreboard.
The Kards didn’t get their first points until Sarah Every hit a 3-pointer just more than three minutes into regulation. Colony also held Kenai scoreless for the first seven minutes of regulation. Kelsey Booth hit a short baseline jumper with just about a minute left in the first half to give Kenai its first points of the second quarter.
Kenai was held to a combined two field goals in the second half.
Nikiski girls 51, Seward 31
The Nikiski girls pitched a shutout in the first quarter in picking up a Southcentral Conference victory at Seward on Friday.
The Bulldogs led 6-0 after the first and 19-8 at the half.
Rachel Thompson pumped in 17 points to pace the Bulldogs, while Chena Litzen added 14. For Seward, Kiana Clemens led the way with 11 points.
Seward boys 68, Nikiski 47
The quick-starting Seahawks cruised to a Southcentral Conference victory Friday in Seward.
Seward led 25-9 after one quarter and 45-21 at the half.
Michael Wolfe paced the Seahawks with 22 points while Michael Marshall had 14 and Alex Pahno had 11.
For Nikiski, Sullivan Jackson led the way with 11 points.
Nikolaevsk girls 40,
Seldovia 15
The host Warriors rolled to a Peninsula Conference victory Friday.
Nikolaevsk led 10-2 after one period and 22-5 at halftime. Megan Hickman led the balanced Nikolaevsk attack with eight points.
For Seldovia, Marina Chissus dropped in nine points.
Seldovia boys 71,
Nikolaevsk 46
The visiting Sea Otters filled it up from 3-point land in a Southcentral Conference victory Friday.
Seldovia hit from downtown 13 times in the game. Calem Collier had six 3s en route to 26 points, while Dylan Waterbury booked five trifectas for 15 points. Aidan Philpot had 15, while Seth O’Leary added 13.
For Nikolaevsk, Nikit Fefelov had 15, while Felemon Molodih added 12.
CIA girls 19,
Lumen Christi 15
The visiting Eagles came out on top in a defensive contest Friday.
The squads went into the final quarter knotted at 10 before CIA prevailed
Madison Orth had nine points to lead CIA, while Tori Krueger scored 13 of Lumen’s 15.
CIA boys 56,
Lumen Christi 14
The visiting Eagles rolled to a Peninsula Conference victory Friday.
For CIA, Johnny Smithwick had 20 points, while Timmy Smithwick added 11. Riley Jones had six for the Archangels.
Thursday, visiting CIA had notched a 59-49 victory over Wasilla Lake Christian.
Friday girls
Warriors 65, Stars 22
Wasilla 23 8 28 6 —65
Soldotna 8 5 7 2 —22
WASILLA (65) — Kelly 1 0-0 2, Drorbaugh 1 0-0 2, Vasquez 0 1-2 1, Heath 1 1-2 3, Obremski 0 0-0 0, Baham 4 0-0 12, Lindeman 1 0-0 2, Wheeler 0 0-0 0, Brandenburg 2 8-10 12, Goecke 0 0-0 0, Toews 0 0-0 0, Anderson 1 0-1 3, Dinkel 1 2-2 4, Edwards 3 3-4 9, DePriest 6 3-5 15. Totals 21 18-26 65.
SOLDOTNA (22) — Rouse 0 0-1 0, Nelson 0 0-0 0, Shaw 1 0-2 2, Wong 0 3-4 3, McElroy 0 1-4 1, Kruse 0 0-0 0, Ramsell 2 3-5 7, Miller 2 3-8 7, Glaves 1 0-0 2. Totals 6 10-24 22.
3-point goals — Wasilla 5 (Baham 4, Anderson 1). Fouled out — Wong, Ramsell.
Bulldogs 51, Seahawks 31
Nikiski 6 13 19 13 —51
Seward 0 8 13 4 —31
NIKISKI (51) — Parrish 0 0-0 0, Perry 0 0-0 0, Riddall 4 1-3 9, Pitt 0 2-4 2, Litke 1 4-7 6, Kornstad 1 0-1 3, Thompson 6 4-5 17, Jackson 0 0-0 0, Litzen 3 8-8 14. Totals — 15 16-23 51.
SEWARD (31) — Anderson 1 0-0 2, Honebein 1 0-0 2, Jackson 3 0-0 7, Baldwin 0 0-0 0, Lapanskas 0 2-4 2, Perea 2 3-4 7, Clemens 4 2-2 11. Totals — 11 7-10 31.
3-point goals — Nikiski 2 (Kornstad, Thompson); Seward 2 (Jackson, Clemens). Team fouls — Nikiski 7, Seward 21. Fouled out — Anderson.
Warriors 40, Sea Otters 15
Seldovia 2 3 8 2 —15
Nikolaevsk 10 12 4 14 —40
SELDOVIA (15) — Joseph 0 0-0 0, Chissus 4 1-2 9, Meganack 0 0-0 0, Neumann 0 0-0 0, Mitchell 0 0-0 0, LaBelle 0 0-0 0, Turner 3 0-0 6, Waterbury 0 0-0 0. Totals — 7 1-2 15.
NIKOLAEVSK (40) — Ki. Klaich 1 0-1 2, Kr. Klaich 1 0-0 2, Fefelov 3 0-0 6, Chelsea Johnson 3 0-0 6, Sellers 1 0-0 2, Kalugin 3 0-2 6, N. Gordeev 1 0-0 2, E. Gordeev 2 0-0 4, Dorvall 1 0-0 2, Hickman 4 0-2 8, Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals — 20 0-5 40.
3-point goals — none. Team fouls — Seldovia 9, Nikolaevsk 5. Fouled out — none.
Eagles 19, Archangels 15
CIA 1 4 5 9 —19
L. Christi 3 2 5 5 —15
COOK INLET ACADEMY (19) — Delon 0 0-0 0, Carey 1 0-0 2, Taplin 0 0-0 0, Lyons 0 0-0 0, Hammond 3 1-5 8, Orth 1 7-8 9. Totals — 5 8-13 19.
LUMEN CHRISTI (15) — Jones 1 0-0 2, Bakic 0 0-0 0, Estes 0 0-0 0, Krueger 5 2-4 13, Childs 0 0-0 0, McCormick 0 0-0 0, Zitzow 0 0-0 0. Totals — 6 2-4 15.
3-point goals — CIA 1 (Hammond); Lumen Christi 1 (Krueger). Team fouls — CIA 9, Lumen Christi 14. Fouled out — Jones.
Knights 40, Kardinals 18
Kenai 6 4 4 4 —18
Colony 16 8 6 10 —40
COLONY (40) — Smith 1 0-0 2, Farris 3 0-0 7, Carlton 1 2-2 5, Turcotte 7 0-0 14, Kauffman 1 0-0 2, Bonn 2 0-0 5; Totals: 15 2-2 40.
KENAI (18) — Ostrander 1 0-0 2, Drury 0 2-4 2, Steinbeck 0 2-5 2, Baker 1 0-0 2, Booth 1 0-0 2, Beck 1 1-4 3, Beck 1 0-0 3; Totals: 5 5-13 18.
Friday boys
Seahawks 68, Bulldogs 47
Nikiski 9 12 9 17 —47
Seward 25 20 13 10 —68
NIKISKI (47) — I. Johnson 1 1-2 3, Anderson 1 1-4 3, L. Johnson 4 0-1 8, Holloway 0 3-4 3, Malston 1 0-0 3, Tauriainen 2 0-0 5, Carstens 3 2-2 8, Dohse 0 0-0 0, Jackson 3 5-8 11, Pamplin 1 1-3 2. Totals — 16 13-24 47.
SEWARD (68) — Jacobson 0 0-0 0, Berry 1 1-2 3, Marshall 4 4-4 14, A. Pahno 6 1-4 13, Zweifel 0 0-0 0, Brewi 1 0-0 2, Wolfe 8 5-9 22, Sieverts 4 0-2 8, Jackson 2 3-3 8. Totals — 26 16-22 68.
3-point goals — Nikiski 2 (Malston, Tauriainen); Seward 4 (Marshall 2, Wolfe, Jackson). Team fouls — Nikiski 23, Seward 18. Fouled out — Pamplin, Holloway.
Sea Otters 71, Warriors 46
Seldovia 10 24 20 17 —71
Nikolaevsk 6 13 11 16 —46
SELDOVIA (71) — Waterbury 5 0-0 15, Collier 9 2-2 26, Haller 1 0-0 2, Philpot 7 0-0 15, O’Leary 6 0-2 13, Stanish 0 0-0 0. Totals — 18 2-4 71.
NIKOLAEVSK (46) — K. Molodih 1 1-2 3, Trail 0 0-0 0, Yakunin 0 0-0 0, N. Fefelov 6 0-0 15, Gordeev 3 0-1 6, F. Molodih 5 2-2 12, J. Fefelov 2 1-2 5, Kalugin 2 1-2 5. Totals — 19 5-9 46.
3-point goals — Seldovia 13 (Collier 6, Waterbury 5, Philpot, O’Leary); Nikolaevsk 3 (N. Fefelov 3). Team fouls — Seldovia 7, Nikolaevsk 4. Fouled out — none.
Eagles 56, Archangels 14
CIA 11 26 15 4 —56
L. Christi 7 2 3 2 —14
COOK INLET ACADEMY (56) — A. Hammond 1 1-2 3, B. Hammond 3 0-0 6, R. Smithwick 2 2-4 6, Miller 0 3-3 3, Barlow 3 2-2 9, J. Smithwick 9 1-1 20, Solie 0 0-0 0, T. Smithwick 5 0-1 11. Totals — 23 9-13 56.
LUMEN CHRISTI (14) — Malyan 0 0-0 0, Pepe-Phelps 0 0-0 0, Jones 3 0-0 6, Fortune 1 1-4 3, Macy 0 0-0 0, Chen 2 1-2 5, Novacaski 0 0-0 0, Samuelson 0 0-0 0. Totals — 6 2-6 14.
3-point goals — CIA 3 (Barlow, J. Smithwick, T. Smithwick). Team fouls — CIA 12, Lumen Christi 14. Fouled out — Novacaski.
Knights 70, Kardinals 39
Kenai 6 11 7 15 —39
Colony 20 21 19 10 —70
KENAI (39) — Theisen 1 0-0 2, Ivy 1 0-2 2, McKee 3 0-0 7, Tr. Landry 1 1-3 3, Jackman 3 0-0 6, Vest 1 0-0 2, Fitt 0 1-2 1, Foree 3 0-0 7, Wortham 4 0-0 9; Totals: 16 2-7 39.
COLONY (70) — Selmer 4 3-6 12, Looney 5 1-2 11, West 3 2-3 10, Chamblee 7 1-2 16, P. Martin 1 0-0 3, Menard 1 0-0 2, N. Martin 0 4-6 4, Nygard 0 2-2 2, Sonnenberg 3 1-2 7, Sessom 1 0-0 2, James 0 1-2 1; Totals: 25 15-25 70.
Warriors 77, Stars 59
Soldotna 11 16 17 15 —59
Wasilla 12 12 23 30 —77
SOLDOTNA (59) — Kuntz 1 0-2 3, Weltzin 9 4-9 20, Furlong 2 0-0 5, Phillips 1 0-0 2, Spence 4 8-8 17, Fowler 3 2-4 8; Totals: 20 14-23 57.
WASILLA (77) — Burns 1 1-3 3, Brown 5 6-8 17, Milliron 2 3-4 7, Trotta 2 0-0 5, Baham 7 7-9 24, Barrett 1 0-0 2, Loyer 1 0-0 3, Houck 7 2-2 16; Totals: 26 119-26 77.
