Friday hoops roundup: Nikiski girls, Houston boys notch victories

The Nikiski girls and Houston boys notched nonconference victories Friday at Nikiski Middle-High School as the Bulldogs celebrated senior night.

The Nikiski girls won 63-23 to move to 7-15 overall. The Houston boys won 69-30 to drop the Bulldogs to 1-19 overall.

Nikiski girls head coach Jeremy Garrett said the night was all about honoring seniors Avery Ellis, Kailey Stynsberg and Alexa Iyatunguk, who is serving as the manager this season.

Garrett said all have been with the program since sixth grade. Current Soldotna head coach Rustin Hitchcock coached them the first three years, while Garrett has had the last three.

“They’re truly great girls,” he said. “They’re honest and their integrity is high.

“Avery will still go out and sweep the floor and do the laundry for us.”

Houston trailed 16-11 after the first quarter, then 35-16 at the half.

Nikiski got rolling once it went to a zone with freshman Blakeley Jorgensen at the top. Jorgensen was able to create consistent turnovers on the way to 26 points.

Garrett also said Nikiski focused on running one of their offenses and did a great job of it in the first half.

Depth is not Nikiski’s strong suit and Garrett said once again the starting five was outstanding. Stynsberg added 15, while Madison Iyatunguk had 9, Abby White and Ellis had 6, and reserve Addison Perkins had 1.

Garrett did say Perkins has been taking more and more minutes, keeping the other players fresh.

Nikiski finishes the season Saturday against Redington, but the focus is shifting more and more to a game Friday, March 7, against Kenai Central in the semifinals of the Peninsula Conference tournament. The winner gets a Class 3A state berth.

“It’ll be a tough game,” Garrett said. “I’m looking forward to it.

“We’ve been planning for it. I’m sure they’ve been planning for it. It’s going to be a good one.”

For the Hawks, Tricity Curren had 10, Sarah Bodfish had 8, Jessie Reintsma had 4 and Maddie Seime had 1.

Houston boys 69, Nikiski 30

The Bulldogs honored a big group of seniors in Zach Hockema, Wyatt Maguire, Ethan Ellis, Kevin Love, Dylan Hall, Lynn Deveer and manager Haruna Millington.

Nikiski head coach Reid Kornstad said the intent of the night is to honor the investment the players and parents have made in the program.

“The fun part of them is there’s a lot of them, and it’s going to be hard to replace them in numbers,” he said. “There’s a few of them that have been faithful ever since middle school.

“We’ll miss them. They’ve made a lot of investment in the program, so we’ll miss them.”

The Bulldogs went with an all-senior starting lineup and the Hawks responded by charging from the gates. Even going back to the normal lineup didn’t stop Houston from leading 22-4 after the first quarter.

“No matter who we would have started, Houston was ready to go there,” Kornstad said. “They’re tuned up and a tough team.

“They do a lot of things really well, so hats off to them.”

Despite the score, Kornstad said the Bulldogs remained a team.

“The main thing we set out to do tonight was to keep a good attitude all night,” Kornstad said. “Sometimes the guys got down here and there, but by and large there was good energy in the huddle.

“There was good energy in the locker room before and after the game, and lots of encouragement. That was really good to see.”

Noah Whitted had 14 for Houston, while Blake Baskett and Billy Rusher had 12, Sebastian Sanford had 10, Nate Davies had 7, Aiden McDonnell and Terje McClurg had 4, and Darwin Pugate had 2.

For Nikiski, Carter Eiter and Kameron Bird had 9, Love had 5, Shane Hall had 4 and Ryder Maguire had 3.

After finishing the regular season against Redington on Saturday, the focus turns to the semifinals of the Peninsula Conference tournament Friday, March 7, at Nikiski against Kenai Central. A Class 3A state berth is on the line.

“It’s a one-game season and we’re upset-minded,” Kornstad said. “We have to hang onto the ball, take good shots, and we’ve got to make sure we don’t give up second shots and keep them in front of us.”

Palmer girls 47, Soldotna girls 42

The visiting Moose dropped the Stars to 2-7 in the Northern Lights Conference and 10-13 overall with the loss.

Seniors Brooke Walters, Anika Jedlicka, Anaulie Sedivy, Alyssa McDonald, Isabella Cruz and Hope Hillyer were honored for SoHi. Hillyer did not play due to injury.

For the Stars, Sedivy had 10, Juliet Innes had 8, Walters and Laurel Johnson had 6, Jedlicka and Cruz had 5 and Teagan Kobylarz had 2.

For Palmer, Kaelyn Downey had 10, Presley Wright and Addy Wilson had 9, Jasmine Hephner had 6, Lillian Muilenburg had 5, Kaylyn Miller had 4, Grace Muilenburg had 3 and Mariah Bothwell had 1.

Soldotna boys 54, Palmer 50

The host Stars moved to 3-8 in the Northern Lights Conference and 8-15 overall when Jayden Stuyvesant iced the game with a pair of free throws on senior night.

Soldotna honored seniors Izaiah Gilbert, Kenai Lepule, Easton Hawkins and manager Austin Lewis.

Gilbert pumped in 25 for the Stars, while Stuyvesant had 8, Hawkins had 7, Bryan Berg and Damari Adams had 4, and Owen Buckbee had 2.

For Palmer, Nolan Garner had 17, Lukas Owen had 15, Logan Rolston had 8, Logan Johnson had 6, and Maddox Moore and Truman Dean had 2.

Homer girls 55, Redington 19

The host Mariners celebrated senior night by moving to 5-17 overall with the nonconference win.

Homer honored seniors Juliann Techie, Kylee Akee, Channing Lowney, Kya Stokes and Mally Im.

Lowney led the way with 27 points, while Keagan Niebuhr had 16, Im had 10 and Stokes had 2.

For the Huskies, Abi Dagomos had 9, Janessa Gubler had 6, and Maela Matika and Caydence Nunley had 2.

Homer boys 51, Redington 38

The host Mariners celebrated senior night with a nonconference victory that put them at 8-11.

Homer honored seniors Preston Stanislaw, Henry Wedvik, Jamen Anderson, Weston Marley, Graham Plumlee, Einar Pederson, Spencer Dye and Kaden Bogie.

Dye led the way with 12, while Wedvik had 11, Stanislaw had 7, Pederson and Parker Overson had 6, Weston Marley had 4, Justus Grimes had 3 and Anderson had 2.

For the Huskies, Natan Fields and Aiden Dobbs had 8, Jake Murdock had 7, Christian Ingraham had 6, Kaedon Saxton had 5 and Christian Hopson had 4.

Seward girls 43, Susitna Valley 14

The visiting Seahawks notched a Southern Conference victory to win for a 20th straight time and sit 5-0 in the league and 20-2 overall.

Mikinley Williams had 16 points for the Seahawks, while Ava Jagielski had 10, Addison Lemme and Natalie Sieminski had 8, and Lia Shank had 1.

For the Rams, Poppy Moren and Lily Esmailka had 5, and Jayden Sliker and Jessie Wentworth had 2.

Susitna Valley boys 63, Seward 41

The host Rams dropped the Seahawks to 4-2 in the Southern Conference and 12-10 overall.

Talon Lemme had 14 for Seward, while Mason Elhard had 9, Lane Petersen and Emerson Cross had 6, Noah Price had 3, Van Shank had 2 and Jack Lindquist had 1.

For Su Valley, Austin Barnhard had 22, Miles Osmond had 14, Colton Thompson had 11, Douglas Drover had 8, and Owen Drumm and Earl Davidson had 4.

Grace girls 54, Kenai 28

The host Kardinals fell to 3-3 in the Peninsula Conference and 15-9 overall with the loss to the Grizzlies, who finish undefeated in the league.

Sierra Hershberger and Bryleigh Williams had 7 for the Kards, while Ellsi Miller had 5, Evelyn Cooper had 3, Jenica Andersen had 2, and Willow Graham and Hallie Songer had 1 apiece.

For the Grizzlies, Sophie Lentfer had 24, MJ Van der horst had 15, Molly Schild had 5, Faith Salima and Hope Jackson had 2, and Jaden Helton had 1.