The Seward girls and boys basketball teams swept the Southern Conference tournament crowns Friday at Lumen Christi in Anchorage.
Both Seward squads get Class 2A state berths. The boys went to Class 3A state last season, while the girls will go to state for the first time since 2014.
The Seahawks girls defeated Susitna Valley 32-18 to win for the 23rd straight time and move to 23-2 overall.
The Seahawks boys topped Susitna Valley 53-43 to move to 14-11 overall.
In other girls action, Ninilchik saw its season end at 4-16 with a 39-12 loss to Lumen Christi. Lumen Christi then lost to Unalaska, meaning Unalaska plays Su Valley for second place and the second state berth at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
In other boys action, Ninilchik defeated Lumen Christi 52-41. The Wolverines then lost to Unalaska 42-29 to see their season end at 16-11. Unalaska and Su Valley play for second and the second state berth at noon Saturday.
In the girls championship, Lia Shank paced the Seahawks with 9, while Ava Jagielski and Mikinley Williams had 8, Addison Lemme had 4 and Grace Fleming had 3.
For the Rams, Lily Esmailka had 13, Poppy Moren had 3 and Ashley Delima had 2.
For Lumen, Amara Warren had 20, Kaylee Connaker had 5, Kenora Jarrett, Isabel Brown and Addison Nelson had 3, Hayden Estabrook and Lily Muller had 2, and Alliyah Nelson had 1.
In the Ninilchik girls game, Lily Berger, Kate Hendryx and Caelis Cress had 3 for the Wolverines, while Rylee Lemons had 2 and Aliah Maher had 1.
In the boys championship, Talon Lemme paced the Seahawks with 15, while Emerson Cross had 12, Noah Price had 9, Jack Lindquist had 6, Mason Elhard and Van Shank had 4 and Lane Petersen had 3.
For the Rams, Austin Barnard had 16, Earl Davidson had 14, Colton Thompson had 6, Owen Drumm had 3, and Miles Osmond and Douglas Drover had 2.
In Ninilchik’s loss to Unalaska, leading scorer Kade McCorison was unable to play due to injury. Andon McCorison paced the Wolverines with 9, while Brandt Mill had 6, Gabe Kerrone and Maxx Russell had 5, and Eric Rader had 4.
In Ninilchik’s victory over Lumen Christi, Kade McCorison had 31, Russell had 15, Andon McCorison had 5 and Rader had 1.
For Lumen, Taizano Nelson had 21, Bryce Sanders had 9, Porter Brady had 7 and Henry Pekar had 4.
For Unalaska, Kaidon Parker had 12, Aaron San Luis, Jayvee Villafuerte, Jamin Tolai and Anatoly Fomin had 6, Nicolas Kitsyuk had 4 and Jade Cabatu had 2.
Northern Lights Conference
The Wasilla girls defeated Soldotna in the semifinals of the Northern Lights Conference tournament at Grace Christian in Anchorage on Friday, while the SoHi boys topped Kodiak to make it to the fourth-place game.
The Warriors won 73-29 to move to the final against Colony, which defeated Mountain City Christian Academy 50-41.
The girls championship is at 6:45 p.m. Saturday, while the third-place game between Soldotna and MCCA is at 11:45 a.m. Saturday.
Savannah Kroon paced the Warriors with 27 points, while Mylee Anderson had 16 and Layla Hays pitched in 12. Also, Mielee Merchant had 9, Katie Jackson had 4, Kyleigh Boling had 3 and Kinley Lynch had 2.
For Soldotna, Hope Hillyer led the way with 9, while Juliet Innes and Alyssa McDonald had 5, Anaulie Sedivy and Brooke Walters had 3, and Laurel Johnson and Isabelle Cruz had 2.
In the boys tournament, Palmer and Wasilla will play for the title at 5 p.m. Saturday, while Grace and Colony will play for third place at 1:30 p.m.
The SoHi boys will play MCCA for fourth place at 10 a.m. Saturday after a 43-40 victory over Kodiak on Friday.
Soldotna head coach Darren Zibell wrote in a text message that Izaiah Gilbert had a free throw to put the Stars up by one point late, then great team defense prevented Kodiak from getting a good look on the Bears’ last possession.
For the Stars, Gilbert had 19, while Bryan Berg had 12, Scott Beiber had 3, Easton Hawkins, Josh Babcock, Theo Huff and Kenai Lepule had 2, and Damari Adams had 1.
