The Soldotna boys won an important nonconference hoops meeting 48-46 Friday over Eagle River.
Eagle River is a rival Class 4A opponent, so the win will help SoHi’s position in the Win Percentage Index standings, which is a formula that decides two “wild card” teams at the eight-team state tournament in March. With a 5-7 record against 4A competition, the Stars are currently ranked 17th in the most recently released WPI standings, 11 spots behind the next-highest qualified team, Thunder Mountain.
Kodiak C team 63, CIA 36
The Eagles continued their trip to Kodiak by dropping a 63-36 decision to Kodiak’s C squad.
Kodiak ESS 54, Nanwalek 46
Kodiak ESS notched a Peninsula Conference victory over Nanwalek on Friday in Kodiak.
Dimond Lady Lynx Prep Shootout
The Soldotna girls advanced to the championship game of the Maroon bracket Friday night with a 50-47 semifinal win over West Valley.
The win pitted SoHi against South Anchorage at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Stars freshman Ituau Tuisaula led the charge Friday with 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Brittani Blossom chipped in 12 points and Danica Schmidt added 11 on 4-for-5 shooting. Sierra Tate scored a game-high 26 points for West Valley.
SoHi started fast with a 14-5 first quarter over the Wolfpack, but West Valley edged back into the picture, trailing 26-19 at halftime.
After SoHi pushed its lead to 40-30 at the end of the third quarter, West Valley made one last desperate surge in the fourth quarter, but fell short by three points.
Kenai girls 44, Thunder Mountain 30
The Kardinals topped the Falcons on Friday to advance to the Maroon bracket fourth-place game, set for 1 p.m. Saturday against Palmer.
One night after failing to score a field goal, Lara Creighton led Kenai with 14 points on seven made buckets, and Brooke Satathite added 13 points.
Thunder Mountain took a 13-9 lead in the first quarter, but Kenai proceeded to outscore the Falcons 35-17 in the final three quarters of action to seal the victory.
Valdez Elks Tournament
The Seward boys advanced to the fifth-place game of the tourney with a 59-30 victory over Lathrop’s junior varsity. The game is 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Sully Hauze had 10 points to lead a balanced attack for Seward, which led 26-16 at halftime.
The Seward girls also advanced to the fifth-place game at noon Saturday, topping Cordova 51-27.
Ashley Jackson led the charge for Seward with 19 points, including four 3-pointers, while Ayla Lapinskas had 12. Seward trailed 6-5 after one quarter, but had a 23-15 lead at half.
Ninilchik Tournament
The Ninilchik girls moved to 2-0 at the tournament with a 47-31 victory over Akiak, which fell to 0-2.
DeeAnn White had 22 points for the Wolverines, while Olivia Delgado added 14.
Shaylene Egoak paced Akiak with 11 points.
The Ninilchik boys also moved to 2-0 at the tourney by topping Kalskag 83-21.
Tyler Presley and Dalton Geppert each had 19 points for the Wolverines, while JD Mumey added 18.
Also Friday, the Soldotna JV girls defeated Nikiski JV 36-30. The Stars are 2-0 at the tourney, while Nikiski is 0-2.
The tournament concludes today with Akiak girls vs. Nikiski JV at noon, Kalskag boys vs. Ninilchik Timberwolves at 1:30 p.m., Ninilchik girls vs. SoHi JV at 3 p.m. and Ninilchik boys vs. Minto at 4:30 p.m.
Homer Winter Carnival
The North Pole girls claimed a slim 25-23 win Friday over Homer at the Winter Carnival tournament to improve to 2-0, all while outscoring their opponents by five points over two days.
North Pole trailed Homer 10-7 at halftime after a scoreless second quarter, but closed the gap in the third quarter and finished with a 10-6 run in the fourth to seal the win.
Susan Glade led the Patriots with six points, but North Pole got scoring from six other players. Uliana Reutov paced Homer with nine points.
Galena boys 40, Nikiski 32
The Hawks moved to 1-1 at the Winter Carnival tournament Friday with a win over the Bulldogs.
Eric Jones scored a game-high 19 points for Galena, while Jace Kornstad hit four 3’s en route to 14 points for Nikiski, and Ian Johnson had 11 points before fouling out.
Nikiski started fast with an 11-5 lead, but saw it’s lead disappear by halftime, which Galena led 18-17. Galena then outscored Nikiski 22-15 in the second half to secure the win.
Sitka boys 71, Homer 57
Marjo Vidad scored a game-high 29 points to lead the Wolves to a Friday night victory over Homer.
Koby Etzwiler paced Homer with 20 points on six 3’s, while Jordan Beachy added 13 points.
Sitka pumped in 21 points in the first quarter to get off to a four-point lead, then reached halftime with a 39-26 advantage. The Wolves then extended the lead to 56-37 after the third quarter.
In other games, the Galena girls beat Kodiak in a double-overtime thriller. Pearle Green hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win it for Galena. Kiana Korta connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer in the first overtime to force a second period.
Friday girls
Stars 50, Wolfpack 47
West Valley 5 14 11 17 — 47
Soldotna 14 12 14 10 — 50
WEST VALLEY (47) — Wreckworth 0 0-0 0, Silva 3 0-0 6, Tate 10 2-3 26, Winkelman 0 0-0 0, Martellano 3 0-0 6, Pendergrass 2 1-2 5, Dick 1 0-0 2, Starks 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 3-5 47.
SOLDOTNA (50) — McGillivray 0 0-0 0, Miller 1 1-4 3, Blossom 5 2-2 12, A. Schmidt 2 3-4 7, Tuttle 0 0-0 0, Tuisaula 7 1-5 15, Kruse 0 0-0 0, Wells 0 2-2 2, D. Schmidt 4 3-6 11. Totals 19 12-23 50.
3-point goals — West Valley 4 (Tate 4); Soldotna 0.
Team fouls — West Valley 17; Soldotna 11. Fouled out — none.
Kardinals 44, Falcons 30
Kenai Central 9 11 11 13 — 44
Thunder Mountain 13 6 4 7 — 30
KENAI CENTRAL (44) — Calvert 1 2-2 4, Miller 0 3-4 3, Coghill 0 0-0 0, Machen-Gray 0 0-0 0, Wilson 1 0-0 2, Creighton 7 0-1 14, Satathite 5 3-4 13, Beck 2 3-4 8. Totals 16 11-15 44.
THUNDER MOUNTAIN (30) — Uddipa 1 0-0 3, Lewis 4 1-2 10, Luna 0 0-0 0, Fenumial 1 0-0 2, N. Fenumial 2 0-0 4, Jenkins 4 3-5 11. Totals 14 4-6 35.
3-point goals — Kenai 1 (Beck); Thunder Mountain 3 (Uddipa 3).
Team fouls — Kenai 8; Thunder Mountain 11. Fouled out — none.
Patriots 25, Mariners 23
North Pole 7 0 8 10 — 25
Homer 4 6 7 6 — 23
NORTH POLE (25) — Glade 3 0-2 6, Bartley 0 0-0 0, Sullivan 0 0-0 0, Blankenship 0 3-8 3, Hardy 1 1-2 3, Grant 0 0-0 0, Genter 1 1-4 3, Esmailka 1 1-2 4, O’Rear 1 0-0 2, Richards 1 2-4 4. Totals 8 8-22 25.
HOMER (23) — Carroll 1 0-0 2, Reutov 4 1-4 9, Knott 0 0-0 0, Doughty 0 0-0 0, Todd 1 0-0 2, Parish 1 0-0 2, Bales 0 0-0 0, Veldstra 2 0-0 5, Box 1 1-2 3. Totals 10 2-6 23.
3-point goals — North Pole 1 (Esmailka); Homer 1 (Veldstra).
Team fouls — North Pole 9; Homer 15. Fouled out — none.
Seahawks 51, Wolverines 27
Seward 5 18 13 15 — 51
Cordova 6 9 8 4 — 27.
SEWARD (51) — Cinereski 0 0-0 0, Moriarity 2 1-2 5, Terry 2 0-0 5, VonBorstel 3 0-0 6, Jackson 6 3-6 19, Lapinskas 6 0-0 12, Sullivan 0 0-0 0, Petrosius 2 0-2 4. Totals — 21 4-10 51.
CORDOVA (27) — Bourgeois 2 1-1 6, Tabara 2 0-0 5, Navarro 2 0-2 5, DeCook 0 0-0 0, Witsoe 0 0-0 0, Peebles 3 0-0 6, Vargas 2 1-2 5. Totals — 11 2-5 27.
3-point goals — Seward 5 (Jackson 4, Terry); Cordova 3 (Bourgeois, Tabara, Navarro). Team fouls — Seward 12, Cordova 9. Fouled out — none.
Wolverines 47, Thunderbolts 31
Akiak 8 7 4 12 — 31
Ninilchik 11 10 17 9 — 47
AKIAK (31) — Demientieff 2 0-0 4, Egoak 5 0-2 11, S. Williams 0 0-0 0, Lott 0 0-0 0, Gilila 0 0-0 0, A. Williams 6 0-0 14, Ivan-Williams 1 0-2 2. Totals — 14 0-4 31.
NINILCHIK (47) — Clark 1 0-1 2, Cooper 1 0-0 2, Delgado 6 2-5 14, J. Johnson 0 0-0 0, S. Johnson 2 0-0 4, Kain 1 0-0 3, Kreger 0 0-0 0, Pinnow 0 0-0 0, White 9 1-2 22. Totals — 20 3-8 47.
3-point goals — Akiak 3 (A. Williams 2, Egoak); Ninilchik 3 (White 2, Kain). Team fouls — Akiak 6, Ninilchik 7. Fouled out — none.
Friday boys
Hawks 40, Bulldogs 32
Galena 5 13 8 14 — 40
Nikiski 11 6 6 9 — 32
GALENA (40) — Waska 1 0-0 2, James 1 0-0 2, Moos 1 6-6 8, Phillips 0 0-0 0, Holmberg 2 0-0 5, Jones 7 4-4 19, Kruger 0 0-0 0, Riddle 1 2-4 4. Totals 13 12-14 40.
NIKISKI (32) — Johnson 5 1-2 11, Weathers 0 0-0 0, G. Ellis 0 0-0 0, Kornstad 5 0-0 14, B. Ellis 1 0-0 3, DeSiena 0 0-0 0, Bridges 0 0-0 0, Handley 2 0-0 4. Totals 13 1-2 32.
3-point goals — Galena 2 (Holmberg 1, Jones 1); Nikiski 5 (Kornstad 4, B. Ellis 1).
Team fouls — Galena 7; Nikiski 16. Fouled out — Johnson.
Wolves 71, Mariners 57
Sitka 21 18 17 15 — 71
Homer 17 9 11 20 — 57
SITKA (71) — Taccad 1 1-2 3, Dumag 0 2-2 2, Snyder 0 0-0 0, Baker-Moore 2 0-0 4, Vidad 10 4-5 29, Duncan 0 1-2 1, Schmitt 2 4-4 8, Flores 0 0-0 0, Langtiengne 6 3-5 15, Rule 4 1-1 9. Totals 25 16-21 71.
HOMER (57) — Rohr 2 3-6 7, Etzwiler 7 0-0 20, Adkins 2 0-0 4, Ravin 1 1-1 3, Carroll 1 0-0 2, Edens 1 1-2 4, Beachy 5 0-0 13, McGhee 1 0-0 2, Brinster 0 0-0 0, Mann 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 5-9 57.
3-point goals — Sitka 5 (Vidad 5); Homer 10 (Etzwiler 6, Beachy 3, Edens 1).
Team fouls — Sitka 12; Homer 18. Fouled out — Edens.
Seahawks 59, Malemutes JV 30
Lathrop 8 8 4 10 — 30
Seward 14 12 19 14 — 59
LATHROP JV (30) — Phillips 3 0-2 6, Johnson 0 0-0 0, No. 15 2 0-0 4, Rones 3 0-0 7, Anders 3 0-0 6, Hall 0 1-2 1, West 1 0-0 2, Evans 0 0-0 0, Siever 0 0-0 0, Fernandes 2 0-0 4, Bass 0 0-1 0, J. Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals — 14 1-3 30.
SEWARD (59) — Pahno 4 0-0 9, Kratz 3 0-0 9, Hauze 4 0-0 10, Estes 4 0-0 8, Wilps 0 1-2 1, Spanos 0 3-7 3, Sieverts 2 1-2 5, Jarvis 0 0-0 0, Nilsson 1 3-4 5, Deboard 0 0-2 0, Petrosius 4 1-2 9. Totals — 22 9-19 59.
3-point goals — Lathrop 1 (Rones); Seward 6 (Kratz 3, Hauze 2, Pahno). Team fouls — Lathrop 19, Seward 10. Fouled out — Rones.
Wolverines 83, Grizzlies 21
Kalskag 7 8 2 4 — 21
Ninilchik 26 22 24 11 — 83
KALSKAG (21) — Ivan 0 0-0 0, Edan 2 0-0 4, Levi 0 0-0 0, Byrd 1 0-0 2, Mute 2 0-0 4, Nook 1 0-0 3, Morgan 4 0-0 8, Michealson 0 0-0 0. Totals — 10 0-0 21.
NINILCHIK (83) — Presley 6 7-10 19, Koch 3 2-4 8, Geppert 9 0-0 19, Clark 1 0-0 2, Bartolowits 4 0-0 9, Mumey 7 1-2 18, McGinnis 0 0-2 0, White 3 2-2 8. Totals — 33 12-20 83.
3-point goals — Kalskag 1 (Nook); Ninilchik 5 (Mumey 3, Geppert, Bartolowits); Team fouls — Ninilchik 4, Fouled out — none.
