The Kenai Central girls and boys basketball teams defeated Nikiski on Friday at the Peninsula Conference tournament to earn Class 3A state berths and spots in the conference championship game.

Both Kardinals squads will return to state for the first time since 2023.

The Kenai boys won 66-38, while the Kardinals girls edged the Bulldogs 59-54. The Grace Christian girls also earned the right to go for a third-straight Class 3A crown with a 59-8 victory over Homer.

Saturday at the tournament, the Grace and Kenai girls play for the title at 4 p.m., while the Homer and Kenai boys play for the title at 2 p.m. Top seed Homer had a bye to the title game.

The Homer and Nikiski girls play for third place at noon.

The Nikiski girls and boys, and Homer girls, will not go to state because Class 3A has no at-large berths.

The Nikiski and Kenai girls split two games this season. The two rivals delivered on a tight game with Kenai leading 17-15 after the first quarter, a 29-all tie at the half and Nikiski leading 45-42 after the third quarter.

“I would say, overall, it was one of the best games of the year,” Nikiski head coach Jeremy Garrett said. “For our team, for sure.

“It was back and forth. It was a fun game. Just didn’t turn out the way we wanted.”

Jake Songer said getting the state berth in his first year as head coach was tough.

“They just won’t go away — the ‘Dawgs won’t go away,” Songer said. “That was just great coaching for them to have such a small squad, and just keep the rotations going and keep us guessing.”

Garrett has worked to expand his rotation beyond five all season, but Kenai knew that putting the Bulldogs in foul trouble would be a big advantage.

“We talked about the foul game a lot, and we were hoping it happened a little sooner,” Songer said. “But overall, it kind of worked.”

Nikiski freshman star Blakeley Jorgensen battled foul trouble for over half of the game, getting her third with 42 seconds left in the third quarter and her fourth with 4:36 left in the third quarter.

Jorgensen led Nikiski with 17 points. Abby White was the second-leading scorer with 16 points and fouled out with a little over 2 minutes to play.

“I think that was probably the key factor,” Garrett said of foul trouble. “The officials, they did a great job.

“The girls battled through it. But with our low numbers, it’s tough sometimes.”

Jorgensen wasn’t even the top-scoring freshman in the game. Kenai’s Bryleigh Williams had 23 points and three 3-pointers.

Songer said Williams has not been shooting well, so in practice the focus has been driving and kicking.

“I don’t know,” Songer said. “In practice, she’s not shooting well. The last couple games, she’s not shooting well. She did better tonight.”

Garrett said Kenai did a better job attacking Nikiski’s defense with passing in the second half. Songer said he thought fatigue went in Kenai’s favor in the fourth quarter.

Jorgensen tied the game for the last time at 52 with a layup with 2:24 left, then Kenai’s Ellsi Miller, who had 15, had an old-fashioned 3-point play with 2:11 left for a 55-52 lead.

“Ellsi sat a lot in the third quarter,” Songer said. “I gambled putting her in pretty early in the fourth quarter with four fouls.

“She was able to go in and be fresh, and I feel like that made a big difference.”

Addison Perkins had a rebound layup to cut the gap to 55-54 with 1:53 left, but Williams hit a jumper for a 57-54 lead with 1:53 left.

Nikiski had a turnover with 29 seconds left, then McKenzie Spence hit two foul shots for a 59-54 lead with 23 seconds left.

“We shot our free throws and we were good,” Garrett said. “Offensive rebounds, we played a great game.

“Kenai played a great game too and hit a bunch of big shots. It was just a good game.”

Spence and Willow Graham had 5 for Kenai, while Sierra Hershberger and Evelyn Cooper had 4, and Allie Hutchins had 3.

Garrett said seniors Avery Ellis and Kailey Stynsberg were steadying forces all game. Ellis had 9, Madison Iyatunguk had 6 and Stynsberg had 4.

Kenai boys 66, Nikiski 38

Kenai boys head coach Nolan Rose said the goals Friday were to get a state berth and get the starters some rest for Saturday’s title game.

The Kards checked all those boxes by taking a 16-4 lead after a quarter and 36-17 lead at the half.

“Anytime you earn a trip to state, it’s a great experience for the kids,” Rose said. “You get to play in the Alaska Airlines Center.

“They’re going to remember that for the rest of their life. You get to play on the main court. So I’m happy for them to have earned a life memory.”

Rose said the Kardinals forced 16 turnovers in the first half. That was enough to overcome a slow shooting start, then Kenai warmed up to hit 10 3-pointers.

“Kenai is just too much,” Nikiski head coach Reid Kornstad said. “They’ve got too many shooters and their pressure really got to us.”

The Kardinals also had a good game on the offensive glass.

“We’re obviously not very big, but we can be pretty scrappy at times,” Rose said. “We’re pretty active, and we’re quick to the ball.”

Kornstad said Nikiski also was hurt by missing some easy putback attempts.

“It’s tough to develop any kind of confidence when you can’t see the ball go through the hole,” Kornstad said.

Caleb Litke had 17 for Nikiski, while Miles Metteer had 10, Mason Tunseth had 8, Ben Harris had 7, Riel Castillo and Carter Felchle had 6, Garrett McCanna had 5, Reid Titus had 3, and Eli Smith and Aidan Jackman had 2.

The Bulldogs finished the season at 1-21, but Kornstad sees progress. He liked the way the team committed to the game plan and competed.

“The seniors, thanks to them, for laying a foundation of hard work and getting through adversity,” Kornstad said. “We’ve got a good crew coming back that hopefully we can build on.”

For Nikiski, Carter Eiter had 14, Kameron Bird had 12, Kevin Love had 8, Lynn Deveer had 3 and Zach Hokema had 1.

Grace girls 59, Homer 8

The Grizzlies advanced to the title game.

Sophie Lentfer had 19 for Grace, while MJ Van der horst had 14, Jaden Helton and Hope Jackson had 6, Reese Van der horst had 5, Maddy Ayers had 4, Poppy Wiggers-Pidduck had 3 and Molly Schild had 2.

For Homer, Almalinda Norman, Keagan Niebuhr and Emily Stafford had 2, while Channing Lowney and Kieryn Huffman had 1.

Class 3A Peninsula Conference awards

GIRLS

MVP — Sophie Lentfer, Grace.

Coaches of the Year — Jeremy Garrett, Nikiski; Krystyna Park, Grace.

Good sport team — Faith Salima, Grace; Kya Stokes, Homer; Sierra Hershberger, Kenai; Addison Perkins, Nikiski.

First team — Sophie Lentfer, Grace; MJ Van der horst, Grace; Channing Lowney, Homer; Ella Boerger, Grace; Poppy Wiggers-Pidduck, Grace; Ellsi Miller, Kenai; Bryleigh Williams, Kenai; Blakeley Jorgensen, Nikiski.

Second team — Sierra Hershberger, Kenai; Avery Ellis, Nikiski; McKenzie Spence, Kenai; Kailey Stynsberg, Nikiski; Hope Jackson, Grace; Madison Iyatunguk, NIkiski.

BOYS

MVP — Miles Metteer, Kenai.

Coach of the Year — Jose Musa, Homer.

Good sport team — Henry Wedvik, Homer; Carter Felchle, Kenai; Lynn Deveer, Nikiski.

First team — Miles Metteer, Kenai; Henry Wedvik, Homer; Einar Pederson, Homer; Caleb Litke, Kenai; Kameron Bird, Nikiski; Carter Eiter, Nikiski; Preston Stanislaw, Homer; Ben Engebretsen, Homer.

Second team — Reid Titus, Kenai; Spencer Dye, Homer; Lynn Deveer, Nikiski; Carter Felchle, Kenai; Dylan Hall, Nikiski.

The Kenai Central girls celebrate earning a Class 3A state berth Friday, March 7, 2025, at the Peninsula Conference tournament at Nikiski Middle-High School in Nikiski, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Central’s Mason Tunseth battles against the trap of Nikiski’s Dylan Hall and Kevin Love on Friday, March 7, 2025, at the Peninsula Conference tournament at Nikiski Middle-High School in Nikiski, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Central’s Bryleigh Williams drives on Abby White on Friday, March 7, 2025, at the Peninsula Conference tournament at Nikiski Middle-High School in Nikiski, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)