The Nikiski girls clinched a second-straight berth to the Class 3A state basketball tournament with a 29-26 victory over Seward on Friday in the semifinals of the Southcentral Conference tournament in Homer.
The Bulldogs had the tough task of defeating the Seahawks, who have been to state the past four years, for a third time this season.
Seward led 14-12 at the half, but Nikiski won the third quarter 13-4. It was the only time all game any team would score 10 points in a quarter.
Seward shot 27.5 percent to Nikiski’s 26.2 percent and won the boards 31-23, but Nikiski had nine turnovers to Seward’s 13.
Rachel Thompson had 16 points to lead the Bulldogs, while Kiana Clemens had 12 for the Seahawks.
The loss sent Seward to the third-place bracket, where they have survived to make state the past two years.
Homer girls 44, Cordova 35
The Mariners picked up their first state appearance since 2006, when they were at the Class 4A level, by toppling the Wolverines in Friday’s semifinals.
Cordova moves to the second-place bracket.
The Wolverines, the No. 7 seed, upset No. 2 Grace on Thursday, but came up short against No. 3 Homer.
Cordova led 11-9 after one quarter, and trailed 20-18 at halftime. But a 13-6 spurt by Homer in the third quarter proved to be too much to overcome.
Homer was 37.2 percent from the floor in the game, while the Wolverines were at 27.8 percent.
Madison Akers had 17 points for Homer, hitting 7 of 11 from the floor, while Kayla Stafford had 11 points. Dariah Songer led Cordova with 11 points.
ACS boys 58, Homer 32
Levi Auble poured in 21 points as the Lions, the No. 2 seed, topped the No. 3 Mariners to move to the title game. Homer now moves to the second-place bracket.
Homer was done in by cold shooting on Friday, connecting on just 29.5 percent from the floor. With Auble shooting 9 of 18, ACS was 40.4 percent from the floor.
Zach Bronson and Trey Huckabay each had 10 points, while Randy Kahutek had 15 rebounds.
Grace boys 53, Cordova 41
The top-seeded Grizzlies overcame a 23-20 halftime deficit to earn a state berth and move into the championship game.
Grace shot 51.3 percent from the floor while holding Cordova to 26.9 percent.
Tobin Karlberg had 22 points for Grace, while Trevor Osborne added 10. For Cordova, Jacob Werner had 16 and Dylan Cheshier had 14. The Wolverines move to the second-place bracket.
Nikiski boys 65, Houston 42
The Bulldogs, the No. 6 seed, shook off an overtime loss on Thursday to win in the second-place bracket Friday and end Houston’s season.
By taking a 14-4 lead after the first quarter, Nikiski also was able to get the reserves significant action and stay fresh for Saturday.
The Bulldogs stayed hot from downtown, nailing 9 of 19 from 3-point land. Hunter Holloway had three 3s en route to 14 points, while Nathan Carstens nailed two 3s, shot 8 of 12 from the floor, and scored 18 points. Javon Pamplin added 10 for Nikiski, which was 52 percent from the floor. Ben Bitler had 15 points to lead Houston.
Grace girls 30, Houston 19
The No. 2 Grizzlies rebounded from a Thursday upset to stay alive in the third-place bracket and end the season of the No. 6 Hawks.
Friday girls
Bulldogs 29, Seahawks 26
Seward 7 7 4 8 —26
Nikiski 6 6 13 4 —29
SEWARD (26) — Honebein 0 0-0 0, Jackson 1 0-0 3, Baldwin 0 1-2 1, Lapanskas 1 0-1 2, Perea 4 0-1 8, Clemens 5 1-1 12. Totals — 11 2-4 26.
NIKISKI (29) — Parrish 1 0-2 2, Riddall 2 0-1 4, Pitt 1 0-0 2, Litke 2 0-0 5, Kornstad 0 0-0 0, Thompson 5 4-5 16, Litzen 0 0-0 0. Totals — 11 4-8 29.
3-point goals — Seward 2 (Jackson, Clemens); Nikiski 3 (Thompson 2, Litke). Team fouls — Seward 14, Nikiski 7. Fouled out — none.
Mariners 44, Wolverines 35
Cordova 11 7 6 11 —35
Homer 9 11 13 11 —44
CORDOVA (35) — H. Hoepfner 3 0-0 7, Erbey 0 0-0 0, Songer 4 1-2 11, Felix 1 0-0 2, Phillips 3 0-2 6, S. Hoepfner 2 0-0 4, Hamberger 2 1-1 5, Allison 0 0-0 0. Totals — 15 2-5 35.
HOMER (44) — Reutov 1 1-2 3, Alexander 2 2-2 6, Clark 0 0-0 0, Akers 7 3-3 17, Fellows 2 0-0 4, Waclawski 1 1-3 3, Stafford 3 3-5 11. Totals — 16 9-12 44.
3-point goals — Cordova 3 (Songer 2, Hoepfner); Homer 3 (Stafford 2, Waclawski). Team fouls — Cordova 13, Homer 8. Fouled out — Songer.
Friday boys
Bulldogs 65, Hawks 42
Nikiski 14 14 14 23 —65
Houston 4 12 15 11 —42
NIKISKI (65) — I. Johnson 0 0-2 0, Anderson 2 0-0 5, L. Johnson 2 2-4 6, Castro 0 0-0 0, Holloway 5 1-2 14, Malston 0 0-0 0, Tauriainen 2 1-2 7, N. Carstens 8 0-0 18, Dohse 0 0-0 0, Jackson 2 0-2 5, Pamplin 5 0-0 10, B. Carstens 0 0-0 0. Totals — 26 4-12 65.
HOUSTON (42) — Mulhaney 0 0-0 0, Taylor 2 6-7 11, Ruta 4 1-2 11, Ross 1 1-1 3, Wilson 0 0-0 0, Saechao 1 0-0 2, Dika 0 0-0 0, Bitler 6 3-4 15. Totals — 14 11-14 42.
3-point goals — Nikiski 9 (Holloway 3, Tauriainen 2, Carstens 2, Anderson, Jackson); Houston 3 (Ruta 2, Taylor). Team fouls — Nikiski 14, Houston 12. Fouled out — none.
Lions 58, Mariners 32
Homer 8 11 7 6 —32
ACS 18 17 17 6 —58
HOMER (32) — B. Beachy 0 0-0 0, Edens 0 0-0 0, Reutov 3 0-0 7, Schneider 3 3-3 9, Nelson 3 0-0 8, J. Beachy 0 0-0 0, Brown 1 0-0 2, Tedesco 0 0-0 0, Knisley 1 0-0 2, Rainwater 0 0-0 0, Hutt 2 0-0 4. Totals — 13 3-3 32.
ANCHORAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS (58) — Gatkuoth 2 0-0 6, Huckabay 3 4-4 10, Geuarmo 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-0 0, Bronson 5 0-0 10, Scott 0 0-0 0, Wilson 3 1-2 7, Kohutek 1 2-2 4, Auble 9 0-0 21. Totals — 23 7-8 58.
3-point goals — Homer 3 (Nelson 2, Reutov); ACS 5 (Auble 3, Gatkuoth 2). Team fouls — Homer 7, ACS 7. Fouled out — none.
