The Homer girls basketball team remained eligible for the Class 3A state basketball tournament by defeating Redington 38-23 on Saturday in the third-place game of the Southcentral Conference tournament at Nikiski High School.
Anchorage Christian Schools and Kenai Central girls earned the automatic state bids by making it to the championship game.
By winning third place, the Mariners (11-8 overall) will be entered into a lottery for a state berth. Homer head coach Chad Felice said it is his understanding that the Mariners would have a 6 in 10 chance of getting to state. Felice is not certain when the lottery will be held. Homer last went to state in 2016.
The Class 3A and 4A state tournaments will be held in the Matanuska-Susitna valleys from March 25 to 27.
Against the Huskies, Homer used its tough defense to pull away. The Mariners, No. 1 from the Southern Division, led 6-5 after the first quarter, then 17-7 at the half and 29-14 after the third quarter against the Huskies, No. 3 from the north.
Felice said his team’s defense got back on track after a 45-30 loss to the Kardinals in Friday’s semis.
“Yesterday, it just wasn’t our day,” Felice said. “Credit to Kenai. They came out, wanted it more and played really well.”
Saturday was a different day.
“Today the girls came ready to go with a ton of energy,” Felice said. “Our defense was on it all day.”
Laura Inama paced the Mariners with 13 points, while Delilah Harris added eight. For Redington, Lexi Seymore had 10 points, while Destiny Simmons had eight.
Felice said Inama played the whole game Friday and Saturday.
“She didn’t miss a beat for a second,” he said. “She’s a freak of an athlete. She just goes and goes and goes.”
The Homer coach also said Hannah Hatfield made nice passes, Mel Morris rebounded well, Harris made some big shots and Rhodes ran the offense.
“The girls played really well today,” Felice said. “Everybody played together and player their heart out.”
ACS girls 91, Kenai 18
Playing in the Southcentral Conference for the last time before moving up to Class 4A, the Lions cruised past the Kardinals (7-12 overall) to defend last season’s championship.
Anchorage Christian Schools, No. 1 from the north, rushed to a 34-8 lead after the first quarter against the Kards, No. 3 from the south.
Sayvia Sellers led 11 Lions players in the scoring column with 36 points. Mykaila Pickard had 15 points, while Sunny Pedebone had 13 and Sarah Sorrells added eight.
Emma Beck led the Kardinals with nine points.
ACS boys 40, Grace 37
The Lions, No. 2 from the north, defended their conference title by defeating the Grizzlies, No. 1 from the north. ACS will move up to Class 4A next season.
Last season, as the country was shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic, JC McGee hit a last-second 3-pointer to give the Lions a 48-46 victory over Grace in the Southcentral title game.
McGee came up huge again in the final minutes Saturday. He put the Lions up 38-35 with 55 seconds to play with a bucket and free throw. After Jaxon Trevithick cut it to 38-37, McGree had a driving layup with 27 seconds left for a 40-37 game.
Grace missed several 3-point attempts in the final seconds.
McGee had 11 points — seven in the final quarter — while Josh Davis also had 11 for ACS. For Grace, Jaren Miller had 10 and Luke Lentfer had eight.
Houston boys 73, Homer 50
The Hawks, No. 3 from the north, put on a scoring display in the final three quarters to top the Mariners, No. 1 from the south, and earn third place. Homer finishes at 14-5, while Houston is still eligible for a state berth from the lottery.
The Mariners led 21-7 after the first quarter, but Houston led 31-27 at halftime and 51-36 after three quarters.
Houston buried 13 3-pointers to make the comeback possible. Hayden Howard had five 3s for 26 points, Braden Cork had three 3s for 11 points, and Cody Wyrick and Cole Taylor had two 3s for 12 points. Hunter Jefferson added eight for the Hawks.
For Homer, Clayton Beachy and Ty Etzwiler each had 11, while River Mann and Carter Tennison each had eight.
Seward boys 57, Kenai 28
The Seahawks, No. 2 from the south, topped the Kardinals, No. 3 from the south, for fourth place.
Both teams finish at 12-7, with the Seahawks owning a 4-1 advantage in the season series.
Seward led 14-7 after a quarter and 28-12 at halftime.
Trey Ingalls had four 3-pointers on the way to 21 points for the Seahawks, while Max Pfeiffenberger had three 3-pointers and 19 points.
For Kenai, Jordan Kvasnikoff had 16.
Grace girls 36, Seward 27
The Grizzlies, No. 2 from the north, defeated Seward, No. 2 from the south, for second place. Seward finishes the season at 7-12.
The second quarter proved to be the difference in the game. The Seahawks led 7-6 after the first quarter, but Grace led 18-11 at halftime. The Grizzlies would then outscore the Seahawks by two in the second half.
Tessa Binder paced Grace with 20 points. For Seward, Shelby Sieminski had 12 points, while Katelyn Lemme added nine.
Nikiski girls 49, Houston 44
The Bulldogs finished 6-12 by defeating the Hawks in the seventh-place game. Nikiski also beat Houston 61-41 on Feb. 27, but that was with leading scorer Lillian Carstens, who was injured in that first game against Houston and remained out for Saturday’s game.
The Hawks had a 24-20 at the half and 36-35 lead after three quarters, but Nikiski finished the season on a 14-8 kick.
Avery White had 15 points to lead the Bulldogs’ victory, while Rylee Ellis added eight. For Houston, Anna Whitted had 10 points, while Hanna Elson, Hana Haddeland and Kate Bredberg each had nine.
Redington boys 44, Nikiski 43
The Huskies, the No. 4 seed from the north, edged the Bulldogs (1-19 overall), the No. 4 seed from the South, for seventh place.
Nikiski opened up a 16-10 lead after the first quarter, but trailed 24-18 at the half and 34-30 after three quarters.
Bryce Murdock led a balanced attack for the Huskies with 11 points, while Trevor Bowman and Logan Seymore each had nine and Cort Sandefur added eight.
For Nikiski, Caileb Payne had 22, while Austin Stafford pitched in 12.
Region cheerleading results: 1. Kenai Central; 2. Anchorage Christian Schools; 3. Homer Mariners.
Saturday girls
Grizzlies 36, Seahawks 27
Grace 6 12 5 13 —36
Seward 7 4 5 11 —27
GRACE CHRISTIAN (36) — Lash 4, Binder 20, Wood 6, Annett 4, Trevithick 0, Turner 2.
SEWARD (27) — Ingalls 0, Schilling 0, Jagielski 2, Sieminski 12, Lemme 9, Brockman 0, Dougherty 0, Nilsson 0, Cronin 0, Ambrosiani 4.
Bulldogs 49, Hawks 44
Houston 7 17 12 8 —44
Nikiski 8 12 15 14 —49
HOUSTON (44) — Gillespie 3, Reintsma 2, Allen 0, Winter 1, Elson 9, Graham 1, Rusher 0, Whitted 10, Haddeland 9, Bredberg 9.
NIKISKI (49) — Jeffreys 3, Stock 2, Ellis 8, White 15, Nelson 2, Epperheimer 5, Sutton 4, Grenier 6, Burman 0, McCaughey 0, Weeks 4.
Mariners 38, Huskies 23
Redington 5 2 7 9 —23
Homer 6 11 12 9 —38
REDINGTON (23) — Simmons 8, Dirang 0, Earl 0, Stocker 0, Pitcher 2, Reavis 2, Seymore 10, Anderstrom 1.
HOMER (38) — Rhodes 2, Harris 8, Shelby 0, Inama 13, Morris 4, Ellison 2, Hatfield 7, Smude 2.
Lions 91, Kardinals 18
ACS 34 18 22 17 —91
Kenai 8 2 4 4 —18
ANCHORAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS (91) — Sellers 36, Pedebone 13, Alex 3, Speakman 6, Tiulana 2, Wood 2, Mathot 2, Alex-Mayer 2, Pickard 15, Sorrells 8, Johnson 2.
KENAI CENTRAL (18) — Nunn 1, Keyes 0, Koziczkowski 1, Wilson 2, Satathite 5, Nash 0, McCanna 0, Bernard 0, Beck 9.
Saturday boys
Huskies 44, Bulldogs 43
Redington 10 14 10 10 —44
Nikiski 16 2 12 13 —43
REDINGTON (44) — Bowman 9, Ja. Williams 2, Jh. Williams 5, Bond 0, Sandefur 8, Seymore 9, Murdock 11.
NIKISKI (43) — Bostic 2, Grenier 0, Malston 1, Stafford 12, C. Payne 22, Sutton 0, Handley 6.
Hawks 73, Mariners 50
Houston 7 24 20 22 —73
Homer 21 6 9 14 —50
HOUSTON (73) — Cork 11, Graydon 0, Howard 26, Wyrick 12, Taylor 12, Bunn 0, Barela 0, Hina 4, Jefferson 8, Campbell 0.
HOMER (50) — Smith 0, Beachy 11, Etzwiler 11, Edens 0, Carroll 0, Huffman 0, Knapp 5, Irons 0, Mann 8, Tennison 8, Raymond 7.
Seahawks 57, Kardinals 28
Seward 14 14 14 15 —57
Kenai 7 5 11 5 —28
SEWARD (57) — Mullaly 2, Koster 5, N. Ambrosiani 0, B. Ambrosiani 0, Cronin 6, Ingalls 21, Pfeiffenberger 19, Deboard 2, Davis 2, Spanos 0, Deel 0.
KENAI CENTRAL (28) — Dunham 2, Hamilton 0, Baisden 1, Jo. Kvasnikoff 16, Beck 0, Ja. Kvasnikoff 6, Tunseth 3, White 0, Hanson 0.
Homer’s Eyoab Knapp goes up for a jumper on Houston’s Braden Cork and Brandon Hina on Saturday, March 13, 2021, in the third-place game in the Southcentral Conference boys tournament at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
