Hoops roundup: SoHi sweeps Seward on senior night

The Soldotna girls and boys basketball teams celebrated senior night Thursday at Soldotna High School by sweeping Seward in nonconference action.

The Soldotna girls topped Seward 35-23. Soldotna is 9-12 overall, while Seward is 8-11 overall.

Soldotna led 8-5 after a quarter, 20-8 at halftime and 25-14 after three quarters.

Katelyn Morrison and Josie Sheridan paced the Stars with 10 points, while Ellie Burns had eight, Adarra Hagelund had six and Jolie Widaman had one.

For Seward, Shelby Sieminski had 13, Hannah Schilling had six, Robin Cronin had two, and Hailey Ingalls and Lena Jagielski had one apiece.

The Stars honored Widaman, Hagelund, Burns, Rhys Cannava, Dianne Nasibog, Montana Fischer and managers Bella Tough, Ashlee Anderson and Emma Brantley as part of senior night.

The Soldotna boys defeated Seward 50-36. The Stars are 9-15 overall, while Seward is 5-14 overall.

The Stars led 13-8 after a quarter, 25-11 at the half and 37-21 after three quarters.

Ethan Sewell and Maleda Denbrock paced the Stars with 10, while Blake Inger had nine, Brock Wilson had six, Nate Johnson had five, Zac Buckbee and Jakob Brown had three, and Derrick Jones and Will Inman had two.

For Seward, Tommy Cronin had 13, Ozzy Deal had seven, Bergen Davis had six, Ben Ambrosiani had five, Nick Ambrosiani had three and Peter Spanos had two.

SoHi honored seniors Johnson, Denbrock, Sewell and Wilson, plus managers Caiden Johnson and Ashton Stonecipher.

Peninsula Conference tournament

The Nanwalek and Cook Inlet Academy girls basketball teams opened up the Peninsula Conference tournament Thursday with losses, while the CIA and Nanwalek boys had their opener postponed due to travel issues.

The CIA girls, the No. 3 seed, lost to No. 2 Birchwood 35-19 to fall to 5-13 overall. Birchwood led 8-5 after a quarter, 16-7 at the half and 27-11 after three quarters.

Maddy Buyse paced Birchwood with 12, while Ella Phillips added 11. For CIA, Tatum Rozak had 14, while Hope Hillyer added five.

The Nanwalek girls, the No. 4 seed, lost to No. 1 and defending conference champion Lumen 60-6.

Lumen Christi was led by 18 points from Amara Warren, 16 points from Emily Ross and 12 from Natalie Grubba.

For Nanwalek, Haley Hetrick had three, Paula Evans had two and Aggie Jimmie had one.

The Lumen Christi and Birchwood girls move to the championship at 6:30 p.m. today. Nanwalek and CIA play to stay alive in the second-place bracket at 2 p.m. today. Saturday, the loser of the championship and Nanwalek-CIA winner play at noon for second place and the tourney’s second state berth.

The boys game between No. 2 CIA and No. 3 Nanwalek did not happen Thursday due to travel issues, and will be made up today at 9:30 a.m. Lumen Christi, the No. 1 seed and defending conference champion, topped No. 4 Birchwood 67-5 to reach Friday’s 8:15 p.m. championship. Lumen will play the CIA-Nanwalek winner in that game.

Grace girls 62, Nikiski 24

The host Grizzlies posted a Peninsula Conference victory Thursday while dropping the Bulldogs to 0-8 in the league and 1-20 overall.

Leading the Grace attack were Ella Boerger with 22, Sophie Lentfer with 15 and Kai WayThomas with 13.

For Nikiski, Avery White had 10, Kinlee Jeffreys had six, Avery Ellis had five and Ashlynne Playle had three.

Grace boys 63, Nikiski 29

The host Grizzlies toppled the Bulldogs on Thursday in Peninsula Conference action. Nikiski is now 2-6 in the league and 7-15 overall.

Leading the Grace attack were Luke Lentfer with 15 points, Tyler Binder with 12 and Kellen Jedlicka with 10.

For Nikiski, Charlie Chamberlain pumped in 12, while Isaiah Daniels and Brady Bostic had five, Simon Grenier had three, and Braeden Porter and Dillon Hanson had two.

Houston girls 60, Homer 49

The host Hawks notched a nonconference win over the Mariners on Thursday to drop Homer to 8-10 overall.

Homer led 13-10 after the first quarter, but trailed 28-27 at halftime. The game was tied headed to the fourth quarter.

Emily Bitler led Houston with 14, while Anna Whitted and Abbie Baird had 11 apiece and Grace Gillespie pitched in 10.

For Homer, Sophie Ellison had 15, Delilah Harris had 12, Kaylin Anderson had nine, Sydney Shelby had seven, Mel Morris had four and Bethany Engebretsen had two.

Houston boys 85, Homer 44

The host Hawks rolled past the Mariners on Thursday in nonconference action. Homer falls to 11-9 overall.

Braden Cork led Houston with 28 points, while Hayden Howard had 20, Hunter Jefferson had 14 and Cole Taylor had 10.

For the Mariners, Peyton Edens had 16, Ryan Carroll had nine, Lance Seneff had eight, Lucas Story had six, Braden Huffman had three and Morgan Teche had two.