Anchorage Christian Schools swept Kenai Central and Juneau-Douglas swept Soldotna on Thursday at the opening day of the Al Howard Tournament at Soldotna High School.
The Kardinals girls fell to the Lions 66-23 to open the tournament, with Emma Beck scoring 17 for Kenai. Chloe Goldsby and Ella Yragui each had two, while Rylie Sparks and Emilee Wilson had one.
Kenai, a Class 3A school, had opened the season with 11 straight wins, but ran into a juggernaut in ACS. The Lions have won five straight state titles — 2022 at the Class 4A level and the previous four at the Class 3A level.
For the Lions, Chloe Auble led the way by burying five 3-pointers en route to 17 points.
The Soldotna girls fell to 4-8 overall with a 46-28 loss to Juneau-Douglas.
The Stars hung tough in the first half, trailing 10-7 after a quarter and 19-16 at halftime. But the Crimson Bears were able to open up a 32-20 lead after three quarters.
Josie Sheridan paced the Stars with 15 points, while Tanner Inman had six, Katelyn Morrison had three, and Anaulie Sedivy and Kaytlin McAnelly each had two.
Skylar Tuckwood pumped in 13 points for Juneau, while Mila Hargrave had nine, Mariah Schauwecker had seven, Ashley Laudert had six, Chloe Casperson had four, Carlynn Casperson and Gwen Nizich each had three, and Kiyara Miller had one.
The Kenai boys fell 56-37 to Anchorage Christian Schools, with Jakob Kvasnikoff leading the Kards with 15 points. Also for Kenai, Wade James had 12, Carnell Gump had four, and Luke Armstrong, Davion Swain and Roc Riggle had two. The Kardinals dropped to 8-4 overall.
For ACS, JD McGee and Jeph English each led the way with 15.
The Soldotna boys dropped a 57-40 decision to the Crimson Bears, with Jakob Brown pacing the Stars with 12 points. Izaiah Gilbert had nine, Andrew Pieh and Zac Buckbee had four, Eli Corbett had three and Cameron Laroque had two. The Stars are now 2-11 overall.
For Juneau, Sean Oliver had 19, Orion Dybdahl had 16 and Kai Hargrave had 15.
Today at the tournament, the ACS girls face Juneau at 3 p.m., the ACS boys face Juneau at 4:30 p.m., the SoHi girls tip off with Kenai at 6 p.m., and the SoHi boys face the Kardinals at 7:30 p.m.
Sitka girls 45, Homer 30
The Mariners opened up their trip to Southeast on Wednesday by dropping to 2-7 overall with the nonconference loss.
Sydney Shelby paced the Mariners with 12, while Lawson Alexson had 10, Minadora Reutov and Lillie Mae Kuhn had three each, and Gracie Miotke had two.
For Sitka, Naia Nelson had 12, Marina Olney-Miller had 11, Ava Brady had 10, Mecca Goldsberry had six, and Adrianna Denkinger, Michele Winger and Harlee Nelson each had two.
Sitka boys 54, Homer 31
The host Wolves dropped the Mariners to 1-8 overall with the nonconference win.
Lance Seneff pumped in 11 points for Homer, while Morgan Techie had eight, Trent Fell had six, Lucas Story had four and Niko Sulczynski had two.
For Sitka, Dylan Crenna had 13, Trey Demmert had 10, Dezi Olney-Miller had nine, Trey Johnson had seven, Jaden Costello had five, Angelo Elefante had four, and Grady Smith, Matthew Leach and Ben Turner each had two.
