The Nikiski girls earned a fourth straight trip to the Class 3A state tournament by toppling Kenai Central 37-25 on Friday in the semifinals of the Southcentral Conference Tournament at Anchorage Christian Schools.
The state basketball tournament was canceled Saturday by the Alaska School Activities Association.
The Bulldogs led 6-2 after a quarter, 19-9 at halftime and 32-18 after three quarters.
Bailey Epperheimer made a big difference for Nikiski, scoring 10 points on 5 of 9 shooting. Also for Nikiski, Camila Puente had seven points, Lillian Carstens had six points and 13 rebounds, Kaycee Bostic had five points, Kaitlyn Johnson had three points, and Tika Zimmerman, Shylea Sutton and McKinlee Jeffreys each had two points.
For Kenai, Damaris Severson led the way with nine points and eight rebounds. Jaiden Streiff had seven points, Bethany Morris had four points, Taylor Pierce had two points, Valerie Villegas had two points and Kailey Hamilton had a point.
Grace Christian boys 63, Homer 46
The Grizzlies, the top seed from the North, made the championship by topping the Mariners, No. 2 from the South.
Homer had a 14-11 lead after the first quarter, but Grace led 37-27 at halftime and 48-46 after three quarters.
Eyoab Knapp had 18 points for Homer, while Jonathan Raymond had nine, Parker Lowney had nine, Clayton Beachy had six and River Mann had four.
For Grace, Luke Leftner had 20, Andrew Beck had 13, Kayden Lamebull-Ingram had eight, Paul Kopp had eight, Josh McGovern had six, Jaren Miller had five and Nathan Ivanoff had three.
ACS girls 67, Homer 18
The Lions, the top seed from the North, reached the title game by stopping Homer, No. 2 from the South.
ACS led 22-3 after the first quarter and 39-5 at halftime.
Destiny Reimers had 16 for ACS, while Mykaila Pickard had 13, Sayvia Sellers had 12, Adara Powell had nine, Sarah Sorrells had seven, Sunny Pedebone had five and Kelsey Smallwood had five.
For Homer, Laura Inama had eight, Marina Carroll had seven, Hannah Hatfield had two and Kelli Bishop had one.
ACS boys 64, Seward 50
The Lions, No. 2 from the North, used a big second quarter against the Seahawks, No. 1 from the South, to advance to the championship.
Seward led 14-13 after a quarter, but the Lions led 33-20 at halftime and 44-32 after three quarters.
Max Pfeiffenberger had 16 points to pace the Seahawks, while Bjorn Nilsson had nine, Connor Spanos had six, Trey Ingalls had six, Sam Koster had five, John Moriarity had four and Tommy Cronin had four.
For ACS, Daekwon Houston had 18, JD McGee had 12, Josh Davis had 11, Matt Sanders had nine, Sean Malinis had seven, Addison Dobbs had five and Matt Bohlman had two.
Kenai Central boys 78, Redington 39
The Kardinals, No. 3 from the South, stormed into the fourth-place game by dominating the Huskies, No. 4 from the North. Redington’s season ended.
Kenai led 15-9 after a period, 34-21 after two periods and 54-29 after three periods.
Evan Stockton had 23 points to pace the Kards, while Maison Dunham had 14, Jacob Kvasnikoff had eight, Jordan Kvasnikoff had seven, Andrew Bezdecny had seven, Kayden Daniels had seven, Lucas Tunseth had four, Braedon Pitsch had four, Bridger Beck had two and James Baisden had two.
For Redington, Wayde Bowman had 17, Tony Rogers had eight, Ruben Bond had seven, Jahzeah Williams had three and Cort Sandefur had two.
Houston boys 65, Nikiski 56, OT
The Hawks, No. 3 out of the North, advanced to the fourth-place game by defeating Nikiski, No. 4 from the South, and ending the Bulldogs’ season.
Nikiski led 13-11 after a quarter, 31-20 at halftime and 41-38 after three quarters before the Hawks came back to take it at 49 after four quarters. Houston won the extra session 16-7.
Noah Litke had 24 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Bulldogs, while Brady Bostic had eight points, Michael Mysing had six points and 10 rebounds and Braeden Porter added a point.
For Houston, Hayden Howard had 23, Cole Taylor had 18, Kyle McLaughlin had 12, Landon Taylor had six, Tolupo Falaniko had four and Braden Cork had two.
Grace Christian girls 41, Seward 37
The Grizzlies, the No. 3 seed from the North, advanced to the fourth-place game by defeating the Seahawks, No. 4 from the South. Seward’s season ends.
Seward had a 9-4 lead after the first quarter, 20-14 lead at halftime and 25-22 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Shelby Sieminski had 12 points to lead the Seahawks, while Sequoia Sieverts had nine, Lena Jagielski had six, Selma Casagranda had four and Hannah Schilling had three. Sieminski paced the Seahawks with nine rebounds.
For Grace, Faith Annett had 15, Bekah Annett had nine, Julia Tanner had eight, Kennedy Wood had six, Tessa Binder had two and Genevieve Trevithick had one.
Redington girls 51, Houston 46
The Huskies, seeded No. 2 out of the North, moved to the fourth-place game by defeating the Hawks, seeded No. 4 out of the North. Houston’s season ended.
