The Nikiski girls erased last year’s bad memories by dominating a Southcentral Conference tournament semifinal 48-19 over Grace Christian on Friday night, moving the No. 2 seed Bulldogs into Saturday’s championship game against Anchorage Christian.
The win also punched Nikiski’s ticket to the Class 3A state tournament for a second straight year with an automatice berth. Last year, Nikiski had to rely on a WPI (Winning Percentage Index) spot to play at the big dance after suffering a region semifinal loss to Grace, which had the No. 3 seed this year.
Friday at Colony High School, there was never any doubt to which team was going to state. Bethany Carstens led the Bulldogs with 22 points and seven rebounds.
ACS girls 79, Homer 32
The top-seeded Lions rolled past the No. 4 seed Mariners on Friday in the semifinals.
Anchorage Christian Schools took a 33-8 lead after the first quarter to take control of the game.
Chaunice Carr had 27 points to lead the Lions, while Mykaila Pickard pitched in with 10 points. Rylyn Todd had seven points to lead Homer.
ACS boys 48, Nikiski 40
In boys action Friday, No. 1 seed Anchorage Christian moved to the Southcentral championship with a narrow semifinal win over NO. 4 Nikiski.
After losing to ACS in the regular season with scores of 88-39 and 72-49, Nikiski got much closer Friday, but still could not figure out the Lions. ACS led just 10-9 after one quarter and 22-16 at the half, but a 22-8 third quarter ended up deciding the game.
Fredrick Onochie had 14 points for the Lions, while Danilo Guzman pitched in 10. For the Bulldogs, Jace Kornstad had 19 points to lead all scorers.
Grace boys 44, Homer 31
The No. 2 seed Grizzlies took care of business against the No. 3 Mariners in Friday’s other semi, moving them into the title game.
The Mariners were in range for three quarters. Grace led 12-11 after one quarter, 22-18 at halftime and 30-27 after three quarters. But Grace finished on a 14-4 finishing kick to make it to the semfinals. Turner Goforth had 18 points to lead Grace, while Tobin Karlberg pitched in with 10. For Homer, Joel Carroll had 11 points.
Redington boys 49, Houston 30
The Huskies moved into the third-place semifinal by topping the Hawks. Brody Brooks had 13 for Redington, while Jaiden Straughn and Bristin Conaway added 11 apiece. For Houston, Robert Ritter had 12 points.
Redington girls 45, Houston 38
The Huskies advanced to the third-place semifinals by ending Houston’s season. Courtney Crockett had 17 points for the Huskies, while Marian Aperezuk added 12.
Friday girls
Bulldogs 48, Grizzlies 19
Grace 5 5 6 3 — 19
Nikiski 16 8 10 14 — 48
GRACE CHRISTIAN (19) — Coronado 0 0-0 0, Binder 3 3-7 9, Markel 1 0-2 2, Osborne 0 0-0 0, Tanner 0 1-2 1, Salima 3 1-2 7, Annett 0 0-0 0, Gamez 0 0-0 0, Wood 0 0-0 0. Totals — 7 4-11 19.
NIKISKI (48) — Jeffereys 2 2-4 6, Wik 0 0-0 0, L. Carstens 1 0-1 2, Bostic 0 2-2 2, Johnson 1 1-2 3, B. Carstens 11 0-0 22, Epperheimer 0 0-0 0, Clark 1 4-4 7, Druesedow 0 0-0 0, Jackson 2 2-2 6. Totals — 18 11-15 48.
3-point goals — Grace 1 (Salima); Nikiski 1 (Clark). Team fouls — Grace 14, Nikiski 14. Fouled out — none.
Lions 79, Mariners 32
Homer 8 8 6 10 — 32
ACS 33 25 15 6 — 79
HOMER (32) — Bales 1 0-0 2, A. Godfrey 2 0-0 4, Bishop 0 0-0 0, G. Godfrey 0 1-2 1, Doughty 0 0-0 0, Todd 2 3-8 7, Parish 3 0-0 6, Carroll 1 0-0 2, Veldstra 2 1-2 5, Cole 1 1-2 3, Box 1 0-0 2. Totals — 13 6-14 32.
ANCHORAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS (79) — Parks 4 0-0 9, Tebbits 1 0-0 3, Smallwood 0 0-0 0, Davis 2 2-2 7, Reimers 2 4-4 9, Tiulana 0 0-0 0, Powell 2 2-3 6, Randall 0 0-0 0, Pickard 4 1-2 10, Carr 10 6-9 27, Todd 4 0-0 8. Totals — 29 15-20 79.
3-point goals — ACS 6 (Parks, Tebbits, Davis, Reimers, Pickard, Carr). Team fouls — Homer 17, ACS 12. Fouled out — none.
Friday boys
Lions 48, Bulldogs 40
Nikiski 9 7 2 22 — 40
ACS 10 12 18 8 — 48
NIKISKI (40) — Johnson 1 0-0 2, Weathers 0 0-0 0, Ellis 3 0-0 7, Kornstad 7 2-2 19, T. Litke 0 0-0 0, Handley 2 0-4 4, N. Litke 2 1-2 5, Eiter 0 0-0 0. Totals — 16 3-8 40.
ANCHORAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS (48) — Parks 1 0-0 3, Smallwodd 0 1-2 1, Onochie 6 2-4 14, Davis 0 0-0 0, Cho 2 0-0 4, Hayner 0 2-3 2, Guzman 4 1-3 10, Dickerson 1 1-2 3, Hakala 1 0-0 2, Luzano 3 0-0 7, Smith 0 0-0 0, Hall-Scriven 0 2-2 2. Totals — 18 9-16 48.
3-point goals — Nikiski 5 (Kornstad 3, Ellis 1, Team 1); ACS 3 (Cho 2, Parks). Team fouls — Nikiski 18, ACS 14. Fouled out — Johnson.
Grizzlies 44, Mariners 31
Homer 11 7 9 4 — 31
Grace 12 10 8 14 — 44
HOMER (31) — Rohr 1 0-0 2, Etzweiler 3 0-0 9, Adkins 0 0-0 0, Reutov 0 0-0 0, Carroll 5 1-1 11, Davis 0 0-0 0, J. Beachy 2 1-2 5, McGhee 2 0-1 4. Totals — 13 2-4 31.
GRACE CHRISTIAN (44) — Ivanoff 1 0-0 3, Kopp 0 0-0 0, Goforth 6 0-0 18, Ji. McGovern 3 0-0 6, Karlberg 3 3-3 10, Harriman 2 1-4 3, Edi 1 1-4 3, Beck 0 0-0 0. Totals — 16 4-7 44.
3-point goals — Homer 3 (Etzweiler 3); Grace 8 (Goforth 6, Ivanoff, Karlberg). Team fouls — Homer 10, Grace 10. Fouled out — none.
