The Palmer and Soldotna girls, and Ninilchik and Homer boys, picked up victories Thursday at The Revolution Sport and Spine Therapy Al Howard Shootout at Soldotna High School.
The tournament continues today with the Palmer girls playing South at 4:15 p.m., the Soldotna girls playing Kenai at 6 p.m. and the Soldotna boys playing Kenai at 7:45 p.m.
Saturday, the South girls play Kenai at noon, the Soldotna girls play Palmer at 1:45 p.m. and the Soldotna boys play Ninilchik at 3:30 p.m.
Palmer girls 43, Kenai 29
The Moose took control in the third quarter to notch the victory and drop the Kardinals to 7-5 overall.
Palmer grabbed a 14-6 lead after the first quarter, but Kenai cut it to 15-14 at the half. By the end of the third, Palmer had the lead back up to 32-18.
Kinzey Hutchings had 12 and Alyssa Clark had 11 to lead Palmer, while Lily Anderson had six, Livia Solis had three, Kylie Henry, Paige Marshall, Diana Lane, Lavkin Christianson and Grace Pickett had two, and Majia Huckabay had one.
For Kenai, Emma Beck had 15, while Logan Satathite had six, Denali Bernard had four, and Erin Koziczkowski and Emilee Wilson each had two.
Ninilchik boys 65, Kenai 44
The Wolverines, a Class 2A team, overcame a first-quarter deficit to top the Kardinals, a Class 3A team. Ninilchik moves to 6-0 overall, while the Kards drop to 3-9.
Kenai grabbed a 17-10 lead after the first quarter, but Ninilchik led 31-27 at halftime and 53-37 after three quarters.
Lukah Kalugin paced the Wolverines with 17 points, while Landon Colburn had 16, Cole Moore had 12, Jaylin Scott had 11 and Justin Trail added nine.
For Kenai, Jakob Kvasnikoff had 13, Wade James and Luke Armstrong each had 11, and Bridger Beck had nine.
Soldotna girls 50, South 43
The Stars moved to 4-6 overall with the victory.
Soldotna led 17-10 after a quarter, 27-18 at the half and 35-25 after three quarters.
Ellie Burns pumped in 15 points to lead the Stars, while Kaytlin McAnnelly had 11. Also for SoHi, Rhys Cannava had nine, Tanner Inman had six, Jolie Widaman had four, Katelyn Morrison had three and Alex Lee had two.
For South, Olivia Heartwell poured in 19, while Makalyen Kins had six, Amelia Nowak had five, Maddie McDonald and Karolina Rzeszut had four, Annalee Carty and Isabela Costa da Silva had two, and Skylar Morris had one.
Homer boys 63, Soldotna 56
The Mariners moved to 4-5 overall and dropped the Stars to 4-11.
Homer led 20-12 after the first quarter, 27-21 at halftime and 46-36 after three quarters.
Carter Tennison paced the Mariners with 25, while Peyton Edens had 14 and Braden Huffman added 11. Also for Homer, Noah Irons and Ryan Carroll had five, while Tim Hatfield pitched in three.
For Soldotna, Ethan Sewell led the way with 19 points, while Jakob Brown had 11, Daniel McRorie had seven, Zac Buckbee, Nate Johnson and Andrew Pieh all had five, and Maleda Denbrock and Brock Wilson had two.
