The Nikolaevsk girls and Seldovia boys defended their Peninsula Conference titles Friday at Lumen Christi in Anchorage.
The Warriors and Sea Otters were both perfect in the conference’s regular season and that didn’t change come tournament time.
Seldovia topped Cook Inlet Academy 57-47 for the second-straight title and state berth for the Sea Otters.
Seldovia led 13-9 after one quarter, then had a 33-14 lead at halftime.
Aidan Philpot had 25 points to lead the Sea Otters, while Seth O’Leary pitched in 12.
For CIA, Timmy Smithwick had 19, Andrew Hammond had 13 and Johnny Smithwick had 12.
The Eagles moved to Saturday’s second-place game, looking for a first state berth since 2012.
The Nikolaevsk girls earned a third-straight conference title and a fourth-straight state berth with a 40-22 victory against Cook Inlet Academy.
“The girls were playing so aggressive in their full-court press and scoring in transition, so that helped a lot,” Nikolaevsk coach Bea Klaich said.
The Warriors led 9-4 after one quarter and 20-8 at halftime.
Nikolaevsk beat CIA in overtime and by nine earlier this year. Klaich said the big victory can partly be attributed to CIA missing Kendra Brush due to injury and Ashleigh Hammond getting in early foul trouble Friday.
But she also said her team has worked hard at practice and is coming together at the right time. After losing three starters from last season’s team, Klaich is happy with the way a new team came together for a title this year.
“I feel like this is a breakthrough for the girls,” Klaich said. “Some of the girls needed convincing that they could step up and play well. A name like CIA can be very intimidating.”
Vera Fefelov, Serafima Kalugin and Megan Hickman each had 10 for the Warriors, while Richelle McGahan paced the Eagles with six points.
CIA moved to the second-place game.
Ninilchik girls 33,
Birchwood 22
The Wolverines, the No. 5 seed, stayed alive by knocking off No. 2 Birchwood and ending its season.
Ninilchik led 14-12 at the half, but then had a big, 15-3 third quarter.
The Wolverines were balanced in the scoring column, with Melissa Clark and Jordan Finney notching 10 apiece, while Melissa Ehlers chipped in nine.
Ninilchik moved to the second-place semifinal.
Seldovia girls 27,
Lumen Christi 22
The Sea Otters mustered a big final quarter to stay alive in the second-place bracket Friday and end Lumen’s season.
Seldovia trailed 14-12 entering the final eight minutes, but won the final quarter 15-8.
Olivia Turner pumped in 17 points for the Sea Otters, including nine in the final quarter. Tori Kruger had 13 for Lumen.
Seldovia moved to the second-place semifinal.
Wasilla Lake boys 65,
Ninilchik 53
Sixth-seeded Wasilla Lake knocked off No. 4 Ninilchik to stay alive for second place and end the season of the Wolverines.
Thanks to an 18-6 second quarter, Wasilla Lake led 38-21 at halftime. The Wolverines tried a second-half comeback, but it was not enough.
Braden Thorn had 25 for the Rams, while Brody Neufeld added 19. For Ninilchik, Tyler Presley had 19, Austin White had 15 and Dalton Geppert had 10.
Wasilla Lake moved to the second-place semifinal.
Nikolaevsk boys 70,
Birchwood 60
Nikolaevsk survived in the second-place bracket and ended Birchwood’s season.
Nikolaevsk moved to the second-place semifinal.
Nikolaevsk jumped to a 42-24 lead at halftime and it wasn’t until the fourth quarter until Birchwood seriously cut into the deficit.
Nikit Fefelov had a monster game with the season on the line, pouring in 32 points, including hitting seven 3-pointers.
For Birchwood, Tyler Keiffer had 20 points and Dakota Jones and Collin Becker each added 19.
Friday girls
Sea Otters 27, Archangels 22
Seldovia 4 4 4 15 —27
Lumen 8 2 4 8 —22
SELDOVIA (27) — Joseph 0 0-2 0, Chissus 2 0-1 4, Meganack 1 0-0 2, Neumann 0 2-2 2, Mitchell 1 0-1 2, Turner 6 5-7 17, Waterbury 0 0-0 0. Totals — 10 7-13 27.
LUMEN CHRISTI (22) — Dufrane 0 0-1 0, Thorsness 0 0-0 0, Bakic 4 1-5 9, Kruger 4 5-12 13, Childs 0 0-0 0, Grafton 0 0-2 0. Totals — 8 6-18 22.
3-point goals — none. Team fouls — Seldovia 21, Lumen 19. Fouled out — Joseph, Waterbury.
Wolverines 33, Warriors 22
Ninilchik 9 5 15 4 —33
Birchwood 8 4 3 7 —22
NINILCHIK (33) — Delgado 0 0-0 0, Cooper 0 0-0 0, Sinclair 1 0-0 2, Goins 1 0-0 2, Ehlers 3 3-3 9, Finney 4 2-4 10, Me. Clark 4 1-2 10, Mi. Clark 0 0-0 0. Totals — 13 6-9 33.
BIRCHWOOD CHRISTIAN (22) — Becker 2 1-4 5, Roberts 3 2-2 8, Alexander 2 0-0 4, Brassell 1 3-8 5. Totals — 8 6-14 22.
3-point goals — Ninilchik 1 (Me. Clark). Team fouls — Ninilchik 12, Birchwood 8. Fouled out — none.
Warriors 40, Eagles 22
Nikolaevsk 9 11 12 8 —40
CIA 4 4 2 12 —22
NIKOLAEVSK (40) — Ki. Klaich 0 0-0 0, Kr. Klaich 0 0-0 0, V. Fefelov 4 0-0 10, Johnson 1 0-0 2, S. Kalugin 5 0-0 10, N. Gordeev 4 0-0 8, E. Gordeev 0 0-0 0, Dorvall 0 0-0 0, Hickman 4 2-2 10, Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals — 18 2-2 40.
COOK INLET ACADEMY (22) — Delon 0 0-0 0, Carey 0 2-2 2, Taplin 0 0-0 0, Hills 1 1-2 3, Lyons 1 0-0 2, Hammond 1 2-4 4, McGahan 3 0-0 6, Orth 2 1-1 5. Totals — 8 6-9 22.
3-point goals — Nikolaevsk 2 (Fefelov 2). Team fouls — Nikolaevsk 14, CIA 5. Fouled out — none.
Friday boys
Rams 65, Wolverines 53
Wasilla Lake 20 18 8 19 —65
Ninilchik 15 6 14 18 —53
WASILLA LAKE (65) — J. Stiner 2 0-0 4, B. Stiner 2 0-0 5, Wilson 4 0-0 9, Balos 1 0-0 3, Thorn 9 2-4 25, Neufeld 7 5-6 19. Totals — 25 7-10 65.
NINILCHIK (53) — Appelhanz 1 1-3 4, Presley 8 2-2 19, Geppert 3 4-7 10, Bartolowits 2 0-0 5, Pasqua 0 0-0 0, White 7 1-1 15. Totals — 21 8-13 53.
3-point goals — Wasilla Lake 8 (Thorn 5, B. Stiner, Wilson, Balos); Ninilchik 3 (Appelhanz, Presley, Bartolowits). Team fouls — Wasilla Lake 15, Ninilchik 10. Fouled out — J. Stiner.
Nikolaevsk 70, Birchwood 60
Nikolaevsk 22 20 14 12 —70
Birchwood 7 17 13 23 —60
NIKOLAEVSK (70) — K. Molodih 2 0-0 5, Trail 1 0-0 2, Yakunin 0 0-0 0, N. Fefelov 11 3-5 32, Gordeev 4 1-2 9, F. Molodih 4 3-6 9, J. Fefelov 1 1-2 4, Kalugin 2 0-0 4. Totals — 24 8-15 70.
BIRCHWOOD CHRISTIAN (60) — Jones 8 3-8 19, Keiffer 8 3-6 20, O’Neill 1 0-0 2, Becker 9 1-2 19, Alexander 0 0-0 0, Raich 0 0-0 0, La. Wohrle 0 0-0 0, Lo. Wohrle 0 0-0 0. Totals — 24 7-16 60.
3-point goals — Nikolaevsk 10 (N. Fefelov 7, K. Molodih, F. Molodih, J. Fefelov); Birchwood 1 (Keiffer). Team fouls — Nikolaevsk 12, Birchwood 14. Fouled out — none.
Sea Otters 57, Eagles 47
Seldovia 13 20 13 11 —57
CIA 9 5 20 13 —47
SELDOVIA (57) — Ozyildirim 1 0-0 2, D. Waterbury 3 1-2 8, Collier 1 4-7 7, Haller 1 1-2 3, Philpot 9 4-4 25, O’Leary 5 2-4 12. Totals — 20 8-12 57.
COOK INLET ACADEMY (47) — A. Hammond 6 0-0 13, B. Hammond 0 0-0 0, R. Smithwick 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-0 0, J. Smithwick 5 0-0 12, Solie 1 1-2 3, T. Smithwick 8 3-4 19. Totals — 20 4-6 47.
3-point goals — Seldovia (Philpot 3, D. Waterbury, Collier); CIA (J. Smithwick 2, A. Hammond). Team fouls — Seldovia 8, CIA 17. Fouled out — J. Smithwick.
