The Birchwood Christian girls basketball team and Lumen Christi boys earned trips to the Class 1A state tournament by finishing second at the Peninsula Conference tournament at Lumen Christi on Saturday.
The Birchwood girls took second by pulling off a wild comeback to top Nanwalek 35-29. Nanwalek had a 16-0 lead after the first quarter and a 25-8 lead at halftime.
But Nanwalek, with just six players, had fouls piling up. By the end of the game, four players would foul out and that allowed Birchwood to make a massive comeback.
By the end of the third quarter, Nanwalek led 29-19. But Birchwood won the final quarter 16-0.
Fouling out for Nanwalek were Magareta Demas and her 9 points, Ludmilla Hetrick and her 8, Phontina Demas and her 6 and Alyson Seville and her 1. Emma Tanape had 5 for Nanwalek.
Leia West had 16 points to lead Birchwood, including 10 in the final quarter. Also, Annemarie Weirich had 5, Payton Smith and Elise Becker had 4, Kaytee Reich had 3, Paige Bremer had 2 and Eden Becker had 1.
The Lumen boys nabbed second place by topping Birchwood 39-35.
Taizano Nelson paced Lumen with 21 points, while Henry Pekar had 10, Carson Wingate had 5, Porter Brady had 2 and Bryce Sanders had 1.
For Birchwood, Andrew Severns and Noah Guderian had 14 apiece, while Kaleb Worland had 4 and Elijah Lagstrom had 3.
Early Saturday, the Birchwood boys played their way into the second-place game by defeating Nanwalek 55-37.
Macarius Evans had 17 for Nanwalek, while Ashton Meganack had 9, Kenji-Ty Simmons had 8 and Dimitri Kvasnikoff had 3.
For Birchwood, Guderian had 19 while Severns had 16, Worland had 11, Karsten Wetzel had 5 and Finn Courtney had 4.
Peninsula Conference awards
All-Conference
Girls MVP — Amara Warren, Lumen.
Girls Coach of Year — Kenny Barker, Lumen.
All-Conference — Rebekah Dillingham, CIA, Kaytee Reich, Birchwood; Leia West, Birchwood; Phontina Demas, Nanwalek; Ella Rollman, CIA; Izzy Brown, Lumen; Elise Becker, Birchwood; Alyson Seville, Nanwalek; Lily Muller, Lumen.
Boys MVP — Ian McGarry, CIA.
Boys Coach of Year — Ben McGarry, CIA.
All-Conference — Alek McGarry, CIA; Noah Guderian, Birchwood; Kaleb Worland, Birchwood; Macarius Evans, Nanwalek; Tai Nelson, Lumen; Carson Wingate, Lumen; Andrew Severns, Birchwood; Sebastian Fournier, Holy Rosary; Jeremy Dillingham, CIA.
All-Tournament
Boys MVP — Ian McGarry, CIA.
All-Tournament — Alek McGarry, CIA; Taizano Nelson, Lumen; Noah Guderian, Birchwood; Macarius Evans, Nanwalek; Carson Wingate, Lumen; Kaleb Worland, Birchwood; Jeremy Dillingham, CIA; Andrew Severns, Birchwood; Sebastian Fournier, Holy Rosary.
Girls MVP — Amara Warren, Lumen.
All-Tournament — Phontina Demas, Nanwalek; Rebekah Dillingham, CIA; Izzy Brown, Lumen; Kaytee Reich, Birchwood; Lily Muller, Lumen; Ella Rollman, CIA; Ludmilla Hetrick, Nanwalek; Elise Becker, Birchwood; Leia West, Birchwood.
Boys free throw champ — Ian McGarry, CIA.
Girls free throw champ — Ludmilla Hetrick, Nanwalek.
Boys 3-point champ — Alek McGarry, CIA.
Girls 3-point champ — Izzy Brown, Lumen.
Boys sportsmanship — CIA.
Girls sportsmanship — Birchwood Christian and CIA.
Kenai girls 53, Seward 37
The Kardinals went on the road to claim a Peninsula Conference victory Saturday. The Kards are 3-5 in the league and 9-13 overall, while Seward is 3-5 and 13-11.
Emma Beck led the way with 33 points for Kenai, while Emilee Wilson had 10, Sierra Hershberger and Ellsi Miller had 4, and Alex Nelson had 2.
For Seward, Robin Cronin had 18, while Stella Dow had 5, Ava Jagielski, Natalie Sieminski and Hailey Ingalls had 4, and MiKinley Williams had 2.
Seward boys 51, Kenai 22
The host Seahawks used a stifling defense to notch a Peninsula Conference victory over the Kardinals on Saturday. Seward is 6-2 in the league and 17-6 overall, while Kenai is 3-5 and 6-17.
Nick Ambrosiani had 14 for Seward, while Talon Lemme had 12, Emerson Cross had 9, Ben Ambrosiani had 7, Bergen Davis had 5, and Noah Price and Van Shank had 2.
For Kenai, Ben Harris had 5, while Miles Metteer had 4, Trae Pitsch, Reid Titus, William Wilson and Ben Harris had 3, Ryker Dykema had 2, and Daniel Steffensen and Garrett McCanna had 1.
Houston girls 49, Nikiski 43
The Bulldogs dropped a nonconference game to the host Hawks on Saturday. Nikiski is 7-18 overall.
Nikiski trailed 16-11 after the first quarter, but had a 27-20 lead by halftime and 37-36 lead entering the final quarter.
For Nikiski, Alexa Iyatunguk had 13, while Maggie Grenier had 10, Shelby Burman had 7, Avery Ellis had 6, Kailey Stynsberg had 5 and Abigail White had 2.
For Houston, Grace Gillespie led the way with 24, while Dallas Winter had 19, and Tricity Curren, Andi Robson and Keeli Johnson all had 2.
Houston boys 68, Nikiski 33
The host Hawks claimed a nonconference victory Saturday. Nikiski dropped to 0-19 overall.
Grace Christian girls 56, Homer 10
The host Grizzlies cruised to a Peninsula Conference victory on Saturday. Homer is 5-3 in the league and 15-8 overall.
For the Mariners, Minadora Reutov and Kieryn Huffman had 4, while Lillie Mae Kuhn had 2.
Sophie Lentfer poured in 21 points in three quarters of work for the Grizzlies, while MJ Van der Horst had 11, Mollie Schild had 9, Olivia Jones had 5, Poppy Wiggers-Pidduck and Hope Jackson had 3, and Jayden Helton and Faith Salima had 2.
Grace boys 76, Homer 53
The host Grizzlies defeated Homer in Peninsula Conference action on Saturday. Homer is 3-5 in the league and 7-16 overall.
For Homer, Lucas Story and Einar Pederson had 12, Spencer Dye had 9, Riley Huffman had 7, Nathan Overson had 6, CJ Burns had 4 and Ben Engebretsen had 3.
For Grace, Bristol Tobin had 24, Brayden Clarkson had 21, Robbie Annett had 13, Ashton Clarkson had 8, Benson Malone had 4, and Royce Rock and Chris Jones had 3.
