The Soldotna girls basketball team defeated Kodiak 41-21 Thursday in Kodiak to roll into the semifinals of the Northern Lights Conference tournament.
Soldotna, the No. 3 seed, has a chance to punch a ticket to state today in the 7:15 p.m. semifinal against No. 2 Colony. The Stars lost both games to the Knights this season. Kodiak falls to the fifth-place game and plays Palmer today at 12:45 p.m.
Soldotna took control early with a 14-3 first quarter. Aliann Schmidt had 11 points for the Stars, while Brittani Blossom pitched in 10.
Kyla Nocon had 10 for the Bears.
Kenai girls 38, Palmer 37
Brooke Satathite had 23 points as the Kardinals moved into today’s semifinals against top seed Wasilla.
The Kards and Warriors play at 4 p.m., while Palmer plays in the fifth-place game at 12:45 p.m. today. Kenai can earn a state berth by topping Wasilla, but the Warriors swept the Kards this season.
Kenai and Palmer had split this season, and the Kards won the rubber match by holding off the Moose late.
Palmer had tied the game at 36-36 with 1 minute, 20 seconds, left on a 3-pointer off the glass, but Rebecca Miller hit a huge jumper with 1:08 left to put the Kards ahead for good.
Palmer would cut it to 38-37, but the Moose were unable to convert on three possessions before the horn.
Palmer boys 45, Kenai 34
The Moose were able to dictate the tempo and move into Friday’s semifinals against Wasilla. Palmer defeated Kenai for a fourth time this season.
Palmer plays Wasilla at 2:15 p.m. Kenai will play in the fifth-place game at 11 a.m. against Soldotna. At 17th in the latest WPI release, the Kards saw their chances of going to state end Thursday.
Palmer was able to hold Kenai to 17 points in the first three quarters to take control of the game.
Clayton Southwick had 16 points to lead Palmer, while Payton Martin had 15 and Donovan Eiman had 10 for the Moose.
For the Kardinals, Luke Beiser and Josh Jackman each had 11 points.
Kodiak boys 54, Soldotna 48
Before a packed gym, the No. 3 seed Bears used a strong third quarter to knock off the No. 6 seed Stars.
The Bears move on to play Colony at 5:45 p.m. in the semifinals, while Kenai and Soldotna play in the fifth-place game at 11 a.m. today. Soldotna is 15th in the WPI and won’t go to state.
Louis Rocheleau had 21 points for Kodiak, while Keith Osowski added 12. Caleb Spence had 19 for the Stars, while Wendell Tuisaula added 12.
Soldotna had lost two close games in Kodiak early this season, and the Stars led 20-19 at the half Thursday.
But Kodiak won the third quarter 19-13. In the fourth quarter, a layup by Spence cut the gap to 49-46 with 1:05 left, but the Stars would get no closer.
Thursday boys
Moose 45, Kardinals 34
Palmer 7 13 17 8 —45
Kenai 2 8 7 17 — 34
PALMER (45) — Oslensky 1 0-0 2, Martin 5 2-2 15, Hawkins 1 0-0 2, Hughes-Duffy 0 0-2 0, Southwick 5 4-4 16, Halbert 0 0-0 0, Eiman 5 0-0 10. Totals — 17 6-8 45.
KENAI CENTRAL (34) — Daniels 2 0-0 5, Beeson 0 0-0 0, Hieber 0 0-0 0, Beiser 5 1-2 11, Landry 3 0-0 7, Jackman 4 3-3 11. Totals — 14 4-5 34.
3-point goals — Palmer 5 (Martin 3, Southwick 2); Kenai 2 (Daniels, Landry). Team fouls — Palmer 16, Kenai 11. Fouled out — none.
Bears 54, Stars 48
Soldotna 9 11 13 15 — 48
Kodiak 8 11 19 16 — 54
SOLDONTA (48) — Truesdell 0 0-0 0, Trammell 0 0-0 0, Spence 7 3-3 19, Sheridan 1 0-0 2, Crowder 1 0-0 2, Tuisaula 3 6-6 12, McElroy 2 0-0 4, Michael 2 0-2 4, Marcuson 2 0-1 5. Totals — 18 9-12 48.
KODIAK (54) — Basuel 0 0-0 0, Rocheleau 7 5-6 4, Morzo 2 4-10 8, Cauging 2 3-4 8, Walker 1 0-0 2, Osowski 5 2-5 12, Giron 0 0-0 0, Mangrobang 0 0-0 0, Koller 1 1-1 3. Totals — 18 15-26 54.
3-point goals — Soldotna 3 (Spence 2, Marcuson); Kodiak 3 (Rochealeau 2, Cauging). Team fouls — Soldotna 21, Kodiak 21. Fouled out — Tuisaula.
Thursday girls
Kardinals 38, Moose 37
Kenai 9 12 5 12 — 38
Palmer 9 10 6 10 — 37
KENAI CENTRAL (38) — Calvert 2 0-0 4, Miller 2 0-0 4, Machen-Gray 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0-0 0, Creighton 1 0-4 2, Satathite 6 11-18 23, Beck 1 3-4 5, Maw 0 0-0 0. Totals — 12 14-26 38.
PALMER (37) — Pettingill 1 0-0 2, Busbey 3 2-3 10, Kinter 0 0-0 0, Bowman 1 0-0 3, Suaova 4 0-0 9, Sutton 0 0-0 0, Ushman 4 3-9 13, Alley 0 0-0 0. Totals — 13 5-12 37.
3-point goals — Palmer 6 (Busbey 2, Ushman 2, Bowman, Suaova). Team fouls — Kenai 14, Palmer 19. Fouled out — Miller, Beck, Alley.
Stars 41, Bears 21
Soldotna 14 12 7 8 — 41
Kodiak 3 5 0 13 — 21
SOLDOTNA (41) — McGillivray 0 0-0 0, Miller 1 0-0 2, Blossom 3 4-4 10, A. Schmidt 5 1-4 11, Tuttle 0 1-2 1, Tuisaula 3 0-0 6, Kruse 2 2-2 6, Wells 1 0-0 2, Buckbee 0 0-0 0, Wurst 0 0-0 0, D. Schmidt 1 1-2 3. Totals — 16 9-14 41.
KODIAK (21) — Dela Cruz 2 0-0 4, Bushell 0 0-0 0, Cruz 0 0-0 0, Hernandez 1 0-0 2, Macatuno 0 0-2 0, Chia 0 1-2 1, Kernan 2 0-0 4, Nocon 4 1-3 10, Mutch 0 0-0 0, Carstanes 0 0-0 0. Totals — 9 2-5 21.
3-point goals — Kodiak 1 (Nocon). Team fouls — Soldotna 10, Kodiak 12. Fouled out — none.
