West Valley, Homer move into championship

West Valley and Homer advanced to the championship game of the 2005 Peninsula Challenge in different fashions Friday at Skyview High School.

The Wolfpack edged Seward 40-36 in overtime, while the Mariners cruised to a 60-36 victory over Skyview.

West Valley survived a dreadful first half of shooting and pulled out a victory behind clutch play from Demi Wilson and Casey Miller, who each had 18 points.

In the first half, both teams struggled on offense. The Wolfpack were 5 of 25 from the floor, while Seward committed 17 turnovers. This gave Seward a 14-11 lead at the half.

"We missed a lot of shots," West Valley coach Steve Caciari said. "Give credit to Seward. They kept us to one shot.

"We knew that defense would be what carried us."

West Valley warmed up in the third period, hitting 5 of 10 from the floor and taking a 24-20 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

Seward started taking better care of the ball in the fourth quarter, committing just two turnovers. This led to a tense conclusion to the contest.

The Seahawks came back to take a 27-26 lead on a layup by Kylee Adelman with 4:40 left in the game. From that point to the end of the fourth quarter, neither team would lead by more than three points.

Ultimately, Seward was hurt by shooting 4 of 14 from the free-throw line in the close fourth quarter. The Seahawks held a 32-30 lead with 26 seconds left, but missed a pair of foul shots. Miller made Seward pay by dashing down the court and hitting a layup with 15 seconds left to force overtime.

In the extra frame, Wilson took over. The post player did a good job of sealing off Seward defenders and earning layups. She had six of West Valley's eight points in overtime.

"Everybody involved on our team made at least one play," Caciari said. "It was an emotional game. It was nice because these are the type of games that bring a team together."

Homer did not face such an ordeal to get into the championship game. The Mariners did not miss a shot until there was 3:24 left in the first quarter and they had a 14-4 lead.

Homer's full-court press gave Skyview fits. The Panthers committed eight turnovers in the first quarter and 11 turnovers in the second quarter in falling behind 35-14 at halftime. Many of those turnovers led to easy Homer baskets.

Reba Temple had 12 points for the Mariners, while Kailee Pollack added 10 points. Melissa Fay and Allison Fay each had eight points for Skyview.

Soldotna 45, Kenai 34

The Stars advanced to the fourth-place game by holding down the Kardinals, who had just 20 points through three quarters.

Christa Kennedy paced Soldotna with 14 points, while Kaylee Wilbanks added 10 points. Amber McGlasson led Kenai with nine points.

Kodiak 41, Grace Christian 29

The Bears moved into the fourth-place game behind eight points apiece from Chelsea Filburn and Roweena Yamat. Erin Sailors had seven points to pace Grace.

STARS 45, KARDINALS 34

Kenai 5 8 7 14 —34

Soldotna 10 16 5 14 —45

KENAI (34) — Navarre 3 2-2 8, Keener 1 0-0 2, Foley 0 0-0 0, Dunn 0 0-0 0, McGlasson 4 1-2 9, Peterson 0 1-3 1, Calderwood 1 5-7 7, Craig 2 3-6 7, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Kiel 0 0-0 0, Brewer 0 0-0 0.

SOLDOTNA (45) — Smith 1 2-2 4, McCown 2 1-2 5, Cleveland 0 0-0 0, Gardner 0 0-0 0, Kennedy 4 6-7 14, Stenga 0 0-0 0, Wilbanks 5 0-3 10, Howard 1 4-5 6, Bell 0 0-0 0, Marey 0 0-0 0, Denna 1 4-8 6, Blackburn 0 0-0 0. Totals — 14 17-27 45.

3-point goals — none. Total fouls — Kenai 22, Soldotna 19. Fouled out — none.

WOLFPACK 40, SEAHAWKS 36, OT

West Valley 5 6 13 8 8 —40

Seward 7 7 6 12 4 —36

WEST VALLEY (40) — Callahan 1 0-0 2, Wisel 0 0-3 0, Webb 0 0-0 0, Wilson 9 0-1 18, K. Miller 0 0-0 0, Meyer 0 0-0 0, Musgrove 0 0-0 0, C. Miller 6 4-6 18, Quayle 0 0-0 0, Evans 1 0-0 2. Totals — 17 4-10 40.

SEWARD (36) — Sawyer 0 0-0 0, Hetrick 1 0-0 3, Prochazka 1 0-0 2, Hoogland 4 1-6 9, Sela 0 0-0 0, Stallings 1 0-0 2, Loomis 4 0-0 10, Gillespie 0 0-0 0, Crane 0 4-12 4, Adelman 3 0-4 6. Totals — 14 5-22 36.

3-point goals — West Valley 2 (C. Miller 2); Seward 3 (Loomis 2, Hetrick 1). Total fouls — West Valley 17, Seward 14. Fouled out — Evans.

MARINERS 60, PANTHERS 36

Skyview 8 6 12 10 —36

Homer 17 18 16 9 —60

SKYVIEW (36) — Heffner 0 2-2 2, M. Fay 4 0-0 8, Van Ryzin 1 0-0 2, Dreifuerst 3 0-0 6, Blake 2 0-3 4, Smith 2 0-0 4, Shadura 1 0-2 2, A. Fay 3 2-4 8. Totals — 16 4-15 36.

HOMER (60) — Bornheimer 2 3-4 7, Gruber 0 0-0 0, Pollack 4 1-4 10, Creamer 2 1-2 5, Conley 0 0-0 0, Luebbert 0 0-0 0, Horazdovsky 4 0-1 8, McKinstry 3 0-1 6, Siekaniec 2 0-0 4, Lowney 3 2-5 8, Temple 6 0-4 12. Totals — 26 7-21 60.

3-point goals — Homer 1 (Pollack 1). Total fouls — Skyview 19, Homer 16. Fouled out — A. Fay.