Raging rivalry

From the student tug of wars at halftime to the chants in the stands to the actual varsity basketball action on the floor, there was not a minute Friday in Skyview's packed gymnasium where Skyview or Soldotna wasn't fiercely fighting giving an inch to the other.

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The Stars came from behind in the fourth quarter in both the girls and boys games to post a pair of Region III/4A victories over cross-town rival Skyview. The Soldotna girls notched a 26-22 victory before the boys completed the sweep with a 38-34 win.

In the girls contest, where the biggest lead all night was five points, defense dominated.

"It was a low-scoring game, but that's because games between Skyview and Soldotna are like the ones played in the back yard," Skyview coach Joe Trujillo said. "These kids went to middle school together and played against each other all through high school.

"They know each other's tendencies and that makes it tough."

Soldotna's matchup zone didn't generate as many turnovers as the Stars would have liked, but the zone was successful in funneling shots to 6-foot-1 sophomore Rachel Besse, who unofficially had nine blocked shots.

"I can't see how they thought they could shoot over her," said Rachel's sister Gretta, likely speaking from backyard experiences of her own. "Her arms are like 20 feet long."

Meanwhile, the Panthers held the Stars in check by getting great interior defense from seniors Amanda Bauer and Sheena Demaris and sophomore Jenny Carpenter.

The trio made things difficult on the inside for the Besses, who combined to score 20 of Soldotna's 26 points.

The Panthers took the largest lead of the game with 7:29 to play in the fourth quarter when a layup by Carpenter gave them a 20-15 advantage.

The Stars responded with an 8-0 run that featured Gretta Besse taking over the game. Besse scored six straight points to give the Stars a 21-20 lead with 5:19 remaining.

"Somebody had to do something," said Besse, who pumped in 12 points to lead all scorers. "It's my last year here, so I figured I might as well take charge. If you do something right, everyone will follow."

The first one to follow was Rachel Besse, who nailed a pair of foul shots to increase the lead to 23-20 with 4:13 left.

Both teams then dug in on defense until Bauer, who paced Skyview with 11 points, hit a jumper from the free-throw line with 1:22 left to make it 23-22.

After a Soldotna turnover and two missed shots by Skyview, the Panthers fouled Toni Gilbert and sent her to the line for two shots with 34 seconds left. Gilbert failed to draw rim on the first attempt, but showed a ton of poise in sinking the second for a 24-22 lead.

"She's just a great competitor," Soldotna coach Mark Tuter said of Gilbert, a senior. "That was a big shot because it put us up by two points."

After a timeout, the Panthers got Carpenter a good look at the basket but her shot squirreled out. Rachel Besse then hit two free throws with 9 seconds left to clinch the game.

Soldotna boys 38, Skyview 34

The Stars started quickly, then overcame a midgame lull to defeat the Panthers.

Soldotna jumped out to a 10-3 lead with 4:15 left in the first period when Cason Simpson scored on a rebound layup.

"We kind of go through peaks and valleys," said Soldotna senior Shaun Williams. "We're working on that. We want to peak, level off and then finish strong."

In the second and third period, the Stars found one of those valleys. After Mike Metteer, who led Soldotna with 10 points, hit a jumper to give Soldotna a 14-5 lead with 6:50 left in the second quarter, Skyview went on an 11-0 run to take the lead.

Storman Norman capped the spurt with a pair of foul shots that put the Panthers up 16-14 with 1:34 left until halftime.

Skyview continued to roll in the third quarter, going on a 7-0 run, capped by Nolan Rose's rebound layup with 4:19 left in the third, to take a 25-18 lead.

The Stars hung around until a jumper by Nick Christensen gave them a 31-30 lead with 3:58 left in the fourth quarter.

Skyview's Josh Rowell, who lead all scorers with 13 points, answered with a layup, but just 18 seconds later, with 2:21 left on the clock, Adam Kiffmeyer hit a mammoth 3-pointer that gave Soldotna a 34-32 lead it would not relinquish.

"You could definitely see our senior leadership coming through in the fourth quarter," said Williams, one of 10 seniors on Soldotna's roster. "But we also got that huge 3-pointer from Kiffmeyer, and he's a junior."

Skyview had its chances after the Kiffmeyer trey, but down by two with 40 seconds left the Panthers missed on two good looks at the basket.

"That's pretty much what it came down to," said Skyview coach Dave Blossom. "They made the shots in the last part of the fourth quarter and we didn't."

After Skyview's misfires with 40 seconds left, Williams hit 1 of 2 foul shots, but Soldotna rebounded the miss and Sean Kelley then canned 1 of 2 for a 36-32 lead with 21 seconds left.

A Rose jumper cut it to 36-34 with 10 seconds remaining, but Kelley calmly buried two foul shots with 6 seconds left to ice the game.

STARS GIRLS 26, PANTHERS 22

Soldotna 6 5 4 11 -- 26

Skyview 4 5 9 4 -- 22

SOLDOTNA (26) -- Senette 0 0-2 0, Wolfe 1 0-0 3, Kerrone 1 0-1 2, G. Besse 4 4-8 12, S. Penner 0 0-0 0, Syverson 0 0-0 0, Severson 0 0-0 0, Gilbert 0 1-2 1, Breakfield 0 0-0 0, R. Besse 2 4-5 8. Totals -- 8 9-18 26.

SKYVIEW (22) -- Verba 0 0-0 0, Colvin 1 0-0 3, Carlon 1 0-0 2, K. Kier 0 0-0 0, Kraxberger 0 0-0 0, Bauer 5 1-2 11, Demaris 0 0-0 0, Carpenter 3 0-0 6, C. Kier 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 1-2 22.

3-point goals -- Soldotna 1 (Wolfe 1), Skyview 1 (Colvin 1). Total fouls -- Soldotna 8, Skyview 16. Fouled out -- Carlon.

STARS BOYS 38, PANTHERS 34

Soldotna 12 4 8 14 -- 38

Skyview 5 11 10 8 -- 34

SOLDOTNA (38) -- Kelley 1 3-4 6, Williams 2 2-3 6, Simpson 1 0-0 2, Christensen 2 0-0 4, Hardina 1 0-1 2, Kiffmeyer 2 0-1 5, Zeyer 0 0-0 0, Hughes 1 1-3 3, Metteer 4 2-2 10, Rose 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 14 8-14 38.

SKYVIEW (34) -- McGarry 1 0-0 3, Burdick 1 0-3 2, Mallett 1 1-2 3, Rose 4 0-4 9, Lewis 1 0-0 2, Norman 0 2-2 2, Edwards 0 0-0 0, Shadura 0 0-0 0, Bowell 6 1-2 13. Totals -- 14 4-13 34.

3-point goals -- Soldotna 2 (Kelley 1, Kiffmeyer 1), Skyview 2 (McGarry 1, Rose 1). Total fouls -- Soldotna 15, Skyview 16. Fouled out -- none.