The Kenai Central girls basketball team lost to Grace Christian in the Class 3A state semifinals on Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, while the Kenai boys defeated Homer to move to the fourth-place game.

The Grizzlies girls, the top seed and two-time defending state champs, toppled the No. 5 Kardinals 55-12.

Grace (21-5) finished 4-0 against Peninsula Conference rival Kenai (16-12) this season.

The Kardinals face No. 2 Monroe Catholic for third place at 8 a.m. Saturday. The two teams have not played this season.

The Grizzlies face No. 3 Barrow, which defeated Monroe 48-33, for the title at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

The No. 6 Kenai boys (19-9) topped No. 7 Homer (8-15) 36-34 to end Homer’s season.

The Peninsula Conference rivals played four times this season, with Homer taking the two regular season contests, and Kenai winning the conference tournament title and at state.

The Kardinals take on No. 5 Valdez for fourth place at 9:30 a.m. Friday. The two teams have not played this season.

Grace girls 55, Kenai 12

The Grizzlies were all business in securing a spot in the final, leading 15-3 after the first quarter, 23-5 at the half and 43-10 after three quarters.

“Honored to have the chance to play Grace for the fourth time this season,” Kenai head coach Jake Songer wrote in a text message. “Proud of our girls for playing hard the whole time.”

The Grizzlies brought their trademark defensive intensity once again. Kenai was 12% from the field, but did well in the turnover battle, losing 18-16. Grace won on rebounds 24-14.

The Grizzlies were 45% from the floor, but the big difference was an 8 of 17 performance from 3-point land.

Willow Graham paced the Kardinals with 4 points, while Bryleigh Williams and McKenzie Spence had 3, and Ellsi Miller had 2.

With star point guard Ella Boerger injured, Grace’s Poppy Wiggers-Pidduck did her best Boerger impression.

Wiggers-Pidduck finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, hitting 5 of 8 from the floor and 4 of 7 from 3-point land.

Grizzlies twin towers MJ Van der horst and Sophie Lentfer each finished with 17 points, with Van der horst adding 10 rebounds.

Also for Grace, Molly Schild had 5 points and Reese Van der horst had 2.

Kenai boys 36, Homer 34

The two familiar opponents met in an unfamiliar environment — the big court at the Alaska Airlines Center where the background is different than typical for a high school shooter.

The result was a defensive slugfest, with Kenai shooting 29% from the field and 4 of 26 from 3-point land, while Homer was 35% and 3 of 12 from 3.

“It wasn’t the prettiest basketball, but a win is a win,” Kenai coach Nolan Rose wrote in a text message. “We shot the ball terribly at the rim and at the 3-point line — 4 of 26 from 3.

“We couldn’t throw it in an ocean. It was a rock fight, neither team played well offensively. Somehow we ended up being the fortunate team with 2 more points on the scoreboard and we get to keep playing.”

Wednesday, Homer had an 8 a.m. start in a 61-26 loss to No. 2 Sitka. Mariners head coach Jose Musa liked his team’s energy much better with the 10:30 a.m. start time against the Kardinals.

“I thought our energy was different and far better,” Musa said. “I thought we had a lot of buy-in from the guys.

“I don’t think the moment was too big. Their eyes weren’t huge.”

The Mariners went on a 5-0 run to close the first quarter, with Preston Stanislaw hitting a jumper at the buzzer for a 13-6 advantage.

In the second quarter, Homer took its largest lead of the game when Henry Wedvik had a layup for a 23-13 lead with 0:40 left in the half.

Mason Tunseth laid in a rebound at the buzzer as Kenai trailed 23-15 at the half.

Homer was able to go 3 of 7 from the 3-point line in the first half, but would go 0 for 5 in the second half.

“They were going in for us and they weren’t going in for the boys in red, but we knew that wasn’t going to last forever,” Musa said. “Those guys shoot the twine off the rim.”

The Kardinals never really got their shooting going, but they did get their defense going, holding the Mariners to 8 points in the third quarter and 3 points in the fourth quarter.

“I thought that their on-ball defense picked up,” Musa said. “I thought that their offensive rebounding and defensive rebounding was a lot cleaner.

“We were getting looks. We weren’t getting as much daylight as before.”

Musa said his squad prides itself on starting the third quarter well, but Kenai flipped the script.

Including Tunseth’s bucket to close the half, the Kards went on a 9-1 run capped by a Reid Titus 3-pointer that cut the gap to 24-22 with 5:05 left in the third. Homer would never lead by more than 5 the rest of the game.

Homer’s last points of the game came on an Einar Pederson free throw with 3:47 to play for a 34-32 lead.

Kenai’s Caleb Litke tied it with a layup with 2:49 left, then Tunseth put the Kardinals up for good with a layup with 1:41 left.

Homer had the ball coming out of a timeout with 20 seconds left, but a swarming Kenai defense didn’t allow a shot.

“I definitely could have called timeout to give us another reset there,” Musa said. “I didn’t do that, and I take accountability for that.”

At the same time, Musa said the final minutes were a good representation of just how close the teams were this season.

Litke paced the Kardinals with 11, while Tunseth and Miles Metteer each had 8 points and 10 rebounds. Kenai won 32-22 on the glass.

Also, Titus had 6 and Riel Castillo had 3.

For Homer, Pederson had 15, while Wedvik had 11 points and 8 rebounds.

Also, Stanislaw had 5, Spencer Dye had 2 and Jamen Anderson had 1.

The Mariners lose captains Wedvik and Stanislaw, plus Pederson, Dye, Anderson and Weston Marley.

“I’m indebted to them,” said Musa, in his second year as head coach. “I can see that this program is going to be a success, but this could have been a waste of two years.

“We had to meet in the middle and I thought that was our greatest success. I wanted to play in a certain way, and they had been expecting to play in a different way.”

Musa said it was an up-and-down season, with encouraging wins and losses, and some discouraging defeats. He said the roller coaster resulted from that effort to meet in the middle.

Musa played basketball at Division I Florida International University. He said the challenge for the future is to bring those Division I expectations into the culture of the Homer program.

“What I’m asking for is tough, fundamental skill, defense, boxing out, competition,” he said. “Maybe a little trash talk, and a little bit more attitude. A little bit more grit.”

Kenai fans respond to a 3-point shot against Grace Christian during the Kardinals semifinal loss to the Grizzlies on Thursday, March 20, 2025, in the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Kenai’s Mason Tunseth (33) and Homer’s Henry Wedvik (22) and Benjamin Engebretsen (5) reach for a tipped ball Thursday, March 20, 2025, in their consolation bracket semifinal during the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Kenai’s Evelyn Cooper defends Grace Christian’s Poppy Wiggers-Pidduck (4) during the Kardinals semifinal loss to the Grizzlies on Thursday, March 20, 2025, in the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Kenai’s Ellsi Miller (33), Willow Graham (32) and McKenzie Spence (23) go for a rebound with Grace Christian’s Madeline Ayers (left) and Sophie Lentfer (behind) during the Kardinals’ semifinal loss to the Grizzlies on Thursday, March 20, 2025, in the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)