The Soldotna girls basketball crew pulled out a nonconference win against Homer on Thursday night, 39-34, lifting the Stars to 7-12 overall.

The Mariners stand at 7-7 overall.

Soldotna head coach George Stein said the team’s defensive pressure, including a full-court press, allowed the Stars to scoot past Homer.

“At the end there I think we kind of pressed and that allowed us to get up a little on them,” Stein said. “That worked out pretty well. My kids played hard, that’s probably one of the better games we’ve played this year.”

Homer led at the end of the first quarter, 10-8, and at the half, 17-16, after draining a few 3-pointers and drawing a couple crucial offensive fouls. The Mariners still held the lead at the end of the third quarter, 29-26.

At the end of the game, Stein said junior Tanner Inman scored some crucial points to come back and push the Stars above Homer.

“She hit some key shots there at the end I thought,” Stein said. “They kind of gave us the five- or seven-point lead, which allowed me to pull off the press and kill some time.”

SoHi was tied with Homer at 29 with just over three minutes left in the game. The Stars had a few steals from their full court-press that they converted into last-minute buckets to finally take the lead and maintain it through the game.

Stein said senior Ellie Burns was another standout for Soldotna.

Chad Felice, Homer’s head coach, said after the game Thursday that the Mariners played well in different parts of the game.

“I feel like we play well in spurts,” he said. “I thought there were some really good things, (but) there were just some little low stretches here and there.”

He said Thursday’s standouts from Homer included seniors Kaylin Anderson and Delilah Harris, as well as junior Bethany Engebresten.

Heading into the next couple weeks of conference play, Felice said the Mariners will be trying to refocus on more consistent showings.

“We got practice tomorrow and then a game back up here Saturday versus Kenai so we’ll just be doing some game prep to kind of get ready for them and get ready for the last stretch of region games,” Felice said.

Burns was Soldotna’s top scorer with 13 points. Junior Katelyn Morrison had eight, both Inman and sophomore Kaytlin McAnelly had six, junior Josie Sheridan had four and senior Adarra Hagelund had two points for SoHi.

Harris led the Mariners with 11 points. Sophomore Sydney Shelby and senior Sophie Ellison had seven each, Anderson had six, and Engebresten had three points for Homer.

Soldotna boys 54, Homer 46

The host Stars notched a nonconference victory Thursday. SoHi moves to 7-14 overall, while the Mariners drop to 8-8.

Homer led 9-6 after the first quarter, but SoHi had it tied at 20 by the half and went up 40-29 after three quarters.

Ethan Sewell pumped in 19 for SoHi, while Zac Buckbee had eight, Nate Johnson, Will Inman and Blake Inger had five, and Maleda Denbrock, Andrew Pieh and Gavin Jones had four.

Carter Tennison got 23 points for Homer, while Peyton Edens had 10, Braden Huffman had six, Tim Hatfield had four and Noah Irons had three.

Kenai girls 41, Seward 27

The host Kardinals topped the Seahawks on Thursday in Peninsula Conference action. Kenai’s third victory this season over Seward moves the Kardinals to 3-2 in the league and 12-6 overall, while Seward falls to 2-3 and 6-9.

Seward had an 8-4 lead after the first quarter and 16-15 lead at the half. Kenai had a 32-23 lead by the end of the third quarter.

Emma Beck led Kenai with 20 points, while Emilee Wilson had six, Logan Satathite and Amber Nash had four, Erin Koziczkowski had three, and Malerie Nunn and Shania McCanna each had two.

For Seward, Shelby Sieminski had 12, Lena Jagielski had seven, and Hannah Schilling and Robin Cronin each had four.

Kenai boys 47, Seward 27

The host Kardinals improved to 2-1 this year against the Seahawks with the Peninsula Conference win. Kenai is 3-2 in the league and 6-11 overall, while Seward is 1-4 and 4-11.

The Kardinals led 13-7 after a quarter, but the gap was up to 29-11 by halftime.

Jakob Kvasnikoff had 11 for the Kards, while Eli McCubbins had 10, Luke Armstrong had six, Ky Calvert, Wade James and Caleb Litke had five, Griff Gray had three and Sam Baisden had two.

For Seward, Ozzy Deal had 10, Tommy Cronin had nine, Nick Ambrosiani had three, Ben Ambrosiani and Kupono Albino had two, and Bergen Davis had one.

Ninilchik Tournament

The Ninilchik boys moved to 14-0 on the opening day of the Ninilchik Tournament by toppling Tri-Valley 93-35.

Everybody on the roster scored for Ninilchik, led by Cole Moore with 24, Jaylin Scott with 18, Landon Colburn with 13, and Lukah Kalugin and Blake Lemons with 10 apiece.

Justin Trail added six, while Carter Lemons had five, Wyatt McCloskey had four, and Rowan Mahoney and Cody Blossom each had two.

For Tri-Valley, Josh Renshaw had 16, Michael Renshaw had 14, Robert Price had three and Chris Graham had two.

Also Thursday, the Ninilchik girls lost to Tri-Valley 48-36 to fall to 4-15 overall.

For Tri-Valley, Halina Valdivies had 13, Ellie Vandeventer had 12, Melanie Randell had 12, Ayla Walker had 10 and Kayla Mayo had one.

For Ninilchik, Riley Tucker poured in 20 while Zoya Fefelov had nine, Dakotah Buhr had four, Autumn Calabrese had two and Taylor Rickard had one.

Early Thursday, the Klawock girls defeated Ninilchik 48-38. Kenai Holien had 21 for Klawock, while Zoey Edenshaw had 10, Bella Hoppe had five, Mckinley Holien and Kayia Marvin had four, and Lea Armour had two.

For Ninilchik, Riley Tucker had 14, Autumn Calabrese had 13, Zoya Fefelov had nine and Taylor Rickard had two.

Also Thursday, the Klawock girls defeated Bristol Bay 49-42.

Today at the tournament, the Tri-Valley girls play Nanwalek at 2 p.m., the Tri-Valley boys play Bristol Bay at 3:30 p.m., the Klawock girls play Ninilchik at 5 p.m., and the Klawock boys play Ninilchik at 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, the Tri-Valley girls play Klawock at 11 a.m., the Tri-Valley boys play Klawock at 12:30 p.m., the Tri-Valley girls play Ninilchik at 2 p.m., and the Bristol Bay boys play Ninilchik at 3:30 p.m.

CIA-Lumen postponed

The Cook Inlet Academy-Lumen Christi games scheduled for Thursday were postponed due to weather.

Soldotna’s Tanner Inman looks to drive on Homer’s Mel Morris on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)