The Soldotna girls basketball team defeated Kenai 34-28 on Saturday in the third-place game of the Northern Lights Conference tournament at Kodiak High School.
With the win, the Stars also claimed bragging rights in the season series because the teams had split their two regular season games. Only the top two teams at the NLC get automatic state berths. There are two at-large berths available for state, but entering the tournament Soldotna was 11th and Kenai was 15th in the WPI rankings.
The game was mostly a defensive battle, and Soldotna got a big upper hand early by jumping out to a 7-0 lead and leading 16-7 after the first quarter. But that would be the only quarter in which the Kardinals would score in double digits.
Kenai then got back into the game with an 11-point third quarter, the only quarter in which the Kards reached double figures. Kenai was then in striking distance in the fourth, but could never get over the hump. The Kards were within 32-28 for much of the final minutes until Brittani Blossom hit a layup with under a minute to play for a 34-28 lead. The Kards would then miss a pair of 3-pointers before the final horn sounded.
Aliann Schmidt paced the Stars with nine points, while Brooke Satathite had nine for the Kards.
The Stars now have something on which to build, as nearly all of the team is sophomores and juniors. Abi Tuttle and Abby Kruse are the seniors. The Kards, meanwhile, will have to replace seniors Rebecca Miller, Bethany Coghill, Attison Machen-Gray, Julieanne Wilson and Lara Creighton.
Wasilla boys 61, Kodiak 49
The Warriors managed to beat the Bears on the Kodiak home floor to claim the NLC title Saturday.
Daniel Headdings and Reilly Devine each had 16 for Wasilla, while Augie Cauging had 16 for the Bears.
Wasilla girls 35, Colony 18
The Warriors used stifling defense to claim another NLC crown Saturday.
Colony boys 56, Palmer 48
Sullivan Menard had 29 points for the Knights as they captured the third-place game Saturday in Kodiak.
Colony girls 48, Soldotna 36
The Colony girls jumped to a 20-6 advantage after the first quarter to defeat Soldotna in the NLC semifinals Friday in Kodiak.
Colony and Wasilla earn the conference’s two automatic state berths.
The Stars fought their way back into the game after the first quarter, cutting the gap to 25-20 at halftime. But Colony was able to gradually pull away again in the second half.
The Knights had nine 3-pointers, with Amanda Smith nailing four en route to 16 points and Kali Bull hitting three on the way to scoring 12. Alex Carlton added 11 for Colony.
For Soldotna, Aliann Schmidt had 12 points.
Wasilla girls 54, Kenai 16
The Warriors jumped out to a 21-1 advantage after the first quarter and cruised into the NLC finals, while the Kardinals fell into the third-place game.
Olivia Davies led a balanced attack for the Warriors with 16 points. Brooke Satathite had 10 for the Kardinals.
Kodiak boys 49, Colony 44
The host Bears, the No. 3 seed, upset the No. 2 Knights to earn an automatic state berth and spot in the final.
Wasilla boys 35, Palmer 34
The Warriors prevailed in a defensive battle in Friday’s semifinals.
Daniel Headdings paced Wasilla with 20 points, while Clayton Southwick had 18 for Palmer.
Kenai boys 60, Soldotna 59, 2 OT
Leave it to a pair of fierce rivals to inject constant tension into an otherwise meaningless fifth-place game.
The Kenai Central boys basketball team defeated Soldotna on Friday in the fifth-place game of the NLC tourney.
The game marked the end of the season for both teams, because only the top two at the tournament go to state and neither of the local squads has a WPI ranking that will give them an at-large berth.
But that made little difference for the Kards and Stars, who had split two previous meetings this season. The game was not decided until 3.2 seconds remained in the second overtime, when Luke Beiser, who paced the Kardinals with 17 points, made two foul shots for a 60-56 lead. SoHi’s Eli Sheridan, who finished with 16 points, hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to account for the final score.
The Stars led 37-28 entering the fourth quarter, but with seniors Kalvin Daniels, Nick Beeson, Avery Hieber, Tristan Landry and Josh Jackman appearing in their final game, the Kards mounted a comeback.
With 3 minutes, 30 seconds, left, Daniels hit a 3-pointer to give the Kards a 43-41 lead. Daniels had seven points of his 11 to lead the charge in the fourth quarter, while Jackman had six of his 16.
The game stayed tight into the final minute, with Caleb Spence, who finished with 19 points, hitting a rebound layup for a 45-all game with 40 seconds left. The Kards would fail to score on their final two possessions, while SoHi didn’t connect on its final possession.
In the first overtime, Jackman’s layup was answered by Wendell Tuisaula’s foul shots. Beiser had a layup before Spence hit one of two foul shots for a 49-48 game with 1:20 remaining.
After Kenai missed, Spence came back with a floater for a 50-49 lead, but a pair of Jackman foul shots with 33 seconds left put the Kards up 51-50.
After a SoHi turnover, Daniels missed a shot and Spence charged up the court looking for the winning 3-pointer, only to be fouled by Daniels in the act of shooting 40 feet from the basket. But Spence made one of three foul shots, knotting the score at 51 and forcing a second overtime.
To start the second overtime, Beiser had a pair of free throws, while Sheridan answered with a layup.
Then came the crucial point in the game, when both Landry, who had 10 points, and Daniels had consecutive steals and layups to put the Kardinals up 57-53 with 1:00 to play.
After a Soldotna miss, Jackman hit one of two from the line for a 58-53 lead with 51 seconds left. But Brandon Crowder, who finished with 10 points, kept the Stars alive with a 3-pointer for a 58-56 game. A successful Soldotna trap then got the Stars the ball back with just 19 seconds left.
Crowder got a great look for a 3-pointer and the lead, but it bounced out and Beiser was fouled and hit is foul shots with 3.2 seconds to play.
While the Kardinals got to send all those seniors off with a win, Soldotna got valuable experience for returners. Kyle Marcuson is the lone senior for the Stars, who also will regain the services of star big man Derek Evans, who missed the NLC tournament with an injury.
BOYS
MVP — Clayton Southwick, Palmer.
Coach of Year — Dave Anderson, Kodiak.
First-team all-conference — Isaac Houck, Wasilla; Sullivan Menard, Colony; Josh Jackman, Kenai; Daniel Headdings, Wasilla; Augie Cauging, Kodiak; Kobe Brown, Wasilla.
Second-team all-conference — Luke Beiser, Kenai; Payton Martin, Palmer; Louis Rocheleau, Kodiak; Reilly Devine, Wasilla; Nolan Martin, Colony; Isaih Newner, Colony.
Good sport team — Wyatt Baker, Colony; Wendell Tuisaula, Soldotna; Jared Hawkins, Palmer; Avery Hieber, Kenai; Deau Cork, Wasilla; Bryan Mangrobang, Kodiak.
GIRLS
MVP — McKenna Dinkel, Wasilla.
Coach of Year — Jeff Bowker, Colony.
First-team all-conference — Catherine Baham, Wasilla; Amanda Smith, Colony; Lorna Suaava, Palmer; Azlynn Brandenberg, Wasilla; Olivia Davies, Wasilla; Alex Carlton, Colony.
Second-team all-conference — Aliann Schmidt, Soldotna; Danica Schmidt, Soldotna; Haylee Duguid, Colony; Brooke Satathite, Kenai; Jaycie Calvert, Kenai; Lara Creighton, Kenai; Kaylyn Kelly, Wasilla.
Good sport team — Ella Smith, Colony; Attison Machen-Gray, Kenai; Jenna Sutton, Palmer; Haley Buckbee, Soldotna; Mallory Wheeler, Wasilla; Zennia Chia, Kodiak.
Friday boys
5th place game
Kardinals 60, Stars 59, 2 OT
Soldotna 14 13 10 8 6 7 — 59
Kenai 9 13 6 17 6 9 — 60
SOLDOTNA (59) — Trammell 0 0-0 0, Spence 8 2-5 19, Sheridan 5 2-2 16, Crowder 4 0-0 10, Tuisaula 2 2-2 6, McElroy 2 0-0 4, Michael 2 0-0 4, Marcuson 0 0-0 0. Totals — 23 6-9 59.
KENAI CENTRAL (60) — Daniels 5 0-0 11, Beeson 1 1-2 3, Hieber 1 0-0 3, Beiser 6 5-5 17, Landry 4 0-0 10, Jackman 5 6-8 16. Totals — 22 12-15 60.
3-point goals — Soldotna 7 (Sheridan 4, Crowder 2, Spence); Kenai 4 (Landry 2, Daniels, Hieber). Team fouls — Soldotna 16, Kenai 9. Fouled out — none.
Friday girls
Warriors 54, Kardinals 16
Kenai 2 7 2 5 — 16
Wasilla 21 13 15 5 — 54
KENAI CENTRAL (16) — Calvert 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-0 0, Machen-Gray 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0-0 0, Schneiders 0 0-0 0, Creighton 1 1-2 3, Carrasco 0 0-0 0, Satathite 3 4-8 10, Beck 1 1-2 3, Maw 0 0-0 0, Coghill 0 0-0 0. Totals — 5 6-12 16.
WASILLA (54) — Davies 7 2-2 16, Obernski 1 0-0 3, Baham 2 0-0 4, Kelly 1 0-0 2, Brandenburg 3 0-0 7, Wheeler 1 0-0 2, Lawhead 1 1-2 3, Dinkel 3 2-2 8, Green 4 0-0 8, Titus 0 0-0 0. Totals – 23 5-6 54.
3-point goals — Wasilla 3 (Davies, Obernski, Brandenburg). Team fouls — Kenai 6, Wasilla 11. Fouled out — none.
Knights 48, Stars 36
Soldotna 6 14 7 9 — 36
Colony 20 5 10 13 — 48
SOLDOTNA (36) — Miller 1 0-0 3, Blossom 2 0-0 4, A. Schmidt 5 1-2 12, Tuttle 0 0-0 0, Tuisaula 3 1-2 7, Kruse 1 0-0 2, D. Schmidt 2 3-3 8. Totals — 14 5-7 36.
COLONY (48) — Duguid 1 0-0 3, Watson 0 0-0 0, A. Smith 4 4-4 16, Clary 0 0-1 0, Bull 4 1-2 12, Steiner 0 0-0 0, Carlton 3 4-5 11, E. Smith 2 2-4 6, Simpson 0 0-0 0. Totals — 14 11-16 48.
3-point goals — Soldotna 3 (Miller, A. Schmidt, D. Schmidt); Colony 9 (A. Smith 4, Bull 3, Duguid, Carlton). Team fouls — Soldotna 16, Colony 13. Fouled out — none.
Saturday girls
3rd place game
Stars 34, Kardinals 28
Kenai 7 5 11 5 — 28
Soldotna 16 6 4 8 — 34
KENAI CENTRAL (28) — Calvert 2 0-0 6, Miller 0 2-2 2, Machen-Gray 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0-0 0, Creighton 2 0-3 4, Satathite 3 3-6 9, Beck 3 1-1 7, Maw 0 0-0 0, Coghill 0 0-0 0. Totals — 10 6-12 28.
SOLDOTNA (34) — McGillivray 0 0-0 0, Miller 2 0-0 4, Blossom 1 2-2 4, A. Schmidt 3 2-2 9, Tuttle 1 0-0 2, Tuisaula 2 0-0 4, Kruse 2 0-0 4, Wells 1 0-0 2, D. Schmidt 2 1-2 5. totals — 14 5-6 34.
3-point goals — Kenai 2 (Calvert 2); Soldonta 1 (A. Schmidt). Team fouls — Kenai 8, Soldotna 14. Fouled out — none.
