In the opening round of the Class 3A state basketball tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage on Wednesday, the Kenai Central girls won to make the state semifinals, while the Kenai and Homer boys lost and will face each other in the consolation semifinals.

The Kardinals girls, the No. 5 seed, nipped No. 4 Valdez 43-39. Kenai (16-11) will face top seed Grace Christian at 4:45 p.m. Thursday in the semis.

The Grizzlies and Kardinals are Peninsula Conference rivals, with Grace, the two-time defending state champs, owning three comfortable wins against Kenai this season.

The No. 6 Kenai boys lost 69-45 to No. 3 Mt. Edgecumbe. The No. 7 Homer boys lost 61-26 to the No. 2 Sitka boys.

The Kardinals (18-9) and Mariners (8-14) play at 10:30 a.m. Thursday for a spot in the fourth-place game.

Homer defeated Kenai twice during the regular season, while the Kards topped the Mariners for the Peninsula Conference championship.

Kenai girls 43, Valdez 39

The Kardinals waited until late to sew up their first opening-day victory at state since 2019, when Kenai went on to finish third.

The Buccaneers jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game and although Kenai came back to tie several times, Valdez was able to stay ahead for most of the game.

Valdez’s Rylee Wade hit a layup with 4:17 left for a 38-33 lead. Kenai would close on a 10-1 run to take the game.

Junior Ellsi Miller, who had 12 points, would get seven of those points from the foul line, sinking a free throw to make it 38-34.

Both teams struggled on offense in the game, with Kenai committing 28 turnovers and Valdez losing the ball 21 times.

Both squads also shot 26% from the floor, but the bright spot for the Kards was a 5 of 12 performance from 3-point land.

Freshman Bryleigh Williams, who finished with 8, hit one of those 3-pointers with 1:23 left to cut the Valdez lead to 38-37.

After a Valdez miss, Miller hit another foul shot to level the game at 38 with 49 seconds left.

The Buccaneers came up empty from the field two more times before Miller hit a pair of foul shots for a 40-38 lead with 25 seconds left. That was Kenai’s first lead of the game.

After another Valdez miss, Miller hit 1 of 2 for a 41-38 lead. Hali Fitka hit 1 of 2 to trim the lead to 41-39 with 6 seconds left, then Miller iced it with two foul shots with 5 seconds left.

Valdez had led 17-13 after the first quarter, 24-22 at the half and 34-33 after three quarters.

McKenzie Spence added 6 for Kenai, while Sierra Hershberger had 5, Willow Graham had 4 and Evelyn Cooper had 3.

For Valdez, Destiny Day had 12, Kelli Malcuit and Lola Compehos had 9, Fitka had 5 and Wade had 4.

Mt. Edgecumbe boys 69, Kenai 45

The Kardinals and their sophomore-heavy lineup were able to hang for the Braves except for big runs at the end of the second and third quarters.

The game was tied at 13 after the first quarter.

Kenai led 23-19 with 1:40 left in the half, but the Braves were able to force a few turnovers and hit a few 3-pointers to lead 29-23 at the half.

The Kardinals then were within 40-33 with 2:52 left in the third quarter, but again the Braves closed strong and led 51-33 after three quarters.

Mt. Edgecumbe shot 42% to Kenai’s 35%, but the real advantage came from 3, with the Braves going 7 of 22 and Kenai 3 of 19.

The other big advantage came on the boards. The Braves’ Donovan Stephan-Standifer, at 6-foot-7, had 15 rebounds to lead his team to a 39-20 advantage on the glass.

Miles Metteer had a game-high 20 points for the Kardinals, while Caleb Litke hit 5 of 8 from the floor and had 13 points. Litke also battled foul trouble in the game.

Also for Kenai, Mason Tunseth had 7, Reid Titus and Garrett McCanna had 2, and Eli Smith had 1.

For Mt. Edgecumbe, Kaden Herrmann and Richard Didrickson Jr each had 19, while Xavier Gundersen had 14, Stephan-Standifer had 11, and Brent Sun, Raymond Monk and Rashawn Stone each had 2.

Sitka boys 61, Homer 26

The Wolves wasted little time taking control of the game, leading 23-5 after the first quarter, 34-10 at halftime and 53-15 after three quarters.

“They were fantastic,” Homer head coach Jose Musa said of the Wolves. “I was disappointed we couldn’t give them a better challenge.”

Sitka used a full-court press to get a 27-8 advantage on turnovers.

“I thought we had about as many unforced errors as forced errors,” Musa said. “I thought they had a strong press and just generally strong pressure, and they take pride on the defensive end, but I thought we gave them the ball as much as they took it.”

Sitka also was 42% from the floor, while Homer was at 30%.

Spencer Dye paced the Mariners with 9, while Einar Pederson had 6, Henry Wedvik had 5, Justus Grimes had 3, Preston Stanislaw had 2 and Benjamin Engebretsen had 1.

Musa said seniors Wedvik and Stanislaw did their usual strong job of leadership.

He also said Kaiden Bogie was impressive after not playing last year and not getting a lot of playing time this season.

“He was a guy that didn’t look afraid and just kept hustling and didn’t let the situation dictate his outcome,” Musa said.

Musa also gave credit to freshman center Thomas Martin for handling getting thrown on the roster at the last minute.

“He’s just done everything I asked him to do,” Musa said.

For Sitka, Trey Johnson had 20, Trey Demmert and Bryce Compagno-Calhoun had 11, Colton McGraw and Shane Tincher had 5, Brett Ross had 3, and Shan Carlos, Kenneth Helm and Rowan Olney-Miller had 2.

Homer senior Einar Pederson (4) shoots over Sitka junior Trey Johnson (24) during the Mariners’ 61-26 loss to the Wolves during the opening day of the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Kenai freshman Bryleigh Williams (22), junior Willow Graham (32) and Ellsi Miller (33) celebrate as they leave the court in the Kardinals’ 43-39 win over Valdez on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Kenai senior Caleb Litke (23) scores past Mt. Edgecumbe senior Donovan Stephan-Standifer (35) on Wednesday, March 19, 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 sophomore Miles Metteer (14) shoots against Mt. Edgecumbe seniors Richard Didrickson Jr (21) and Donovan Stephan-Standifer (35) on Wednesday, March 19, 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 junior McKenzie Spence (23) drives past Valdez junior Rylee Wade (14) during the Kardinals’ 43-39 win over the Buccaneers on Wednesday, March 19, 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 sophomore Reid Titus dribbles around a screen by classmate Miles Metteer (14) as Mt. Edgecumbe sophomore Xavier Gundersen (24) defends Wednesday, March 19, 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 freshman Bryleigh Williams shoots over Valdez junior Rylee Wade (14) during the Kardinals’ 43-39 win over Valdez on Wednesday, March 19, 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)