The Kenai Peninsula’s 3A basketball programs tipped-off one final time in the regular season with Kenai hosting Homer and Nikiski at home against Seward on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the Soldotna Star opened play in the Northern Lights Conference with a Thursday pairing at Colony High School in the Valley.
SoHi Girls 26 – Colony 39
The Lady Stars faced their first NLC opponent of the season and played evenly with the Colony Knights through the first half of a 39-26 loss to Colony. The loss was the first of the regular season for the SoHi girls, who built a 14-0 record against peninsula teams.
The Stars lead Colony 11-10 after one quarter and trailed 20-18 at the half to the Knights. In the second half, the SoHi girls failed to make a field goal for the entire third quarter and fell behind 29-20 after three quarters. For the game, the SoHi girls made only 5 of 20 freethrows while Colony converted 20 of 29 from the freethrow line. Final Score: Colony 39, SoHi 26
Autumn Fischer and Drysta Crosby-Schneider each scored seven points for the Lady Stars.
SoHi Boys 48 – Colony 72
The Soldotna boys trailed 24-6 in the first quarter and the Knights downed the SoHi boys 72-48. Colony recorded 17, three-point baskets for the game. Jakob Brown lead the Stars with 12 points, including four, three-pointers.
Upcoming NLC Games
SoHi girls and boys varsity teams move to Wasilla to face the Warriors on Friday with games scheduled for 4 & 6 p.m. Saturday, SoHi plays Palmer at 1 & 3 p.m.
All games are broadcast on ESPN 1140AM and streaming at radiokenai.com
Seward Girls 38 – Nikiski 18
The Nikiski girls, playing without leading scorer Lillian Carstens, struggled offensively against the Seward Seahawks on Thursday at Nikiski, falling to Seward 38-18. Seward lead 12-1 after one quarter and 19-7 at the half. Shelby Sieminski lead the Seahawks with 15 points: Kinlee Jefferys topped the Bulldogs with five points.
Seward Boys 56 – Nikiski 41
The Bulldogs and Seahawks played even through the first half of the boys varsity game on Thursday before Seward took charge in the second half for a 56-41 victory. The game was tied 25-25 at the half on the strength of a 15-point, second quarter by Nikiski’s Austin Stafford. Seward outscored Nikiski 16-5 in the third quarter. Trey Ingalls of Seward lead all scorers with 20 points; Nikiski’s Austin Stafford scored 18.
Kenai Girls 33 – Homer 44
The Homer girls blew open Thursday’s game against Kenai with a 21-point, third quarter enroute to a 44-33 victory at KCHS. Both teams struggled to score in the first half with the halftime score: Homer 15, Kenai 10. Tonda Smude scored 11 for the Mariners and Emma Beck scored 12 for the Kardinals.
Kenai Boys 61 – Homer 47
The Kardinal boys found their winning ways with a 61-47 victory over Homer on Kenai’s home court. The game was close early with Kenai leading 24-20 at the half. Kenai then scored 19 in the third quarter and 18 in the fourth quarter to pull-away from the Mariners. Jordan Kvasnikoff scored 20 and Maison Dunham added 15 for the Kardinals; Clayton Beachy totaled 11 for Homer.
Southcentral Conference Update
The Southcentral Conference Basketball Tournament begins play on Thursday, March 11th and runs through Championship Saturday on March 13th.
The boys tournament will be hosted at Kenai Central High School and the girls tournament at Nikiski High School.
Kenai, Nikiski, Homer and Seward comprise the SCC South. ACS, Grace, Houston and Redington make up the SCC North. Season records will be evaluated and the tournament brackets should be released on Sunday.
