The Soldotna Stars boys and girls teams grouped together on Saturday, Jan. 27 to hoist their Al Howard Shootout championship trophies. The Stars basketball programs swept the annual SoHi tournament, both going unbeaten.
The Soldotna boys finished with decisive wins over Palmer, Birchwood Christian, and Kenai; the Lady Stars, led by tournament MVP Kaytlin McAnelly, finished with a big win over Kenai and a nail-biter over the Palmer Moose.
Thursday, Jan. 25
Girls
Soldotna 50, Kenai 20
The Soldotna girls started their tournament with a big win over the Kenai Kardinals.
The Stars got out to a modest six point lead in the first quarter, led by seven points from Kaytlin McAnelly, then extended their lead heading into the half, up 27-11.
In the second half the Stars continue to pad their advantage, outscoring the Kardinals 23-9 in the third and fourth quarters.
McAnelly led Soldotna in scoring with 16 points. Emilee Wilson led all Kenai scorers, with 9 points.
Boys
Kenai 58, Birchwood Christian 30
The Kenai boys got their tournament under way with a decisive win over the Birchwood Christian Warriors, dominating the Warriors from start to finish.
The Kardinals amassed a large lead right out of the gate, outscoring Birchwood 30-16 in the first half. Miles Metteer notched 8 of his game-high 11 points as part of a Kenai 18-point first quarter.
Ryker Dykema took the torch after the break, scoring all 9 of his points in the second half.
Perhaps the most impressive statistic for the Kardinals was that every player on the roster logged points during the game.
Soldotna 72, Palmer 52
Thursday night’s nightcap featured the Soldotna Stars boys taking on the Palmer Moose in a 4A Northern Lights Conference match up. (Although both teams are from the NLC, the contest was counted as a non-conference game).
Andrew Pieh set the tone early in this game, exploding for 14 first quarter points and leading the Stars to a big, 24-12 first quarter lead. Soldotna never looked back after that.
The Stars outscored the Moose in every quarter except the third when the bench largely took over on the floor. In addition to their superb play from beginning to end, the SoHi boys buried eight 3-pointers throughout the game.
Izaiah Gilbert finished with 16 points, right behind Pieh’s team-leading 17. Pieh also added 5 rebounds.
Friday, Jan. 26
Girls
Kenai 18, Palmer 53
In the lone girls game on Friday, the Kenai Kardinals fell to the Palmer Moose.
The Lady Kardinals found themselves in an early hole, only managing to net three total points on four trips to the free-throw line in the first quarter, compared to 19 points from the Moose.
The Kardinals couldn’t recover from the early deficit and fell in a runaway to Palmer by a final of 53-18.
Kenai was led by Ellsi Miller who scored 8 points.
Boys
Kenai 25, Palmer 60
A tough night for both Kardinals’ ball teams started off with a big loss by the Kenai boys to Palmer.
The big difference was the Kardinals’ inability to adjust to Palmer’s full court press. The press led to several turnovers in the back court and quick points for the Moose. Whenever Kenai did manage to stretch the floor and advance the ball swiftly into Palmer’s end, the Kardinals usually found the net.
A highlight for Kenai was Miles Metteer, who in addition to leading his team with seven points overall, pulled down a season-high 16 rebounds on the night.
Soldotna 56, Birchwood 47
The Soldotna boys were once again led by Izaiah Gilbert and Andrew Pieh, who accounted for 20 of the Stars 31 first half points against the Birchwood Warriors on Friday night. Gilbert led the team with 16 points, followed by Pieh’s 13.
The bench players were able to get some time in this game as well, scoring 14 points on the night. Of those, Easton Hawkins accounted for 11.
Saturday, Jan. 27
Girls
Soldotna 55, Palmer 53
In easily the highlight game of the Al Howard Shootout, the Soldotna Lady Stars secured the tournament championship on Saturday in a dramatic last second win over the Palmer Moose.
The Stars trailed by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, but clawed their way back in the second half, led by an incredible 25 second half points from tournament MVP Kaytlin McAnelly.
Despite briefly trailing by 17 points in the second quarter, the Stars pulled within 11 at the end of the first half. Then in the third quarter McAnelly found her groove and drove to the hoop time and time again, earning one trip to the free-throw line after another. Easily the biggest difference in the game happened at the charity stripe, where McAnelly made 15 of her season high 16 free throws.
With the game tied at 53 apiece, a Palmer traveling call gave the Stars a chance at the last shot. A loose ball scramble as Soldotna brought the ball across half court ended with Alyssa McDonald laying in the game-winning bucket with less than five seconds to play.
The team rushed the court to surround McDonald once the buzzer sounded.
Boys
Palmer 53, Ninilchik 39
The Ninilchik boys dropped their only game of the shootout to the Palmer Moose Saturday afternoon.
The game was a defensive struggle, and the Wolverines only trailed by 6 points (20-14) at halftime.
The Moose were saved by a deep bench, as nearly every player was in foul trouble by the end of the third quarter thanks to Ninilchik’s relentless attacks on the basket.
Despite the Wolverines going 18 for 29 from the free throw line, however, they couldn’t beat Palmer’s superior height under the basket and managed only nine baskets in the game.
Soldotna 60, Kenai 38
The Soldotna boys locked up their tournament championship with a landslide win over the Kenai Kardinals in the final game of the Al Howard Shootout on Saturday. Solid bench play and superior 3-point shooting, along with a big first quarter from Izaiah Gilbert made the early difference for SoHi.
Easton Hawkins scored 17 points off the bench to go along with two rebounds, and Gilbert scored a tournament high 18 points.
A highlight for the Kardinals, however, was their victory on the boards. Kenai out-rebounded the Stars 29-21, but it wasn’t enough to offset Soldotna’s nonstop offensive pressure.
Miles Metteer and Ryker Dykema each scored a team high eight points for Kenai.
Tournament Awards
Girls All-Tournament Team
MVP: Kaytlin McAnelly – Soldotna
Larkin Christiansen – Palmer
Alyssa McDonald – Soldotna
Emilee Wilson – Kenai
Theresa Arreola – Palmer
Boys All-Tournament Team
MVP: Isaac Evans – Palmer
Andrew Pieh – Soldotna
Izaiah Gilbert – Soldotna
Easton Hawkins – Soldotna
Dre Nika – Palmer
