The Lady Mariners basketball team claimed a victory over the Seward Seahawks on Saturday in Southcentral Conference action at Homer High School.
After a close game in the second half, Homer pulled ahead to win 29-22. The win bumped the Lady Mariners up to 2-0 in conference standings. Seward dropped to 0-1.
Homer took the lead and controlled the game early, pulling out ahead 15-9 by the end of the first half. The Seahawks closed the gap in the third quarter, however, and at one point were only trailing Homer 23-20.
Senior Rylee Doughty led the Mariners with 10 points, followed by Kelli Bishop with six points and Laura Inama, Marina Carroll and Hannah Hatfield with four each. Sophomore Kaylin Anderson also contributed a point. Bishop and Doughty netted a three-pointer each.
For the Seahawks, Shelby Siemanski led with 8 points, followed by Katelyn Lemme and Sequoia Seiverts with five each, and Anevay Ambrosiani with four. Lemme had Seward’s lone three-pointer of the game.
Homer head coach Chad Felice said the team is usually nervous during the first home game, and that the girls didn’t play quite as well as they could have.
“We played a tough one last night and got a good win against Kenai,” he said. “… The first home game is always tough. The girls played hard, and I just think they didn’t quite play up to the potential.”
Felice said it’s always good to get a win, and that he did see the team improving on certain things during the game.
“I like the way they fought,” he said. “They fought back and the game got close, and they didn’t crumble and they stayed on top of it, and I’m really proud of them for that.”
With four seniors this season — two of whom have played with the team all four years and one who’s been with the team for three — Felice has a goal of rising to the top of the Southcentral Conference this year.
“They are great leaders,” he said of Bishop, Doughty and Carroll. “It’s been a joy to be around them. It’s going to be sad to see them go, but fortunately we have 19 more games with them.”
The Mariners have a break this coming week before facing Nikiski. Felice said the team needs to focus on moving defensively ahead of that game.
“Defensively, that’s what we kind of hang our hat on,” he said. “And just try to keep working defensively and working hard, and … just get clicking a little bit more offensively.”
Also on Saturday, the Homer boys basketball team didn’t find as much luck, falling 33-47 to the Seahawks.
Seward pulled ahead early — up 16-11 by the end of the first quarter — and stayed there for the rest of the game. They kept their lead at 24-18 by the end of the first half, and expanded it to 40-25 by the end of the third quarter. While the Mariners came back and scored eight points in the fourth quarter to Seward’s seven, they weren’t able to make up the lost ground.
Trey Ingalls led the Seahawks with 12 points. Bjorn Nilsson was close behind with 10 points for Seward, followed by Connor Spanos with nine and Sam Koster with eight. John Moriarty contributed five points and Tommy Cronin had one.
For Homer, senior Ethan Anderson led the way with 12 points, followed by River Mann with eight, Clayton Beachy with seven and Parker Lowney, Eyoab Knapp and Josiah Raymond with two each.
Mann netted Homer’s lone three-pointer, while Ingalls scored two for Seward.
Seward 47, Homer 33
Seward
16, 8, 16, 7 — 47
Three-pointers: 2 – Trey Ingalls
Homer
11, 7, 7, 8 — 33
Three-pointers: 1 – River Mann
Reach Megan Pacer at mpacer@homernews.com.
Seward’s Sequoia Sieverts jumps to make a shot during a Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 basketball game against Homer High School in the Alice Witte Gymnasium in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Homer’s Kelli Bishop passes the ball around Seward’s Katelyn Lemme during a Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 basketball game between the two schools at the Alice Witte Gymnasium in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Seward’s Trey Ingalls takes a shot on the Homer basket during a Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 basketball game between the two teams in the Alice Witte Gymnasium in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Seward’s Sam Koster looks for a way to go among a horde of Mariners during a Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 basketball game between the two teams at the Alice Witte Gymnasium in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Homer’s Jonathan Raymond goes up for a shot during a Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 basketball game against Seward High School in the Alice Witte Gymnasium in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Homer’s Eyoab Knapp takes the ball down the court with Seward’s Trey Ingalls behind him during a Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 basketball game at the Alice Witte Gymnasium in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
