The Homer girls basketball team completed a solid week with a 42-26 victory over host Seward on Saturday in Southcentral Conference play.
For the week, the Mariners swept foes in the conference’s Southern Division, topping Nikiski on Monday, Skyview on Friday and Seward on Saturday.
Homer led Seward 8-6 after the first quarter and 16-10 at the half. Homer then upped the lead to 26-16 after three quarters.
Madison Akers had 16 points to lead Homer. All of those tallies were in the second half. Tayla Cabana added 11 for the Mariners.
Homer girls 35, Skyview 20
The Mariners took charge in the third quarter and held on to take their second straight conference win on Skyview’s senior night.
Leading the way for Homer was Madison Akers with 22 points. Skyview was paced by senior Sam Reynolds with six points.
“Everything was finally coming together for them,” said Homer Coach Connie Akers, Madison’s mother. “Their aggressiveness was there, and we changed to a different press.”
The victory pushed Homer to a 5-4 conference record, with one final conference matchup on Saturday with Seward.
Friday’s win came about with intense defensive pressure on Skyview, according to coach Akers.
With starter Larson Fellows on the bench with a possible stress fracture in her leg, Akers said the squad responded well. Fellows injured her leg in the final seconds of Tuesday’s victory over Nikiski.
Reynolds sank a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter that sparked a Skyview lead of 10-4 early in the second quarter. But soon after, the Mariners began to find life from Akers and Tayla Cabana.
Trailing 12-11 at halftime, Homer outscored Skyview 13-4 in the third quarter, taking the lead for good with 1:23 left in the frame on an Akers layup.
Homer ended the third quarter on a 10-0 run to put eight points between itself and Skyview, and the Akers-Cabana duo continued to produce in the fourth, grabbing steals on defense and finding the basket off of Skyview turnovers.
Coach Akers said her team holds some lofty goals for the upcoming conference tournament, which will be held in Cordova.
“We’re hoping to go to state, that’s our big goal,” Akers said. “We don’t care what place we get, we just want to go to state.”
Skyview 58, Homer Boys 49
The Skyview boys chalked up a 58-49 win over the Homer boys. It was Skyview’s senior night and the last home game ever for the Panthers before the school closes.
While there was some big scoring on the part of the Panthers, the Mariners weren’t too shabby on offense, either, as Quinn Daugharty scored 19 points and teammate Filip Reutov added 15.
In the game against Skyview,
Seward boys 62, Homer 35
The host Seahawks finished the regular season with two victories on their home floor.
Seward led 16-14 after the first quarter, then took control with a 15-8 second quarter.
Michael Wolfe had 21 points for the Seahawks, including five 3-pointers. Ronnie Jackson added 18, while Matthew Moore had 13.
Sheldon Hutt paced Homer with 11 points.
Ninilchik girls 59, Seldovia 39
Jessica Rogers erupted for 32 points as the host Wolverines stopped the Sea Otters in Peninsula Conference play Saturday.
Rogers had 12 in the first quarter as the Wolverines grabbed a 14-13 lead. Ninilchik then outscored Seldovia 13-4 in the second to take command of the game.
Marina Chissus and Jenna Crosby had 10 apiece for the Otters.
Seldovia boys 54, Ninilchik 42
A powerful third quarter pushed the visiting Sea Otters past the Wolverines on Saturday.
Seldovia led 27-20 at halftime, then outscored Ninilchik 19-2 in the third quarter.
Seth O’Leary had 18 points for the Sea Otters, while Dylan Waterbury had 14 and Aiden Philpot had 13.
For Ninilchik, Austin White led the way with 16 points.
By Joey Klecka
Morris News Service – Alaska
Friday night, all that mattered to Skyview senior Jacob Carlson was getting his team a win on senior night.
Carlson did much more than that, as he scored all 24 of his points in the first half to help the Skyview boys to a 58-49 victory over Southcentral Conference opponent Homer at Skyview High School.
Friday was the last home game ever for the Panthers before the school closes, and Carlson’s shooting was lights out, as he hit 8 of 11 shots, even as he was held scoreless in the second half.
The Mariners weren’t too shabby on offense, either, as Quinn Daugharty scored 19 points and teammate Filip Reutov added 15.
However, when they needed it most, the Panthers found the points to distance themselves in the end.
After taking a brief lead early in the game, Homer began to fall victim to the Skyview offense, lead by Carlson and a few circus shots. Trailing 7-6 in the first quarter, Carlson proceeded to score the next 16 points for the Panthers.
The hot streak was capped with a driving layup from Hilbish that left Skyview with a 24-10 lead halfway through the second quarter. At halftime, Skyview led 34-25.
Daugharty was no slouch either, answering with 10 points for Homer in the second quarter.
Homer started the third quarter on a 9-4 run. Daugharty’s speed combined with Reutov’s agility and Sheldon Hutt’s height helped pull the Mariners back to within four points of Skyview, and heading into the fourth quarter, they trailed 43-40.
Hilbish hit a trey to start the final eight minutes, and it set the tone for the rest of the way. Homer never got closer than six points after that.
Skyview improved to 10-11 overall with the win (3-6 conference), while Homer dropped to 16-8 with the loss (5-4 conference).
Homer girls 35, Skyview 20
The Mariners took charge in the third quarter and held on to take their second straight conference win on Skyview’s senior night.
Leading the way for Homer was Madison Akers with 22 points.
“Everything was finally coming together for them,” said Homer Coach Connie Akers, Madison’s mother. “Their aggressiveness was there, and we changed to a different press.”
The victory pushed Homer to a 5-4 conference record, with one final conference matchup on Saturday with Seward.
With starter Larson Fellows on the bench with a possible stress fracture in her leg, Akers said the squad responded well. Fellows injured her leg in the final seconds of Tuesday’s victory over Nikiski.
Reynolds sank a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter that sparked a Skyview lead of 10-4 early in the second quarter. But soon after, the Mariners began to find life from Akers and Tayla Cabana.
Trailing 12-11 at halftime, Homer outscored Skyview 13-4 in the third quarter, taking the lead for good with 1:23 left in the frame on an Akers layup.
“We just needed to have a tougher mentality,” said Skyview coach Kyle McFall. “We just weren’t running an efficient offense, and a lot of it was kind of, just chaos. We need to see situations better and not play out of control.”
Homer ended the third quarter on a 10-0 run to put eight points between itself and Skyview, and the Akers-Cabana duo continued to produce in the fourth, grabbing steals on defense and finding the basket off of Skyview turnovers.
“I’m happy with what we’re doing defensively,” McFall mentioned on a positive note. “Offensively, there’s things there, we’re getting shots at the basket. Once we get more comfortable with the ball and handling pressure, we’ll be a better team.”
Powers hit a jump shot with 5:54 to go in the game that closed Skyview’s deficit to six points, but that would ultimately be the final points for the Panthers.
Coach Akers said her team holds some lofty goals for the upcoming conference tournament, which will be held in Cordova.
“We’re hoping to go to state, that’s our big goal,” Akers said. “We don’t care what place we get, we just want to go to state.”
Morris News Service – Alaska
The Homer girls basketball team completed a solid week with a 42-26 victory over host Seward on Saturday in Southcentral Conference play.
For the week, the Mariners swept foes in the conference’s Southern Division, topping Nikiski on Monday, Skyview on Friday and Seward on Saturday.
Homer led 8-6 after the first quarter and 16-10 at the half. Homer then upped the lead to 26-16 after three quarters.
Madison Akers had 16 points to lead Homer. All of those tallies were in the second half. Tayla Cabana added 11 for the Mariners.
Seward boys 62, Homer 35
The host Seahawks finished the regular season with two victories on their home floor.
Seward led 16-14 after the first quarter, then took control with a 15-8 second quarter.
Michael Wolfe had 21 points for the Seahawks, including five 3-pointers. Ronnie Jackson added 18, while Matthew Moore had 13.
Sheldon Hutt paced Homer with 11 points.
Ninilchik girls 59, Seldovia 39
Jessica Rogers erupted for 32 points as the host Wolverines stopped the Sea Otters in Peninsula Conference play Saturday.
Rogers had 12 in the first quarter as the Wolverines grabbed a 14-13 lead. Ninilchik then outscored Seldovia 13-4 in the second to take command of the game.
Marina Chissus and Jenna Crosby had 10 apiece for the Otters.
Seldovia boys 54, Ninilchik 42
A powerful third quarter pushed the visiting Sea Otters past the Wolverines on Saturday.
Seldovia led 27-20 at halftime, then outscored Ninilchik 19-2 in the third quarter.
Seth O’Leary had 18 points for the Sea Otters, while Dylan Waterbury had 14 and Aiden Philpot had 13.
For Ninilchik, Austin White led the way with 16 points.
