It had been 25 years since the Homer Mariners had a girls basketball team appear in a state championship game, and a semifinal win Friday changed that.

As for the state crown itself, well, that’ll have to wait another year.

The Homer girls fell 49-26 to the Barrow Whalers in a matchup of the top two seeds in the Class 3A girls state final Saturday, March 26, at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

“We forced some stuff, and it just wasn’t our day,” said Homer Head Coach Chad Felice. “We just didn’t have it.”

Barrow staked out an early lead, but Homer turned up its pace to stay within striking distance of the Whalers throughout the second and third quarters, never trailing by more than 12 points until the fourth quarter.

The key moment of the game occurred with 6 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the final period, when 3A Girls Player of the Year Madison Akers stumbled to the floor while wrestling for the ball with Barrow’s Milya Wright and was charged with her fifth and final foul, forcing her to the bench the rest of the way.

“She rebounds well for us, so it hurt us on the glass,” Felice said.

After Akers made her exit, Barrow outscored Homer 13-2 to clinch the title.

The Homer senior ended with five points on 2-for-9 shooting and four rebounds.

Fellow senior Aurora Waclawski finished with 16 points, eight boards and three steals to lead the Mariners. Waclawski said she felt the team was caught off guard by Barrow’s midrange game, which the Mariners aren’t as accustomed to defending as they are layups and 3-pointers.

“They were shooting a pretty high percentage of jumpers,” Waclawski said. “We weren’t ready.”

Barrow Head Coach Chad Bunselmeier — in just his first year with Barrow — credited Homer’s scrappy defense in keeping the Whalers honest.

“Homer just never gives up, they work hard,” Bunselmeier said. “Their (man-to-man) defense was aggressive.”

However, as hard as the Mariners defense pushed Barrow, the ball was ice cold on the other side of the court. 

“We just had an off day in our shooting, I mean, I got some open looks from 3, and didn’t hit,” Waclawski said. “I think it was the same thing with Kayla (Stafford).”

The Whalers entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed with an 18-4 record, and showed their superiority early on by frustrating the Mariners with nine turnovers in the first quarter.

Barrow also controlled the glass, seemingly getting three or four shots off for every Mariners attempt. 

Down 17-6, Homer managed to regain its balance and finished the first half on a 9-4 run. Heading into the second half, Felice knew his team needed to keep the surge going.

“I told them to keep running, rebound and be smart,” Felice said. 

However, three quick buckets by Barrow in the opening 69 seconds of the third quarter was not what the Mariners planned.

A triple shot from the top of the arc by Akers with 5:40 to play in the third cut the lead to 29-20, but it would be the last time Barrow’s lead was in single digits.

With senior guard Angel Telfair and post player Rose Mongoyak working inside to get open space, Barrow began to increase the lead.

When Akers was slapped with her fifth foul, the remaining air in the balloon went out for Homer.

“I don’t really feel a lot of emotion during games, but it’s nice having Madison there,” Waclawski said about Akers’ ability. “It was tough without her getting rebounds against (Mongoyak).”

Homer starter Uliana Reutov also fouled out with four minutes left, further decimating the Mariners’ rebounding ability.

Homer finished the season at 24-3 overall. The campaign included an 18-game win streak, which was broken in the Southcentral Conference tournament final against Grace Christian, and Felice pointed to the win streak as one of the highlights of a great year.

“We won 24 games, and nobody can take that from us,” Felice said.

Although Saturday’s championship game was the final stop for the high school basketball careers of seniors Waclawski, Akers, Kayla Stafford, Desiree Cleary, Samantha Draves and Grace Kann, the loss did not crush their positive attitudes.

“I love basketball more than I love to win,” Waclawski said. “I’m still happy this year. It was pretty magical.”

Felice affirmed his belief in next season’s team’s ability to go just as far, or even take the state title, partially due to this year’s seniors’ mentorship of their teammates.

“A lot of the seniors provided a lot of good leadership,” Felice said. “The girls are ready, they’re already asking me about open gyms and they’re really dedicated.”

Homer News reporter Anna Frost contributed to this story. 

Weekend overview:

Homer High School’s girls varsity basketball took second place at the 3A girls state championship. 

March 26: Championship 

Homer vs. Barrow: 49-26, Barrow

March 25: Semi-final 

Homer vs. Mt. Edgecumbe: 40-29, Homer. 

March 24:

Homer vs. Grace Christian: 45-42, Homer.