When March Madness rolls around, an upset is usually lurking somewhere, and Wednesday afternoon at Skyview High School, it was the sixth-seeded Seldovia girls toppling the third-seeded Lumen Christi girls 56-47 in overtime.
The Sea Otters had just one victory all year but picked a good time to double that victory total at the Class 1A Peninsula Conference tournament.
“I don’t know, it was crazy,” said Seldovia Coach Tiffany Haller when asked how her team emerged victorious. “I think the girls handled it better than I did. I was having a panic attack.”
Seldovia led 21-17 at halftime and 30-29 heading into the final quarter.
In the overtime, Seldovia finished off the upset by outscoring Lumen 10-1.
Jenna Crosby had 20 points for the Sea Otters, while team captain Olivia Turner had 13 and Marina Chissus had 12. Chissus sank 10 of 14 free throws.
Crosby’s tally was particularly impressive considering this is her first year on the basketball court, a big change from her usual setting — a soccer pitch.
“She did so well, and Marina had an awesome game too,” Haller said. “We have a Kazakhstan exchange student and only three returners. They were just matching each other out there tonight.”
Haller, a first-year coach herself and a 1988 graduate of Seldovia School, said the most points her team had scored in a single game previous to Wednesday night was 39.
For Lumen, Tori Kruger pumped in 22 points, while Robin Jones had 16.
Nikolaevsk boys 70, Kodiak ESS 44
The top-seeded Warriors took care of business in the final late game on Wednesday, pulling away from Kodiak ESS in the second quarter to move on to a semifinal matchup against Wasilla Lake, slated for today at 6:30 p.m.
Jaruby Nelson scored 23 points to lead the Warriors, knocking down numerous jumpshots, while teammate Jonah Fefelov added 13. Wade Bartleson scored 20 for Kodiak.
Kodiak ESS kept the game close in the first quarter, holding the lead on a few occasions and trailed Nikolaevsk 12-9 at the end of one quarter.
Nikolaevsk then began to press Kodiak hard in the second quarter, forcing turnovers and grabbing steals to hit on a 15-2 run. The Warriors led 29-17 at halftime.
Three quick buckets in the first minute of the second half helped douse Kodiak’s hopes of a comeback.
CIA girls 54, Wasilla Lake 11
The Eagles, the No. 2 seed, cruised into the semifinals with a victory over the No. 7 Rams.
CIA put seven players in the scorebook, led by Nicole Moffis with 15 and Danielle Hills with 13.
Maddie Fuller had seven for Wasilla Lake.
CIA boys 69, Nanwalek 31
Cook Inlet Academy, the No. 2 seed, roared past No. 7-seeded Nanwalek and into the semifinals.
There was a lot of talk before the tournament about how dangerous Nanwalek is, so CIA didn’t mess around — holding a 25-4 lead after one quarter and a 42-10 lead at halftime.
Timmy Smithwick had 21 points for Cook Inlet, while Mylon Weems dumped in 19. CIA had nine different players in the scoring column.
John Romanoff had 16 points for Nanwalek.
Ninilchik girls 31, Birchwood 27
The No. 4 seed Wolverines pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback for a victory over the No. 5 Warriors.
Ninilchik trailed 8-4 after one quarter and 12-10 at halftime. Birchwood then upped the lead to 21-17 after three quarters, but Ninilchik finished on a 14-6 kick.
Jessica Rogers paced Ninilchik with 16 points, including five in the final quarter. Melissa Ehlers had all seven of her points in the final frame.
Birchwood Christian’s lead scorer was Bryce Vickers with eight points.
Wasilla Lake boys 45, Ninilchik 38
The Rams, the No. 5 seed, avenged a loss earlier in the season to the No. 4 Wolverines.
Ninilchik coach Nickolas Finley said going into the tournament that one of his worries was his young team’s ability to score.
The Wolverines scored just two points in the first quarter, but trailed just 5-2 due to solid defense. Ninilchik went on to lead 21-19 at halftime.
But getting outscored 15-4 in the third quarter was too much for Ninilchik to overcome.
Connor Knowles had 16 points to lead the Rams, while Braden Thorn had 11.
For Ninilchik, Sam Mirales had 19 points, while Tyler Presley chipped in with 10.
Seldovia boys 77, Birchwood 38
The Sea Otters, the No. 3 seed, opened impressively against the Warriors, the No. 6 seed.
Seldovia led 15-10 after one quarter and 35-14 at halftime in reaching the semifinals.
Calem Collier paced the Sea Otters with 33 points, including connecting four times from 3-point range. Aiden Philpot added 22 for Seldovia.
For Birchwood, Dakota Jones had 11 points, while Tyler Keiffer had 10.
Kodiak ESS boys 42, Lumen Christi 37
The No. 8 seed Kodiak ESS moved on to a game with Nikolaevsk by topping the No. 9 Archangels early Wednesday.
Wade Bartleson had 12 points to lead Kodiak ESS, while Cody Robustellini had 11 points.
For Lumen Christi, Joey Brown and Cheibuka Lebechi each had 11 points.
Wednesday girls
Wolverines 31, Warriors 27
Ninilchik 4 6 7 14 —31
Birchwood 8 4 9 6 —27
NINILCHIK (31) — Rogers 7 2-7 16, Sinclair 0 0-4 0, Goins 0 0-0 0, Ehlers 3 1-2 7, Me. Clark 2 0-0 4, Finney 2 0-0 4. Totals — 14 3-13 31.
BIRCHWOOD CHRISTIAN (27) — Vickers 4 0-0 8, Craig 2 0-0 4, Roberts 2 1-2 5, Becker 1 1-2 3, Ta. Goward 3 0-0 7. Totals — 12 2-4 27.
3-point goals — Birchwood 1 (Ta. Goward). Team fouls — Ninilchik 7, Birchwood 11. Fouled out — none.
Sea Otters 56, Archangels 47, OT
Lumen 9 8 12 17 1 —47
Seldovia 9 12 9 16 10 —56
LUMEN CHRISTI (47) — Dickhaus 0 0-0 0, Barnes 0 0-0 0, Jones 7 2-5 16, Thorness 0 0-0 0, Estes 2 0-0 5, Kruger 9 4-9 22, Childs 0 0-0 0, McCormick 0 0-0 0, Zitzow 2 0-2 4. Totals — 20 6-16 47.
SELDOVIA (56) — Chissus 1 10-14 12, Meganack 0 0-0 0, Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Waterbury 4 1-2 9, Swick 1 0-0 2, Turner 6 0-4 13, Crosby 9 2-2 20. Totals — 21 13-22 56.
3-point goals — Lumen 1 (Estes); Seldovia 1 (Turner). Team fouls — Lumen 16, Seldovia 14. Fouled out — Zitzow.
Eagles 54, Rams 11
CIA 11 16 15 12 —54
Wasilla 0 4 0 7 —11
COOK INLET ACADEMY (54) — Hanna 1 0-0 2, Moffis 7 0-0 15, Taplin 1 0-0 2, Hills 6 1-2 13, Brush 0 0-0 0, Lyons 3 0-0 6, Hammond 3 0-0 7, McGahan 0 0-2 0, Orth 4 1-2 9. Totals — 25 1-6 54.
WASILLA LAKE CHRISTIAN (11) — Flanders 0 0-0 0, Mosier 0 0-0 0, Thorn 0 0-0 0, Mahler 2 0-4 4, Fuller 3 1-1 7. Totals — 5 1-5 11.
3-point goals — CIA 2 (Moffis, Hammond). Team fouls — CIA 10, Wasilla Lake 5. Fouled out — none.
Wednesday boys
Warriors 70, Kodiak ESS 44
Nikolaevsk 12 17 23 18 —70
Kodiak 9 8 13 14 —44
NIKOLAEVSK (70) — Lasiter 0 0-0 0, K. Molodih 0 0-0 0, Nelson 10 2-2 23, A. Yakunin 3 2-2 8, S. Yakunin 0 0-0 0, N. Fefelov 4 1-1 10, Gordeev 5 0-0 10, F. Molodih 3 0-0 6, J. Fefelov 6 0-2 13, Kalugin 0 0-0 0. Totals — 31 5-7 70.
KODIAK ESS (44) — Shugak 0 0-0 0, D. Koozaata 0 0-0 0, Nelson 0 0-0 0, Robustellini 4 2-3 12, Reft 1 0-0 2, J. Phillips 3 0-0 6, Nelson 0 0-0 0, Evehjem 0 0-0 0, Bennett-Melendez 1 0-0 2, C. Phillips 0 0-0 0, Bartleson 7 4-5 20, B. Koozaata 1 0-0 2. Totals — 17 6-8 44.
3-point goals — Nikolaevsk 3 (Nelson, N. Fefelov, J. Fefelov); Kodiak ESS 4 (Robustellini 2, Bartleson 2). Team fouls — Nikolaevsk 9, Kodiak ESS 7. Fouled out — none.
Rams 45, Wolverines 38
Ninilchik 2 19 4 13 —38
Wasilla Lake 5 14 15 11 —45
NINILCHIK (38) — C. Appelhanz 0 0-0 0, Presley 3 3-4 10, Mirales 8 3-7 19, Delgado 1 0-0 2, Koch 0 0-0 0, Bartolowits 0 0-0 0, Thorn 0 2-2 2, S. Appelhanz 0 0-0 0, White 1 2-4 5. Totals — 13 10-17 38.
WASILLA LAKE (45) — J. Stiner 2 4-5 8, B. Stiner 0 0-2 0, Willson 1 0-0 2, Sherbohn 2 0-1 4, Knowles 6 4-7 16, Thorn 4 3-4 11, Palmberg 0 0-0 0, Cook 2 0-0 4. Totals — 17 11-19 45.
3-point goals — Ninilchik 2 (Presley, White). Team fouls — Ninilchik 16, Wasilla Lake 14. Fouled out — none.
Sea Otters 77, Warriors 38
Seldovia 15 20 24 18 —77
Birchwood 10 4 12 12 —38
SELDOVIA (77) — R. Waterbury 2 1-2 6, Sedibe 0 0-0 0, D. Waterbury 2 0-0 4, Collier 10 9-9 33, Haller 2 0-0 4, Philpot 7 8-10 22, O’Leary 3 2-4 8, Swearingen 0 0-0 0. Totals — 26 20-25 77.
BIRCHWOOD CHRISTIAN (38) — Becker 3 0-0 6, Zellers 0 0-0 0, Goforth 0 0-0 0, Keiffer 4 2-3 10, Sladko 1 0-0 2, Jones 4 3-7 11, O’Neill 1 0-0 2, Zachry 0 0-0 0, Buyse 3 1-2 7, Stone 0 0-0 0, Peterson 0 0-0 0. Totals — 16 6-12 38.
3-point goals — Seldovia 5 (Collier 4, R. Waterbury). Team fouls — Seldovia 14, Birchwood 17. Fouled out — none.
CIA 69, Nanwalek 31
CIA 25 17 12 15 —69
Nanwalek 4 6 7 14 —31
COOK INLET ACADEMY (69) — Uchtman 1 0-0 2, A. Hammond 2 0-0 5, B. Hammond 2 0-0 4, R. Smithwick 2 0-0 5, Barlow 1 0-0 2, Leaf 2 0-2 4, J. Solie 0 0-0 0, T. Smithwick 9 0-1 21, Lyons 0 0-0 0, R. Solie 3 0-0 7, Weems 8 3-4 19. Totals — 29 3-7 69.
NANWALEK (31) — X. Romanoff 1 2-2 4, T. Ukatish 2 1-4 5, J. Romanoff 6 2-2 16, Anahonak 0 0-2 0, L. Ukatish 0 0-0 0, Evans 3 0-0 6. Totals — 12 5-10 31.
3-point goals — CIA 6 (T. Smithwick 3, A. Hammond, R. Smithwick, R. Solie); Nanwalek 2 (J. Romanoff 2). Team fouls — CIA 8, Nanwalek 11. Fouled out — none.
