Anchorage — T-Bird Classic
Caitlin Scott's 3-pointer with 14 seconds left Friday lifted Palmer to a 56-53 semifinal squeaker over East, putting the Moose in the championship game of East's T-Bird Classic girls basketball tournament.
Palmer will meet Soldotna, which got a big game from Kaillee Skjold in a 50-26 semifinal win over Kenai.
Taylor Blake poured in 27 points for Palmer, which held off a fourth-quarter rally by the T-Birds.
Scott's winning shot broke the seventh tie of the game. East had chances at the end, but missed three free throws in the final 30 seconds.
In Soldotna's win, Skjold amassed 19 points and seven rebounds to lead the Stars. Sydney Taylor led Kenai with 11 points.
In consolation-bracket games, Valdez edged Eagle River 50-49 and Seward held off Kotzebue 45-42.
With one second remaining, Shilo Nease hit one of two free throws for Valdez to provide the winning margin against Eagle River.
Two players posted double-doubles for the Buccaneers -- Madison Fleming (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Marian Wamsley (13 points, 12 rebounds). For Eagle River, Lauren Frost and Dana Panfil each scored 13 points and Samantha Coy added 11.
Jasmine Perea fueled Seward's win over Kotzebue with 14 points and 17 rebounds. Ashley Von Barstol added 16 points. The game's top scorer was Kotzebue's Colleen Snyder, who netted 20 points.
T-Bird Classic
East High School
Friday's results
Consolation round
Valdez 50, Eagle River 49
Seward 45, Kotzebue 42
Semifinals
Soldotna 50, Kenai 26
Palmer 56, East 53
Saturday's games
6:15 p.m. (championship) -- Soldotna- vs. Palmer
4:30 p.m. (third place) -- Kenai vs. East
2:45 p.m. (fifth place) -- Valdez vs. Seward
1 p.m. (seventh place) -- Eagle River vs. Kotzebue
Grace Christian tourney
The Grace Christian girls and Dimond boys each remained undefeated after two games at the Grace Christian Classic basketball tournament Friday.
The Grace girls used a dominating second half to knock off Service 37-32, and the Dimond boys rode an early lead to a 59-47 triumph over the Grace boys.
Dimond's Stanson Afoa scored eight points in the first quarter to help the Lynx to a 19-13 advantage after the opening eight minutes. Afoa finished with 16 and was joined in double figures by teammate Damon Cikanek, who led all scorers with 20.
Hans Karlberg's 17 points paced Grace, which trailed 40-27 after three quarters.
For the Grace girls, Madison Lash scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half to help her team overcome a 17-8 halftime deficit. Service clung to a 25-23 lead after three quarters but Grace took control in the final quarter by sinking 10 of 14 free throws, with Lash hitting four of six.
Dajanae Harris tossed in 11 points to lead Service.
In the other girls game, Homer pulled out a 49-38 overtime victory over Bethel. Haley Oliver and Talya Cabana each scored 12 points for Homer, with Oliver providing a basket in overtime, helping Homer outscore Bethel 5-3 for the win.
Rebecca Brink's 13 points led Bethel, which got another nine points from Riana Joseph.
Homer's boys had a rougher outing in their game, falling 69-36 to Soldotna. Soldotna led 15-10 after one quarter and used a second-quarter surge to go up 37-18 at halftime.
Soldotna's Cory Carver poured in 17 points and Noah Fowler scored 12 of his 15 points in the Stars' big second quarter. Brandon Beachy topped Homer with nine points.
Grace Christian Classic
Grace Christian School
Friday's results
Girls
Homer 40, Bethel 38
Grace 37, Service 32
Boys
Soldotna 69, Homer 36
Dimond 59, Grace 47
Saturday's games
Girls
11 a.m. -- Homer vs. Service
2:30 p.m. -- Grace vs. Bethel
Boys
12:45 p.m. -- Homer vs. Dimond
4:15 p.m. -- Grace vs. Soldotna
South boys win at buzzer
South's Louis Page hit a bank shot with 26 seconds to put his team in the lead and blocked a shot at the buzzer Friday to preserve a 62-60 victory Fover Kodiak in a nonconference boys basketball game in Kodiak.
Kodiak led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter. But South, plagued by 22 turnovers through three quarters, gave away the ball only three times in the fourth quarter as it staged its comeback.
Jack Hobbs pumped in 22 points for South, canning three 3-pointers along the way and adding six rebounds. Page finished with 13 points and six rebounds, and David Alston added 12 points and eight rebounds.
For Kodiak, Josh Boas and Elijah Hiner each scored 14, and Austin Fricke nailed three treys on his way to 12 points.
