After completing the Cook Inlet Conference regular season with undefeated records, the West boys and East girls will begin their quest for CIC tournament titles Monday at West High.
The top-seeded Thunderbirds (14-0) will take on the eighth-seeded Eagle River girls (0-14) at 5:30 p.m.
The top-seeded Eagles (14-0) will face the eighth-seeded Chugiak boys (2-12) at 7 p.m.
The tournament stretches from Monday through Saturday. First-round games will be played on four straight days beginning Monday, with one boys game and one girls game each day.
Friday's semifinals will feature first-round winners. Winners of the semifinal games will not only advance to Saturday's championship, they will clinch berths in the March 19-21 Class 4A state tournament at Sullivan Arena.
Eight boys teams and eight girls teams will play in the state tournament. In both brackets, the CIC gets two berths, the Northern Lights Conference gets two, the Mid-Alaska Conference gets one and the Southeast Conference gets one.
The remaining two berths will be decided by the Alaska School Activities Association's WPI ratings.
Cook Inlet Conference Tournament
West High
First-round games
Monday
Girls
5:30 p.m. -- No. 1 East (14-0) vs. No. 8 Eagle River (0-14
Boys
7 p.m. -- No. 1 West (14-0) vs. No. 8 Chugiak (2-12)
Tuesday
Girls
5:30 p.m. -- No. 2 Dimond (12-2) vs. No. 7 Bartlett (2-12)
Boys
7 p.m. -- No. 2 Service (10-4) vs. No. 7 Eagle River (2-12)
Wednesday
Girls
5:30 p.m. -- No. 3 Chugiak (10-4) vs. No. 6 Service (4-10)
Boys
7 p.m. -- No. 3 East (10-4) vs. No. 6 South (4-10)
Thursday
Girls
5:30 p.m. -- No. 4 South (8-6) vs. No. 5 West (6-8)
Boys
7 p.m. -- No. 4 Dimond (9-5) vs. No. 5 Bartlett (5-9)
Alaska Dispatch Publishing