Hawks hope to end state tourney drought

HOUSTON — It’s been 20 years since the Houston Hawks girls’ basketball team earned a spot in the state tournament.

This weekend, as the No. 2 seed in the Southcentral North, the Hawks are hoping to break that streak and end the state tournament drought. And all the Hawks need are a pair of wins to lift them into the 3A state championships.

Houston’s quest for a spot in state starts Thursday during the first round of the Southcentral Conference Championships at Seward High School.

Houston (8-2) opens tourney play against Homer, the third seed from the Southcentral South Division, Thursday at 2 p.m. at Seward High. A win Thursday and a victory over either Grace Christian or host Seward on Friday would punch Houston’s state tourney ticket for the first time since 1994.

“We like it,” Houston head coach Pat Egelus said of his team’s place on the Southcentral girls bracket. “We kind of figured this was kind of how things were going to shake out.”

Houston beat Homer during its regular season matchup.

“We definitely played a good game that game, handled them pretty fairly, but you never know,” Egelus said. “It’s region competition. Tournament time, everything changes.”

A win over Homer could pit Houston against host Seward, the top seed from the Southcentral South.

“It’ll be loud,” Egelus said. “They’ve got a huge fan base.”

The Houston boys also hope to end a long state tournament drought. The Hawks won back-to-back 3A state titles in 1990 and 1991, but have spent much of the last two decades seeing their seasons come to and end during the region tourney.

Houston drew the No. 3 seed in the Southcentral North and will face Skyview Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in Seward. Houston cruised past the Panthers 55-33 late last month.

A win over Skyview could send Houston into a semifinal match with Anchorage Christian School, the 2012 3A state runner-up. ACS meets Homer in the first round.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor at sports@frontiersman.com.