Moose girls third, Hawks fourth in East T-Bird Classic

ANCHORAGE — Houston head coach Pat Egelus had two goals in mind as he led his team into the East T-Bird Classic. First, he wanted to use the tournament as a way to experiment with game plans as the Hawks continue to prepare for the upcoming Southcentral Conference season. But, with more than two weeks off until Houston starts conference play, Egelus wanted his Hawks’ to leave the tournament with a winning record.

Houston accomplished both.

Houston beat Nome 43-32 Saturday during the final day of the T-Bird Classic at East Anchorage High School to finish fourth in the eight-team tournament and improve to 3-2 overall.

“We’ve got 17 days off until we play Grace (Jan. 7). We want to come into that game with a winning record,” Egelus said.

Savannah Wells scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Hawks to the win Saturday. Wells shot 8 for 15 from the field and was 5 of 7 from the free-throw line. Aspen Ruth and Kimberly Quincy added seven points each in the win.

The Houston defense held Nome to only nine field goals and 25 percent shooting. Only four different Nome players scored.

After a tough first-round loss to host East Anchorage on Thursday, Houston edged Service 36-32 during consolation action Friday to stay alive in the tourney.

“It was a pretty sloppy game,” Egelus said.

Houston used an 11-4 third-quarter run to help secure the victory and move into the tournament’s fourth-place match.

Egelus said he felt his team had the chance to post a stronger win against the Cougars.

“It was one of those games where we felt like we were in control, then we’d miss,” Egelus said. “We’d control, put up a shot and miss. They’d get a rebound and make a layup.”

Egelus said the Hawks are using the three-day T-Bird Classic to prepare for its upcoming conference season. Houston experimented with different strategies on the court.

“We really wanted to work on the full-court press and that proved to not be successful,” Egelus said.

Despite the struggles, the 3A Hawks did capture their second win over a 4A opponent this season. Houston defeated Eagle River earlier in the week.

“We definitely took that away from it,” Egelus said.

Houston also faced 4A East Anchorage on Thursday in the opening round of the T-Bird Classic. Despite a 63-49 loss to the host Thunderbirds, Egelus said he felt Houston played better that night than they did against Service on Friday. Houston had chewed the deficit against East to as little as eight late in the contest.

Quincy led the Hawks with 12 points in the win. Wells and Nida added seven points each.

After a tough loss to Kodiak on Friday, Palmer rebounded with a 47-34 win over Seward. The Moose used a 23-6 third-quarter run to get past the Seahawks and finish third in the tournament. Sophomore Carly Venzke led the Moose in scoring for the second straight day, finishing with 15 points. Senior Kalie DePriest added nine points nd four rebounds. Molly Osiensky and Leya DePriest added six points each.

Kodiak downed Palmer 51-23 in the semifinals Friday. Venzke led the Moose with 11 points.

Leya DePriest and Venzke were both named all-tournament for the Moose. Wells represented Houston on the all-tourney team.

Houston 43, Nome 32

East T-Bird Classic

Saturday, Anchorage

Houston 12-9-11-11—43

Nome 5-10-12-5—32

Houston (43) — Ruth 3 1-5 7, Nida 2 0-0 5, Wells 8 5-7 22, Barber 1 0-0 2, Quincy 3 1-2 7; Totals: 17 7-11 43.

Nome (32) — S. Ahmasuk 3 4-13 11, A. Ahmasuk 5 4-6 17, Horner 1 1-3 3, Tocktoo 0 1-2 1; Totals: 9 10-24 32.

3-point field goals: Houston 2 (Wells, Nida 1), Nome 4 (A. Ahmasuk 3); Total fouls: Houston 22, Nome 14.

Houston 36, Service 32

East T-Bird Classic

Friday, Anchorage

Houston 12-9-11-4—36

Service 10-12-3-7—32

Houston (36) — Malidore 1 0-0 3, Nida 2 2-2 7, Wells 2 3-4 7, Apangalook 0 3-5 3, Barber 1 3-5 5, Quincy 4 4-5 12; Totals: 10 15-22 36.

Service (32) — Nanez 3 2-4 9, LaPointe 1 3-4 5, Hodson 1 0-0 2, Venable 4 4-4 13, Benfield 1 1-1 3; Totals 10 10-13 32.

3-point field goals: Houston 1 (Nida 1), Service 2 (Nanez, Venable 1); Total fouls: Houston 14, Service 19.

Palmer 47, Seward 34

East T-Bird Classic

Saturday, Anchorage

Seward 6-4-6-18—34

Palmer 4-2-23-18—47

Seward (34) — Von Borstel 3 2-2 8, Kromrey 3 8-11 14, Anderson 0 1-2 1, Jackson 3 0-90 6, Whiteshield 0 1-2 1, Clemens 1 2-2 4; Totals: 10 14-19 34.

Palmer (47) — Venzke 6 2-3 15, K. DePriest 3 3-3 9, Bowman 2 0-0 4, Osiensky 3 0-0 6, Ledger 1 0-0 2, Till 2 1-2 5, L. DePriest 2 2-2 6; Totals: 19 8-12 47.

3-point field goals: Seward 0, Palmer 1 (Venzke 1); Total fouls: Seward 8, Palmer 15.

Kodiak 51, Palmer 23

East T-Bird Classic

Friday, Anchorage

Kodiak 10-21-9-11—51

Palmer 5-7-4-7—23

Kodiak (51) — Horn 1 1-1 3, Nelson 7 0-2 15, Cannon 4 3-4 12, Wandersee 6 2-3 14; Totals: 21 6-11 51.

Palmer (23) — Venzke 5 1-3 11, K. DePriest 1 2-8 4, Bowman 2 1-2 5, McCall 0 2-2 2, Perkins 0 1-2 1; Totals: 8 7-18 23.

3-point field goals: Kodiak 3 (3 tied with 1), Palmer 0; Total fouls: Kodiak 8, Palmer 15.