Depth leads PHS girls to third in regions

March 11, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

KENAI - Palmer used superior depth to outlast Homer 52-33 and claim third place in the Northern Lights Conference tournament - and a bid in next week's state tournament - Saturday at Kenai Central High School.

Playing their second game in a little more than five hours after an early-morning defeat of Colony, Palmer showed it had plenty left in the tank against the Mariners, outscoring Homer 19-7 in the fourth quarter.

&#8220We preach about depth all the time in practice,” Palmer coach Paul Reid said. &#8220Today it finally came to pass that it helped us win a game.”

All 12 players who suited up for Palmer saw action, with eight playing in all four quarters.

Reid said he was able to use his deep bench both against Colony in the morning game and then against Homer in the afternoon. Following the game, Homer coach Deb Lowney acknowledged her team ran out of gas Saturday afternoon.

&#8220We've got to hand it to Palmer,” Lowney said. &#8220They had more left at the end.”

Winning the third-place game was a huge accomplishment for Palmer, which suffered a tough loss to rival Wasilla on Friday, and had to win two games in a row to reach the state tournament.

&#8220That loss to Wasilla really kind of galvanized us,” Reid said.

Junior forward Ashley Swetzof was everywhere for the Moose against Homer, picking up steals, blocked shots and rebounds seemingly whenever Palmer needed her to step up.

Swetzof led all scorers with 15 points, with 13 coming in the second half.

Kelsey Campbell added 12 for Palmer, Stephanie Houser had eight and Sarah Svedin came off the bench to score nine.

Following the game, Reid said Swetzof has struggled at times this season with inconsistent play, but picked the perfect time to take her game ot the next level.

&#8220It's definitely come at the right time,” he said.

Moments after walking off the court Saturday, Swetzof was beaming with pride in her team's accomplishment on the final day of the tournament.

&#8220It's huge,” she said. &#8220We battled so hard with Wasilla, and we just knew we had to bounce back today and prove that we deserved it.”

Now that the Moose have secured a spot in the state tourney, Swetzof said she wouldn't mind getting one more crack at their crosstown rivals.

&#8220Oh yeah,” she said. &#8220Bring ‘em on.”

Palmer 37, Colony 35

Palmer bounced back from its loss to Wasilla by defeating another Valley school, Colony on Saturday morning 37-35 in a defensive struggle.

The win pushed Palmer into the consolation finals against Homer.

The Moose led by 12 points going into halftime, but Colony quickly cut that to eight on a couple of free throws that should have been awarded during the first half. Allie Grazulis converted both to start the third quarter, and a quick Colony bucket cut the lead even further.

&#8220Just like that it was getting down there,” Palmer coach Paul Reid said of the margin.

Colony outscored Palmer 22-14 in the second half, but just couldn't quite overcome the big lead the Moose built early on.

Grazulis led all scorers with 14 points for Colony, which had high hopes of making the state tournament before the conference event began, but were dealt a big blow when junior point guard Hayley Hotchkiss was lost for the tourney in the team's final regular season game against Wasilla.

For Palmer, the win was a big lift after Friday's emotional loss to Wasilla.

&#8220That was one of those games that can devastate you or you can go forward from,” Reid said.

Stephanie Houser and Geneva Ratcliff each scored eight points to lead the Moose.