Moose boys, girls open Thunder Mountain tourney with wins

JUNEAU — After boarding the bus at 6 a.m. before the plane trip to Juneau, it took a little while for the Palmer Moose to get going Thursday afternoon.

But the groggy Moose found their legs in the third quarter.

Palmer used a 22-11 third-quarter run to get past West Anchorage 56-51 during the first day of the Thunder Dome Basketball Tournament at Thunder Mountain High School in Juneau.

“It took us a while to get rolling, but we had a real nice turnaround,” Palmer head coach Paul Reid said by cellphone after the game.

Reid said the Moose struggled during the first half and trailed by a dozen heading into the intermission.

“We had some missed opportunities,” Reid said. “A lot of little details weren’t getting taken care of.”

Junior Taylor Blake helped spark the Moose, scoring 10 of her game-high 23 points in the third quarter. Senior Kasara Brandenburg added eight of her 12 points in the third.

“We came out strong in the third quarter,” Reid said.

Senior Rachel Huffman added nine points for Palmer in the win.

In boys action, Palmer beat Mt. Edgecumbe 52-26. The Moose used a 12-2 second-quarter run to get the win, and capped the game with 17 points in the fourth.

Senior Jared Straight led Palmer with 16 points. Junior Connor Looney added 10.

Both Palmer teams continue tournament play against West Valley today and host Thunder Mountain on Saturday.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him at twitter.com/matsu_sports.