Moose make T-Bird Classic title game

ANCHORAGE — They may not have much returning varsity experience, but the Palmer girls are showing they won’t be intimidated.

The Moose won a pair of tough games and played a gritty Soldotna team Saturday in a 56-51 loss to finish runners-up in the annual East High School T-Bird Classic.

Taylor Blake averaged 22 points for Palmer in the tournament, while teammate Leya Depriest averaged 11 points and nine rebounds in earning all-tournament honors. Courtney Straight also was named all-tournament for the Moose.

Palmer started the T-Bird Classic with a 58-44 win over Kotzebue on Thursday, then rallied for a fourth-quarter comeback to beat host East Friday 56-53 to set up Saturday’s championship game with the Stars.

And for at least a half, it looked like the Moose were on their way to winning the tournament, head coach Paul Reid said.

“That was a really hard-fought game,” he said. “We were up by 11 going into halftime, but they really beat us in the third quarter.”

That 11-point lead was erased by the Stars, who used pressure to rattle the Moose and outscore Palmer 24-12 in the third.

“We kind of succumbed to their pressure in the third, then the fourth quarter was just a battle,” Reid said.

It’s a battle Reid said he liked to see from a team with only two returning players with much varsity experience.

“This is a really young team. We don’t look that young on paper, but we have only two kids with much varsity experience, so I’m happy,” he said. “We had a very hard-fought win against East. That was a really physical game and was a good win for us.”

That game also gave Moose fans a glimpse of the team’s potential. Although Blake has been the team’s leading scorer to start the season — she had a game-high 27 in the win over East — it was Caitlin Scott’s clutch three-pointer and free throws to close out the game that were the difference, Reid said.

With Blake fouled out, Scott drained a trey with about 14 seconds left to play, then nailed a pair of free throws at the end. Scott finished with eight points — all clutch.

“That was great to see, because Taylor Blake went out with five fouls and it was a breakout game for Caitlin,” the coach said. “We were down by six with three minutes to play, so she really sealed that victory for us. That really helps her confidence, no doubt about it.”

Blake finished with 18 points against Soldotna and led all scorers in the first round with 21 against Kotzebue.

“For these kids who don’t have a lot of varsity experience, it’s a good way to start the season,” Reid said, adding the Moose had a chance to sweep the T-Bird Classic. “We kind of beat ourselves when we broke down (in the third quarter), and Soldotna’s a very good team.”

What the tournament tells Reid as a coach is that in a league with perennial power teams like the Stars and defending state champion Wasilla, the Moose can compete.

“We found out we’re right there in the mix,” he said. “We’re just excited having a young team that we know will get better as the season goes on.”

Palmer 58, Kotzebue 44

Thursday, East High School

Palmer 4-15-15-24—58

Kotzebue 15-7-6-16—44

Palmer (58) — Blake 9 1-2 21, L. Depriest 7 0-2 14, Scott 3 2-3 8, Southwick 3 0-0 6, K. DePriest 2 0-2 4, Straight 1 1-4 3, Osiensky 1 0-0 2. Totals: 26 4-13 58.

Kotzebue (44) — Snyder 6 0-0 18, Hyatt 5 1-1 11, Sampson 2 1-3 5, Williams 1 2-2 4, Schaeffer 2 0-0 4, Booth 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 4-6 44.

Three-point field goals: Palmer 2 (Blake 2), Kotzebue 6 (Snyder 6). Total fouls: Palmer 15, Kotzebue 14.

Palmer 56, East 53

Friday, East High School

Palmer 14-15-8-19—56

East 14-11-13-15—53

Palmer (56) — Blake 9 7-14 27, Scott 2 3-6 8, K. DePriest 3 0-0 6, Straight 0 5-8 5, Southwick 1 2-2 4, L. Depriest 2 0-1 4, Osiensky 0 2-5 2. Totals: 17 19-36 56.

East (53) — Page 5 7-9 17, Montuga 6 0-0 15, Pdero 4 0-2 8, T. Manu 1 3-6 5, F. Manu 2 0-0 4, Richard 1 0-3 2, Gillion 0 2-2 2. Totals: 19 12-22 53.

Three-point field goals: Palmer 3 (Blake 2, Scott), East 3 (Montuga 3). Total fouls: Palmer 18, East 29.

Boys’ basketball

Monroe Catholic 50, Wasilla 31

The Wasilla boys came out flat in the first three quarters of a 50-31 loss to Monroe Catholic Friday. The Warriors trailed 23-11 after the first two periods of play and were outscored 20-9 in the third. Neither team could get much going in the final quarter, in which Wasilla had an 11-7 edge.

Wasilla’s Stone Krueger finished tied with Monroe’s Scooter Bynm with a game-high 14 points.

Wasilla 58, West Valley 45

Wasilla sophomore post Dane Kuiper rebounded from a 2-point performance against Monroe Catholic on Friday — a game he left after tweaking his back — to erupt for a game-high 24 points in a 58-45 Warriors win over West Valley Saturday.

Dustin Cook also scored in double figures for the Warriors with 12.