Moose seniors allow Palmer to cap season with victory

SOLDOTNA — Palmer’s hopes of clinching a state tournament berth were basically crushed with a first-round loss to Soldotna Thursday night. With only 32 minutes left in a season, some may wonder what’s left to play for. Before the Moose entered their season finale Friday, Palmer head coach Paul Reid reminded his players why they hit the court in the first place.

“The pregame talk was when they all start playing basketball in the third, fourth, fifth grade, the first question I asked them was why did you do it,” Reid said. “Somebody finally came up with the right answer, because it was fun. I talked to them about how fun becomes work the more competitive the sport gets. All the work we put in, it really came full circle today, and it was time to come out and have fun. Play as a team one last time.”

With his four seniors starting and finishing the game, Reid’s Moose capped its 2012-13 season with a 49-45 win over Kenai during the consolation round of the Northern Lights Conference Championships in Soldotna.

“I was relieved and happy they closed it with a win,” Reid said.

Reid’s four seniors — Taylor Blake, Caitlin Scott, Kourtney Straight and Megin Southwick — each saw at least 22 minutes of playing time and scored 40 of his team’s 49 points.

Blake, who caps her careers as one of the most prolific scorers in Palmer High girls basketball history, led the Moose with a game-high 22 points in the win. Blake also finished with six rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Reid also noted the work of Southwick, who finished with eight points and five rebounds.

“That was probably one of her best offensive games of the year,” Reid said of Southwick. “She hit some nice midrange jumpers during times we were struggling to score.”

Palmer 49, Kenai 44

NLC consolation

Friday, Soldotna

Kenai 11-9-14-10—44

Palmer 13-9-13-14—49

Kenai (44) — English 1 1-2 3, Taylor 10 3-8 25, Norvelle 1 1-2 3, Ross 1 0-0 3, Barcus 2 6-12 10; Totals: 15 11-24 44

Palmer (49) — Southwick 4 0-0 8, K. DePriest 2 3-6 7, Scott 2 2-2 7, Straight 0 3-6 3, Blake 8 6-11 22, L. DePriest 1 0-2 2; Totals: 17 14-28 49.