Moose survive late SoHi rally

HOMER — Last season, the Kenai Kardinals used a late shot to send the Palmer Moose backward in the conference championships bracket. On Thursday, Soldotna used a late effort to rally. But this time, the Moose were not going to let another Peninsula squad keep Palmer out of the semifinals.

Palmer capped regulation on a 10-2 run and held on for a 33-24 win over the Stars during the first round of the Northern Lights Conference Championships at Homer High School on Thursday.

“You hate to play from behind. Getting that first win is always good for your confidence,” Palmer head coach Paul Reid said by phone from Homer after the win.

Soldotna cut Palmer’s lead to 23-22 early in the fourth quarter, but the Moose held the Stars to just a Kelci Benson layup for more than six minutes of the final frame.

“They made a nice push in the third quarter and early in the fourth, but were able to stave off Soldotna,” Reid said. “We were able to maintain the lead the whole time.”

After the Stars cut Palmer’s lead to just one early in the fourth, senior Kendal Venzke and sophomore Taylor Blake each hit key shots to push Palmer’s lead back to five. With just about 2:30 left in the game, Benson drove to the basket, got the score and drew the foul, but wasn’t able to hit the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play. That left the score 27-24, and that was as close as the Stars would get during the final minutes of the game. The Moose finished 4 of 8 from the free-throw line during the final two minutes to ice the game.

Palmer, which plays rival Wasilla tonight at 6:30 in the semifinals at Homer High, jumped out to an early lead. Palmer opened the game on a 12-0 run and didn’t allow a point until Benson hit a free throw late in the period.

“We came out really strong,” Reid said.

Venzke and Blake each had four points in the first, but Reid said the story of Palmer’s early work was its defense.

“We had an outstanding first half defensively,” Reid said. “We secured about every rebound and limited their opportunities. I was really happy with our play.”

Palmer held Soldotna to only nine first-half points and two field goals during the first two periods. Julie Litchfield notched both of those buckets in the second quarter and scored six of her team-high 11 in the period.

“In our half court defense, we really limited their looks,” Reid said.

Soldotna also struggled at the free-throw line, finishing 8 for 23.

Venzke led the Moose with 11 points. Blake added nine points and junior Kasara Brandenburg chipped in five.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com. For NLC tournament updates, see twitter.com/matsu_sports.

Palmer 33, Soldotna 24

NLC quarterfinals

Thursday, Homer

Palmer 12-5-6-10—33

Soldotna 1-8-9-6—24

Palmer (33) — VanHoomisen 0 1-2 1, Venzke 5 1-6 11, Jensen 1 0-0 2, Koehn 1 0-0 2, Blake 4 1-2 9, Whitfield 1 0-1 2, LaMere 0 1-3 1, Brandenburg 1 3-6 5; Totals: 13 7-20 33.

Soldotna (24) — Benson 1 2-9 4, Litchfield 4 3-6 11, Munn 1 0-2 2, Skjold 2 1-2 5, Duke 0 2-2 2, Satathite 0 0-2 0; Totals: 8 8-23 24.

Three-point field goals: Palmer 0, Soldotna 0; Total fouls: Palmer 17, Soldotna 15.