ON THE LINE

PALMER — When the game was on the line, Colony’s senior captain sealed a big win for the Knights.

Kate Klapperich drained 7 of 8 free throws during the extra period to lead Colony to a 62-55 overtime win over the Palmer Moose at Palmer High School.

“In overtime it was like a free throw contest,” Palmer head coach Paul Reid said.

Both teams were held to a single field goal during the four-minute overtime. But Colony got to the free throw line and, unlike the second half, the Knights took advantage of their opportunities. Colony was 0 for 5 at the line in the third quarter and 1 for 6 in the fourth, but drilled 13 of 18 attempts in overtime.

Palmer was 4 for 6 from the line in overtime.

Colony needed a major second-half rally to grab the come-from-behind win and improve to 5-2 in Northern Lights Conference play. Senior Erin LaMere and junior Kasara Brandenburg combined to score 11 of Palmer’s 15 first-quarter points as the Moose jumped to the early lead.

“I’m happy with the way we came out and performed, on defense especially,” Reid said.

The last time the rivals met, Colony dealt Palmer a 59-22 loss.

“Before I was a little worried about the matchups. But they seem to be evening out a little bit,” Reid said. “They’re a lot longer than we are, but our physical play balances that out a little bit.”

Palmer led 25-17 at the half, and carried its advantage throughout the third quarter.

Sophomore Mary Klapperich helped spark the Knights’ rally, scoring 12 of her 16 points in the second. Senior Pherarri Brumbaugh posted all 11 of her points in the second half and overtime. Brumbaugh was 5 for 6 from the free-throw line in overtime.

Palmer led by six points early in the fourth quarter, but Kate Klapperich hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 38 with six minutes left in regulation. That shot was part of an 11-2 run that helped give Colony a 42-38 lead. As Colony stormed back to tie the game, Palmer turned the ball over on three straight possessions. Mary Klapperich went to the basket after one of those steals and gave her team the 40-38 advantage, its first lead since the Knights to a 2-0 lead to start the game.

Kate Klapperich hit a jumper to extend Colony’s lead to four points.

Palmer tied the score at 42 with a Brandenburg lay-in at the 3:45 mark. Following that score, neither team led by more than two for the remainder of regulation.

With 16 seconds left in regulation, Mary Klapperich nailed a long jumper to give her squad the 47-46 advantage. Palmer’s Rachel Huffman hit a free throw with 3.9 seconds left to force overtime.

Colony 62, Palmer 55 OT

Wednesday, Palmer High

Colony 9-8-16-16-15—62

Palmer 15-10-10-12-6—55

Colony (62) — M. Klapperich 7 2-7 16, Nelson 0 1-2 1, K. Klapperich 3 7-9 15, Brumbaugh 3 5-6 11, Leigh 5 2-4 12, Forstner 2 3-6 7; Totals: 20 20-34 62.

Palmer (55) — Venzke 4 2-2 10, Koehn 2 3-4 8, Blake 2 6-10 10, Whitfield 0 1-2 1, LaMere 3 2-3 8, Brandenburg 7 1-3 15, Huffman 1 1-2 3; Totals: 19 16-26 55

Three-point field goals: Colony 2 (K. Klapperich), Palmer 1 (Koehn), Total fouls: Colony 21, Palmer 23.