Palmer girls and boys, Colony girls earn wins during the opening day of the NLC tourney

Palmer High School is the host of the conference tournament, and the Moose boys and girls opened with wins on their home floor. Both squads beat Soldotna during the first round of the Northern Lights Conference Championships Thursday at PHS.

Arin Mathis scored 16 points to a 57-50 win over the Stars. Evan Rothenbuhler added 11. Mathis and Rothenbuhler were a combined 17 of 20 at the free throw line.

The Palmer girls held on to beat Soldotna 42-40. Palmer led 33-19 after three quarters, but the Stars jumped back in with 21 points in the fourth.

Palmer opened the game on an 11-3 run.

Liv Solis hit a pair of three-pointers and led the Moose with 11. Paige Marshall added nine. Palmer was 20 of 28 at the free throw line in the win.

The Colony girls also won, racing past Kodiak 78-30.

Hallie Clark led Colony with 16 points. Kayle Wilkes added 13 points and Lainey Suaava chipped in 10. Nine different players scored for the Knights.

The Anchorage Christian School boys edged Wasilla 75-72.

Parker Kroon led Wasilla with 30 points. Arthur Adams scored 18 and Dylan Jeffus finished with 11.

The Palmer girls and boys, and the Colony girls moved into the semifinals with the wins.

The fourth-seeded Palmer girls face top-seeded Anchorage Christian School Friday at 1:30 p.m. Colony, the No. 3 seed, advances to face second-seeded Wasilla Friday at 5 p.m.

The third-seeded Palmer boys will play second-seeded Kodiak Friday at 6:45 p.m.

The Colony boys and Wasilla girls each received a first-round bye with a top-two seed. Colony, the boys top seed, plays ACS Friday at 3:15 p.m.

The Wasilla boys will face Soldotna Friday at 10:45 a.m.

Contact the Frontiersman at sports@frontiersman.com.