Palmer girls earn first win over Colony of their varsity careers

PALMER ¬— Kassidy Bowman and her fellow seniors were in eighth grade the last time Palmer scored a varsity girls’ basketball victory over the Colony Knights. But Bowman helped end the drought Friday night.

Bowman scored all eight of her points in the fourth quarter to help the Moose beat the Knights 57-52 at Colony High School.

“It feels amazing,” Bowman said after the win, Palmer’s first victory over Colony since January 25, 2014. “We’re all super excited.”

Bowman and senior Julia Benshetler each key three-pointers during the final 2 minutes, 30 seconds of play to help the Moose cap the regular season 7-3 in Northern Lights Conference play.

“My team did awesome,” Bowman said. “We were hitting (shots) when they could. I came in and hit them when I could.”

Bowman said the Moose were certainly focused on earning their first varsity win over Colony in their high school careers.

“This game, we knew we could do it,” Bowman said. “We knew if we just went out and play hard, we’d beat them.”

Colony freshman Tori Schwantes scored four straight points to give the Knights the lead early in the fourth quarter, but Palmer capped the game with a 13-5 run. Bowman completed a three-point play to cut Colony’s lead to 47-46 with 3:31 to play and drilled a three-pointer a minute later to tie the score at 49.

Benshetler followed a three-pointer that gave Palmer a 52-49 advantage. After Colony junior Kali Bull used a three of her own to tie the game at 52, Bowman provided the go-ahead layup with 1:14 left.

Benshetler and junior Abriana Busbey added late free throws to help cement the win for the Moose.

“I’m super confident in my team all of the time,” Bowman said. “I trust them with the ball all of the time. It’s great to have that trust in them, and them to have trust in me.”

Benshetler led Palmer with a game-high 20 points in the win. Busbey finished with 16.

Amanda Smith led Colony with 16 points, including a run in the third that helped the Knights erase a double-digit deficit. Busbey and fellow junior Avery Pettingil combined to hit a trio of three-pointers in the third that helped Palmer push its lead to 10 points. Smith scored nine of her 16 points in the quarter to allow Colony to cut into that Palmer advantage. Bull added 13 in the loss.

Colony dropped to 7-2 in NLC play. The Knights cap their regular season Saturday at 3 p.m. at Wasilla. The NLC tournament starts Thursday at WHS. Colony and Palmer are now guaranteed to be on the same side of the bracket.

“Colony is a great team. We’re excited for tonight, but we know our job’s not done yet,” Bowman said.

Palmer’s win over Colony Friday was just its fourth victory against the Knights since 2008. Palmer earned wins over the Knights in 2008, 2013, 2014 and now in 2018.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Palmer 57, Colony 52

Friday, Colony High School

Palmer 12-10-19-15—57

Colony 8-10-20-14—52

Palmer (57) — Busbey 5 3-7 16, Pettingill 2 0-0 5, Uschmann 3 2-5 8, Bowman 3 1-1 8, Benshetler 8 3-5 20; Totals: 21 9-18 57.

Colony (52) — Hay. Duguid 1 0-0 3, A. Smith 5 3-7 16, Kenley 1 1-2 3, Bull 5 1-2 13, Schwantes 3 2-6 8, Carlton 3 1-2 8; Totals: 18 8-19 52.