Palmer girls finish 3rd at ACS basketball tourney

ANCHORAGE —After a month of practice time, the Palmer girls basketball squad finally hit the court late last week. And the Moose took advantage of their opportunity, posting a third-place finish in the ACS Lime Solar/Pepsi basketball tournament at Anchorage Christian School.

Palmer capped its tournament with a 70-44 win over Point Hope on the final day of the three-day, eight-team tourney.

“Against Point Hope we started turning the corner offensively,” Palmer head coach Lyle Busbey said after the tournament. “Our offense really started clicking.”

Kiana Till posted a game-high 22 points for the Moose, and all 12 Palmer players in uniform scored during the win over Point Hope. Till hit double digits for the second straight day in the win. She also scored 18 during a semifinal loss to Barrow.

“She is one (of the girls) who put in the most time this summer, this fall, working on her game,” Busbey said of Till. “The work she’s put in is paying off dividends for her.”

Till finished with eight field goals in the win, and was 6 of 9 from the free throw line. She scored eight of her 22 points during Palmer’s 21-12 second-quarter run.

Till, who was named all-tournament, finished with 46 points in the tourney. Busbey said he’s not surprised by Till’s offensive performance.

“Kiana is totally capable. It’s just confidence,” Busbey said.

Busbey said he believes Till’s 18-point effort against Barrow helped provide that confidence. Busbey said Till can also score in a variety of ways, including being consistent at the free throw line, penetrating from the wing and hitting the three-pointer.

Peyton Murphy added 11 for the Moose. Katrina Sherman chipped in six points. Carly Venzke and Kim Madruga contributed five each.

Barrow beat Palmer 55-37 during the semifinals last Friday. Busbey said playing time proved to be a factor.

“It was our second game, their seventh game,” Busbey said. “They were just a little more in sync than we were.”

Till led Palmer with 18 points in the loss. Venzke, Sherman and Kaylee King finished with four points each.

Palmer opened its 2014-15 season with a 47-12 win over Nome. The Moose led 28-0 at halftime, and didn’t allow a point until the third quarter.

“We focused a lot on defense early,” Busbey said.

Sherman led Palmer with nine points. Till, Alicia Smylie and Katie McCall added six each.

Overall, Busbey said he was happy with Palmer’s weekend. The Moose played without one of their starters, Katie Bowman. Busbey said Palmer is a different team with Bowman, and he expects his squad to improve as Palmer continues with its season.

The Palmer girls and boys basketball programs host the Palmer Elks Showdown, which starts Thursday at Palmer High. The Palmer girls open their tournament against North Pole at 6 p.m. The boys play the Patriots at 7:45 p.m.

Thursday action also includes the Juneau girls and West Valley at 2:30 p.m. and the South boys playing Thunder Mountain at 4:15 p.m.

The Palmer girls host Juneau-Douglas on Friday and West Valley on Saturday.

Palmer 70, Point Hope 44

Saturday, ACS

Palmer 16-21-14-19--70

Point Hope 11-12-10-11--44

Palmer (70) — Murphy 5 0-2 11, Venzke 2 1-1 5, Molina 1 2-4 4, Madruga 2 1-3 5, King 2 0-0 4, McCall 2 0-0 4, Uschmann 1 1-2 3, Lee 1 0-0 2, Smylie 1 0-0 2, Till 9 6-9 22, Sherman 3 0-2 6, Millard 1 0-0 2; Totals: 29 11-23 70.

Point Hope (44) — Oviok 2 0-0 6, Hank 1 1-2 3, Tippin 1 0-0 2, Lane 7 2-9 17, Stone 3 0-2 6, Koenig 1 1-6 3, Koonuk 2 3-7 7; Totals: 17 7-26 44.

3-point field goals: Palmer 1 (Murphy 1), Point Hope 3 (Oviok 2); Total fouls: Palmer 22, Point Hope 22.

Barrow 55, Palmer 37

Friday, ACS

Palmer 6-10-9-12--37

Barrow 12-11-15-17--55

Palmer (37) — Murphy 1 1-2 3, Venzke 1 2-4 4, King 2 0-0 4, McCall 0 1-4 1, Uschmann 0 1-2 1, Smylie 1 0-1 2, Till 6 6-9 18, Sherman 2 0-0 4; Totals: 13 11-23 37.

Barrow (55) — Wolgemuth 3 1-2 12, Kim 1 0-0 2, Danner 0 2-3 2, Telfair 2 0-0 4, Nicely 2 1-2 5, Goodwin 1 0-0 2, Fuai 1 1-2 3, Mongoyak 6 0-0 12, Dabo 4 5-7 13; Totals: 22 9-14 55.

3-point field goals: Palmer 0, Barrow 2 (Wolgemuth 2) Total fouls: Palmer 17, Barrow 20.

Palmer 47, Nome 12

Thursday, ACS

Palmer 21-7-9-10--47

Nome 0-0-7-5--12

Palmer (47) — Murphy 1 1-2 3, Venzke 2 0-0 4, Molina 1 2-4 4, Madruga 0 1-2 1, King 1 0-0 2, McCall 3 0-0 6, Ushman 2 0-6 4, Smylie 1 0-0 2, Till 3 0-0 6, Sherman 2 1-4 6, Millard 4 1-2 9; Totals: 20 6-20 47.

Nome (12) — Brunette 1 1-2 3, Hukill 2 0-0 5, Okleasik 2 0-0 4; Totals: 5 1-5 12.

3-point field goals: Palmer 1 (Sherman 1), Nome 1 (Hukill 1) ; Total fouls: Palmer 14, Nome 14.