Palmer girls head coach calls victory a ‘milestone’

PALMER — With a fairly young squad, Palmer girls basketball head coach Lyle Busbey expected to see growing pains early in the 2014-15 season.

Friday, Busbey saw growth.

Down by double digits early, Palmer used a second-quarter rally and a big fourth-quarter effort to earn a 50-38 win over Juneau-Douglas during the second day of the Palmer Elks Showdown at Palmer High School.

"This is really a milestone game for us," Busbey said after the win. "Last year when we got down by 10, we didn't fight back."

Kiana Till scored nine of her game-high 19 points in the second quarter, and Kaylee King hit six free throws in the fourth quarter to help Palmer win the game and improve to 4-1 overall.

"Early in the game, we got down by 10 or somewhere around there, and we slowly started chipping away at it," Busbey said.

With Till's nine points, a batch that included Palmer's lone three-pointer in the game, the Moose narrowed the gap. Juneau took a slim 21-20 lead into halftime.

The Moose took their first lead of the game, a 24-23 advantage, with a Till layup at the 4:41 mark of the third. Palmer took control of the game with a 7-0 run late in the third quarter.

The run included a key steal by captain Katy Bowman, who fed a pass down the floor to Emma Uschmann for a basket. Bowman immediately followed with a layup of her own.

"If we play that style we play, we can go on runs," Busbey said. "As we get better, we when get runs, it'll be a 14-0 run or 12-0."

Palmer outscored Juneau 17-9 in the fourth quarter.

"We figured we'd keep the pressure on them, get that breathing room,and we did," Busbey said.

Busbey said Palmer altered it's game plan late to secure the win.

"We went to a motion offense, rather than our regular set we use, and got those layups," Busbey said.

Busbey said the depth of his team will allow Palmer to mix things up on the floor.

"We've got eight, nine, 10 kids who can go in there and get the job done. It's nice to do situational stuff," Busbey said. "Wear them out and go to a different offense that's a little more mobile, and other teams are going to have a hard time matching it," Busbey said.

In addition to Till's 19 points, King and Katie McCall added nine each for Palmer.

Palmer 50, Juneau-Douglas 38

Elks Showdown

Friday, Palmer High

Juneau 10-11-9-8--38

Palmer 6-14-13-17--50

Juneau (38) — Dzinich 2 0-0 4, Hoover 6 0-2 13, A. Watts 2 0-0 4, Huttberg 1 0-2 2, I. Watts 1 0-0 2, Heidersdorf 1 1-2 3, Fogg 0 2-4 2, Roldan 3 0-0 8; Totals: 16 3-10 38.

Palmer (50) — Venzke 1 1-2 3, Molina 1 0-1 2, Bowman 1 1-8 3, King 1 7-11 9, McCall 4 1-2 9, Uschmann 1 0-0 2, Smylie 0 2-2 2, Till 9 0-2 19, Sherman 0 1-3 1; Totals: 18 13-31 50.

3-point field goals: Juneau 3 (Roldan 2), Palmer 1 (Till 1); Total fouls: Juneau 28, Palmer 13.

WV gets past Palmer

West Valley's Ruthy Hebard scored 38 points to lead the Wolfpack to a 67-42 win over host Palmer during the final day of the Elks Showdown.

Hebard, the MVP of the tournament, scored 24 points in the first half. West Valley finished 3-0 in the Elks event, and won the girls' team title.

Savanna Millard led the Moose with nine points. Kaylee King added eight. Palmer finished 2-1 in the tournament, and is 4-2 overall.

West Valley 67, Palmer 42

Saturday, Palmer

West Valley 20-25-8-14--67

Palmer 10-10-14-8--42

West Valley (67) — Shipman 5 0-0 10, Hebard 15 7-8 38, Sample 1 0-0 2, Szmyd 8 0-1 16, Winkleman 0 1-2 1; Totals: 29 8-11 67.

Palmer (42) — Venzke 2 0-0 4, Bowman 1 1-2 3, King 3 2-4 8, Uschmann 0 5-7 5, Smylie 3 0-0 6, Till 3 0-0 7, Millard 4 1-2 9; Totals: 16 9-15 42.