Palmer girls plow forward

PALMER — After the Palmer Moose stumbled into halftime, trailing 16-12, Palmer head coach Paul Reid urged his team to not panic.

Instead, Palmer took control of the game, outscored Kodiak 25-6 in the second half, held the Bears scoreless during the final eight minutes and posted a 37-23 Northern Lights Conference win over Kodiak at Palmer High School on Friday.

“I tried to express to them to not panic, but at the same time to be more aggressive and attack,” Reid said. “Find those weaknesses in the zone.”

Kodiak used its zone defense to establish an early lead and take the four-point advantage into the intermission, but it was a different story in the second half.

Palmer guard Jaimi Cox consistently slashed her way to the basket, scoring all eight of her points in the second half to lead the Moose to the win.

“Sometimes it takes us just a little time to get a feel for where our openings are,” Reid said. “I thought we were a little tentative in the first half, but (in the second half) we were attacking the zone a little better.”

Senior Kelsey Campbell hit three, three-pointers and scored a game-high 12 points for Palmer in the win.

Campbell hit a pair of threes in the first quarter, but it was a long bucket in the third that gave the Moose the lead for good.

Early in the third, with the Moose down 18-17, senior Juliana Mangelsdorf faked the drive inside and sent a long pass across the floor to Campbell, to hit the long three.

The play was part of a 13-0 Palmer run. Just before Campbell’s shot, senior Rashayne Zimmer grabbed a steal and took it to the other end of the court to bring the Moose within one possession.

Zimmer scored all five of her points in the third.

Kodiak put to sleep

The Palmer girls followed up Friday’s win over Kodiak with a repeat performance Saturday, sending the Bears into hibernation 48-25.

Kelsey Campbell and Mikaela Bolling led the way for the Moose, each scoring 12 points, and Jaimi Cox added nine.

But it was the Palmer defense that set the tone early, allowing only three points in the first quarter and holding Kodiak to single-digit scoring throughout the game.

Palmer next plays host to Valley rival Wasilla Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Palmer 37, Kodiak 23

Friday, Palmer High School

Kodiak 10-6-6-0—23

Palmer 8-4-13-12—37

Kodiak (23) — Garcia 2 1-2 5, Norton 3 0-0 6, Garner 0 0-2 0, McCarty 2 0-0 4, Gregory 2 0-0 4, Timpke 1 2-2 4.

Palmer (37) — Cox 4 0-0 8, Campbell 4 1-2 12, Thein 0 2-2 2, Bolling 1 1-3 3, Zimmer 1 3-4 6, Venzke 3 1-2 7; Totals; 13 8-15 37.

Three-point field goals: Kodiak 0, Palmer 3 (Campbell 3); Total fouls: Kodiak 13, Palmer 8.

Palmer 48, Kodiak 25

Saturday, Palmer High School

Kodiak 3-7-7-8—25

Palmer 11-18-13-6—48

Kodiak (25) — Garcia 1 0-0 3, Norton 0 3-7 3, Garner 1 3-6 5, McCarty 1 0-0 3, Jones 2 1-2 5, Horn 2 0-0 4, Gregory 1 0-2 2.

Palmer (48) — Cox 4 1-3 9, Mitchell 0 1-2 1, Campbell 4 1-2 12, LaMena 1 2-2 4, Mangelsdorf 1 0-1 2, Thein 1 0-0 2, Bolling 5 2-3 12, Zimmer 2 0-0 4, Vanzke 1 0-0 2.

Three-point field goals: Kodiak 2 (Garcia, McCarty), Palmer 3 (Campbell 3). Total fouls: Kodiak 16, Palmer 16.