Palmer girls split, boys swept

PALMER — The Palmer Moose and Kodiak Bears girls basketball squads split a two-game series at Palmer High over the weekend, but Kodiak got the win that earned the Bears the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Northern Lights Conference Championships.

Kodiak used a 45-31 win over Palmer on Friday combined with Colony’s loss to Wasilla to clinch the North’s second seed.

Hannah Wandersee scored a game-high 15 points in the Bears win Friday.

Palmer salvaged the split on Saturday, scoring a 45-27 victory. Junior Taylor Blake led the Moose with 16 points. She was 8 of 12 from the free-throw line. Kasara Brandenburg added 10.

Blake led Palmer with seven points on Friday. Kodiak finishes the regular season 5-5 in NLC play. Colony is also 5-5, but Kodiak owns the tiebreaker over the Knights.

Palmer will be the fourth seed, finishing 4-6.

In boys’ action, Kodiak swept Palmer in a pair of games. On Friday, the host Bears used an 18-3 first-quarter run to earn a 68-50 win over Palmer. On Saturday, Kodiak edged Palmer 71-65 in double-overtime.

Junior Connor Looney led the Moose with 24 points, including a trio of three-pointers. Senior Jackson Buresh added 23.

Read a longer version of this story at Frontiersman.com/sports.

Kodiak clinched the third seed with the wins. Both Kodiak and Palmer finished 4-6 in NLC play. Colony also clinched the North Division No. 2 seed with the Palmer losses. The Moose will have to settle for the fourth seed.

The NLC tourney starts Thursday in Wasilla.

Kodiak girls 45, Palmer 31

Friday, Palmer High

Kodiak 12-10-12-11—45

Palmer 8-3-17-3—31

Kodiak (45) — 2 0-0 4, Cannon 2 1-4 5, Taan 5 0-0 10, Lampl 2 1-2 5, Pyles 3 0-0 6, Wandersee 5 5-5 15; Totals: 19 7-11 45.

Palmer (31) — Scott 0 2-4 2, Jensen 1 2-4 4, Koehn 0 2-2 2, Blake 3 1-2 7, Whitfield 1 3-4 5, Brandenburg 2 1-2 5, Huffman 3 0-0 6; Totals: 10 11-18 31.

Three-point field goals: Kodiak 0, Palmer 0; Total fouls: Kodiak 14, Palmer 13.

Palmer girls 45, Kodiak 27

Saturday, Palmer High

Kodiak 6-10-10-1—27

Palmer 12-12-10-11—45

Kodiak (27) — Cannon 2 1-2 6, Toan 1 0-0 3, Lampl 4 2-4 10, Wandersee 1 0-0 2, Hayes 3 0-0 6; Totals: 11 3-6 27.

Palmer (45) — DePriest 2 0-0 4, Scott 1 1-1 4, Jensen 2 0-0 5, Blake 3 8-12 16, Whitfield 2 0-0 4, Brandenburg 4 2-2 10, Huffman 1 0-1 2; Totals: 15 11-18 45.

Three-point field goals: Kodiak 2 (Cannon, Toan 1), Palmer 2 (Jensen, Scott 1); Total fouls: Kodiak 18, Palmer 14.

Kodiak boys 68, Palmer 50

Friday, Kodiak

Palmer 3-15-17-15—50

Kodiak 18-7-18-25—68

Palmer (50) — Nisbett 2 0-0 4, Looney 5 8-8 21, Wells 0 1-3 1, Christansen 0 0-0 0, Ramoth 0 0-0 0, Straight 4 5-11 14, Matik 0 0-2 0, Buresh 1 2-5 4, Niekamp 2 0-0 4, Mayer 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 16-29 50.

Kodiak (68) — Frick 4 0-0 11, Medina 2 4-5 8, Gregory 0 0-0 0, Obas 1 3-4 5, Will 4 2-3 10, Swearingin 10 5-6 26, Hiner 3 0-2 6, Jimenez 0 0-0 0, Bezona 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 14-20 68

3-point goals — Palmer 4 (Looneu 3, Straight 1); Kodiak 4 (Frick 3, Swearingin 1). Team fouls — Palmer 18, Kodiak 21. Fouled out — Bezona.

Kodiak boys 71, Palmer 65

Saturday, Kodiak

Palmer 7-19-11-15-6-7—65

Kodiak 6-12-17-17-6-13—71

Palmer (65) — Nisbett 2 5-9 10, Looney 6 9-11 24, Straight 1 2-4 5, Buresh 10 3-4 23, Niekamp 1 1-2 3, Mayer 0 0-0 0. Totals — 20 20-30 65.

Kodiak (71) — Frick 6 0-0 14, Medina 4 2-6 10, Gregory 0 0-0 0, Obas 2 3-4 7, Will 1 0-0 2, Swearingin 9 6-8 24, Hiner 1 0-0 2, Jimenez 1 0-0 2, Bezona 3 4-5 10. Totals 27 15-23 71.

3-point goals — Palmer 5 (Looney 3, Nisbett 1, Straight 1); Kodiak 2 (Frick 2). Team fouls — Palmer 13, Kodiak 19.