Palmer girls upset Soldotna

By JEREMIAH BARTZ

Frontiersman.com

SOLDOTNA — Two-time defending state champion Wasilla and reigning Northern Lights Conference runner-up Soldotna have been considered the elite teams in the conference, if not the state.

After this weekend, it might be time to toss Colony and Palmer in that class.

A night after Colony topped Soldotna, Palmer scored a 48-43 win over the Stars at Soldotna High School.

“I’ve known all along our conference is loaded from top to bottom. I’ve felt with my team, on any given night, if the pieces fall together anybody can come out on top,” Palmer head coach Paul Reid said by cellphone. “Our young players, our veterans, it’s all coming together right now.”

Palmer’s top veteran combined with a Moose freshman to help propel Palmer past Soldotna. Senior Taylor Blake scored 22 points in the win, and freshman Leya DePriest finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds.

“For us it’s about kind of maturing a little bit and solidifying as a group,” Reid said.

Reid said despite battling a stomach flu, Blake consistently drained jump shots to spark the Moose offense.

“You don’t see many girls shoot true jump shots like she does,” Reid said of Blake. “Her ability to stop on a dime to shoot a jump shot, you don’t see too many high school girls doing that.”

With Blake knocking down shots from the perimeter, DePriest owned the pain for the Moose.

“She just dominated the paint,” Reid said of DePriest, noting he’s not sure if he’s ever had a player finish with 17 boards in a varsity game. “Having Leya inside, that’s one of those things coaches are going to have to account for.”

In boys’ action, Soldotna survived Connor Looney’s 35-point night and beat Palmer 49-41. Looney hit 11 shots from the field and scored all but six of his team’s points against the Stars.

Palmer 48, Soldotna 43

Friday, Soldotna

Palmer 9-15-12-12—48

Soldotna 2-15-5-21—43

Palmer (48) — Southwick 1 0-0 2, K. DePriest 2 1-5 5, Scott 3 1-1 7, Blake 7 8-12 22, L. DePriest 5 2-6 12; Totals: 18 12-22 48.

Soldotna (43) — Benson 2 0-0 5, Kress 1 0-0 2, Litchfield 3 5-10 12, Kerkvliet 2 0-0 4, Westernman 0 2-2 2, Skjold 6 4-4 18; Totals: 8 11-16 43.

Soldotna boys 49, Palmer 41

Friday, Soldotna

Palmer 9-9-7-16—41

Soldotna 17-5-12-15—49

Palmer (41) — Looney 11 8-17 35, Mayer 1 0-0 2, Selmer 0 1-2 1, Niekamp 0 3-4 3; Totals: 12 8-17 41.

Soldotna (49) — Penrod 3 1-2 7, Young 1 3-4 5, Carver 4 5-8 14, Kruse 2 2-2 7, Martin 1 0-0 3, Fowler 4 4-4 13; Totals: 15 15-20 49.