Palmer girls win Cordova Tip-Off

CORDOVA — Taylor Blake led a strong Palmer girls effort in winning the Cordova Tip-Off tournament. The Palmer junior scored 49 points in three games and named the tournament’s MVP after the Moose clinched the title Saturday with a 48-22 win over Yakutat.

Following a strong 57-34 win over Nome the night before, Palmer head coach Paul Reid said he was pleased with his team’s play in Cordova.

“They were all smaller schools, but we took care of business and performed the way we hoped we would,” he said. “We had Nome the second night, and they’re a really big team and came out real strong against us.”

Nome boasts a tall front court that features a pair of 6-footers, which is something the Moose face regularly playing Valley rivals Colony and Wasilla, Reid said.

That kind of test “was really what we were hoping for, to have challenges along the way to improve,” he said.

In addition to Blake, Kasara Brandenburg and Tress Whitfield were also named to the all-tournament team, the coach said. Brandenburg had a break-out night on Friday against Nome, scoring a career-high 24 points.

Palmer girls 57, Nome 34

Friday, Cordova Tip-Off

Palmer 8-24-12-13—57

Nome 13-2-10-9—34

Palmer (57) — Brandenburg 10 4-6 24, Blake 5 0-0 11, Whitfield 1 4-8 6, Summerman 2 0-0 5, Koehn 1 0-0 3, DePriest 1 0-0 2, Scott 1 0-0 2, Jensen 1 0-0 2, Huffman 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 8-16 57.

Nome (34) — Dylan Johnson 4 2-6 11, Mattheis 3 2-4 8, Devynn Johnson 3 2-2 8, S. Johnson 2 0-0 5, Pomeranz 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 6-12 34.

Three-point field goals: Palmer 3 (Summerman, Koehn, Blake), Nome 2 (Dylan Johnson, S. Johnson). Total fouls: Palmer 12, Nome 10.

Palmer girls 48, Yakutat 22

Saturday, Cordova Tip-Off

Yakutat 9-0-9-4—22

Palmer 14-16-10-8—48

Yakutat (22) — Esbenshade 5 5-7 16, Fraker 2 0-0 5, Adams 0 1-2 1. Totals 7 6-9 22.

Palmer (48) — Blake 5 2-2 13, Whitfield 3 2-3 8, DePriest 3 0-0 6, Simmerman 1 2-2 5, Koehn 2 0-0 4, Brandenburg 0 4-4 4, Scott 1 0-0 2, VanHoomissen 1 0-0 2, Jensen 1 0-0 2, Straight 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 10-11 48.

Three-point field goals: Yakutat 2 (Ebonshade, Fraker), Palmer 2 (Simmerman, Blake). Total fouls: Yakutat 9, Palmer 13.

Colony boys

top West Valley

PALMER — Colony used balanced offense to upend West Valley 63-50 in boys basketball action Friday. Seven players scored, including four in double-figures for the Knights.

Hunter Eisenhower led the way for the Knights with 16 points, including seven in a strong fourth quarter that saw Colony outscore West Valley 21-10.

Damien Fulp and Nate Umbarger each contributed 11 points in the win, and Tim Smith added 10.

Lorenzo Graham led the way for the Wolfpack with a game-high 19 points.

Colony boys 63,

West Valley 50

Friday, Colony High School

West Valley 17-12-11-10—50

Colony 16-15-11-21—63

West Valley (50) — Graham 8 2-2 19, Campbell 6 0-2 13, Reynolds 3 0-0 6, Carr 2 0-0 4, Orizco 2 0-0 4, Carson 1 0-0 2, Vandermeer 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 2-5 50.

Colony (63) — Eisenhower 6 4-6 16, Fulp 3 3-3 11, Umbarger 3 5-7 11, Smith 2 6-6 10, Peltier 2 2-3 6, Turner 2 0-0 5, Campbell 1 2-4 4. Totals 19 22-29 63.

Three-point field goals: West Valley 2 (Campbell, Graham), Colony 3 (Fulp 2). Total fouls: West Valley 23, Colony 11.