Prep hoops: Moose march past Hawks

PALMER — One good half was all Palmer needed.

Caught in a gritty, hard-fought battle with the Houston Hawks, the Moose went on a 25-7 run in the third quarter to turn a tight game into a blowout 65-33 win in the first round of the Palmer Elks Shootout Thursday night at Palmer High.

“I thought we were a little anxious in the first half,” Palmer head coach Paul Reid said following his team's season-opening win.

Coming off a big loss to Wasilla on Tuesday, the Hawks started Thursday's game like a team on a mission, and had the Moose on their heels for most of the opening half.

Houston led 11-10 after the first quarter, and were down just four heading into the locker room. The Hawks used a solid defensive effort to shut down Palmer early, forcing the Moose to shoot just 23 percent from the floor, including 0-for-7 from behind the three-point line.

“We didn't hit a single outside shot in the first half,” Reid said.

Junior guard Kelsey Campbell changed all that with the first Palmer shot of the third quarter, a deep three that gave Palmer a big momentum boost coming out of the locker room.

From that point on it was all Palmer.

The Moose shot better than 50 percent from the field in the second as they outscored the Hawks 42-14 over the final 16 minutes of play.

Palmer center Geneva Ratcliff was nearly unstoppable down low for the Moose, scoring a game-high 16 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

“She just brings it all and leaves it all on the floor,” Reid said of his senior center.

Ratcliff's front court partner, senior forward Amy Tzou, added 12 points, while Campbell finished with nine points and six rebounds.

Senior forward Ashley Swetzof chipped in six points, six rebounds and four assists.

Houston senior guard Emily Hundley had 10 points and eight rebounds to lead the Hawks, while junior forward Ariel Katzenberger added nine points.

Houston coach Mary Sanford said she was pleased with her team's effort, especially during the back-and-forth opening half.

“We're doing a lot of the right things,” Sanford said.

The Hawks coach said she was proud of her team's effort against the Moose.

“They hustled their hearts out,” she said. “They never gave up.”

Palmer's Reid was also impressed with the Hawks, which looked at times like the better team for long stretches of play in the opening two quarters.

“They're an improving team,” he said.

Palmer girls 65, Houston 33

Palmer Elks Showdown

Thursday, Palmer High School

Moose 10-13-25-17 — 65

Hawks 11-8-7-7 — 33

Palmer (65) — Swetzof 3 0-0 6, J. Cox 1 2-4 4, Stratton 2 0-0 5, Campbell 4 0-0 9, Thein 1 0-0 2, Mangelsdorf 1 1-2 3, M. Cox 1 0-0 2, Bolling 1 4-4 6, Tzou 6 0-3 12, Ratcliff 7 2-5 16. Totals: 27 9-18 65.

Houston (33) — Hundley 5 0-1 10, Morlock 1 1-2 3, Thamm 1 0-0 2, Olsen 1 0-1 3, Katzenberger 3 3-4 9, Mason 1 0-0 2, Janneck 1 0-0 2, Acton 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 4-8 33.

Three point goals — Palmer 2 (Campbell, Stratton), Houston 1 (Olsen). Team fouls — Palmer 17, Houston 18. Fouled out — none.

Palmer boys 50,

Houston 40

Palmer senior guard T.J. Fullmer scored 10 of his game-high 19 points to help the Moose pull away from Houston late with a 50-40 win in the Palmer Elks Shootout. Houston center Ben Castleberry paced the Hawks with 17 points.

Palmer 50, Houston 40

Palmer Elks Showdown

Thursday, Palmer High School

Moose 13-7-17-13 — 50

Hawks 8-7-19-6 — 40

Palmer (50) — Draughon 3 1-2 7, Parisien 3 1-2 7, Gatto 1 0-0 2, Fullmer 5 7-9 19, Hillis 1 0-2 2, Bergeron 3 0-3 6, Odom 1 0-0 2, Jacobson 2 1-2 5. Totals: 19 10-20 50.

Houston (40) — Tymick 2 2-4 6, Qual 1 0-0 2, Contreras 2 0-0 4, Herman 2 1-2 5, Castleberry 8 1-4 17, Morales 2 2-4 6. Totals: 17 5-12 40.

Three point goals — Palmer 2 (Fullmer 2), Houston 1 (Herman). Total fouls — Palmer 17, Houston 15. Fouled out — none.

Warrior girls

improve to 2-0

KODIAK — The Wasilla girls’ basketball squad improved to 2-0 with a 32-26 win over the Kodiak Bears during the first day of the Joe Floyd Invitational at Kodiak High School on Thursday.

The Warriors are slated to face Chugiak today at 2:45 p.m., and Lathrop at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday.