RIVALRY RENEWED

PALMER — It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

That mantra was prevalent Friday night as both Wasilla boys and girls basketball teams used strong second half efforts to put away the Palmer Moose at Palmer High School.

In the girls game, the Warriors outscored the Moose 16-1 in the fourth quarter to come back from a 12-point deficit to win 37-34

Early on it looked as if the Moose were the ones who would have to make a comeback.

Lead by four first-quarter points from Kelsey Cottle, the Warriors started quickly, scoring the first eight points of the game. But the Warrior shooters went cold and Palmer countered with a 10-0 run to end the quarter, with Kasara Brandenburg putting in five of those 10 points.

Palmer continued its run going into the second, highlighted by a Jaime Cox fadeaway jumper from just inside the three-point line. Cox was fouled on the play and converted the three-point play.

At the half Palmer lead 23-19, and would stretch the lead to 33-21 entering the fourth.

That’s when the balance shifted back to the Warriors as Wasilla regained its hot hand and the Moose shooters went cold.

The Warriors put together a string of clutch shots, including a trey from Alexis Imoe and another three-pointer from Carlee Naczi that pulled the game even at 34-34 with 2:03 to play.

Palmer would have a chance to add points after a foul on Brandenburg, but the sophomore missed both free attempts — a theme for Palmer over the course of the game.

“I felt like we had some opportunities to put the game away,” Palmer head coach Paul Reid said of the Moose, who went 8-23 from the line. “But we missed some easy free throws and some easy layups.”

The misses gave the Warriors the ball, which they proceeded to move up court and Kyla Dinkle hit an outside jumper with 13 seconds remaining to give Wasilla the 36-34 lead.

After a Palmer timeout, the Moose had one last chance to tie the game up, but Shawna Thein’s inbound pass to Cox just under the basket slipped through the senior’s hands, giving the Warriors the game.

The ability of the Warriors to hit shots in the clutch in the fourth quarter was the difference in the game, Wasilla head coach Jeannie Herbert-Truax said.

“We fell back early, but we kept it within reach,” Herbert-Truax said. “We picked up the intensity there in the end and got those shots that we were missing in the last two quarters to fall.”

For Palmer, Reid said he thought the team played solid for most of the game, it’s just the bookends that cost the team.

“The first three minutes we didn’t play very well and the last three minutes we didn’t play very well,” Reid said. “Wasilla just stepped up their shots. When we had our chances we didn’t do it. We outscored them in every quarter except the fourth, but that one was very lopsided.”

Cox and Brandenburg both scored 11 points for the Moose, while Thein and Kendal Venzke chipped in four apiece.

Wasilla was lead by Celeste Colegrove with 11, but received a balanced scoring effort as eight players on the roster recorded points.

“You’re going to see a lot of that this year,” Herbert-Truax said. “We don’t really have one dominant person. All of the girls have the capability of scoring, it’s just a matter of who’s going to do it each night.”

Wasilla 37, Palmer 34

Friday, Palmer High School

Wasilla 8 11 2 16 — 37

Palmer 10 13 10 1 — 34

Wasilla (37) — Apangolook 2 0-0 4, Dinkel 1 1-2 4, Nuss 2 0-0 4, Naczi 2 1-2 7, Brown 1 0-0 2, Bialka 0 1-2 1, Colegrove 4 3-4 11, Cottle 2 0-0 4; Totals: 14 6-12 37.

Palmer (34) — Cox 5 1-6 11, Venzke 2 0-0 4, LaMere 0 1-3 1, Thein 2 0-0 4, Kaehn 1 1-2 3, Brandenberg 3 5-12 11; Totals: 13 8-23 34.

Three-point field goals: Wasilla 3 (Naczi 2), Palmer 0; Total fouls: Wasilla 18, Palmer 15.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Warriors cruise

PALMER — In boys action Friday, the Wasilla Warriors started strong and sustained that effort through the whole game, downing the Palmer Moose 60-45. Wasilla lead 15-10 after the first quarter, but pulled away in the second and third, scoring 16 points in each quarter to create a 17 point cushion.

The Moose would outscore the Warriors 15-13 in the fourth to pull the game to the eventual 60-45 final.

Cody Pfeifer lead the Warriors with 22 points, while Drew Ford, Connor Devine and Cole Sherman all pitched in eight.

Sean Niekamp lead the Moose with 13. Christian Odom added 11, along with eight from Kyle Titus.

Wasilla 60, Palmer 45

Friday, Palmer High School

Wasilla 15 16 16 13—60

Palmer 10 10 10 15—45

Wasilla (60) — Schierman 3 0-0 8, Mock 1 0-0 2, Kuiper 2 0-0 4, Stahle 1 0-0 2, Pfeifer 9 3-3 22, Brasheors 0 0-1 0, Devine 4 0-2 8, Pine 0 2-2 2, Ford 3 0-1 8, Green 2 0-0 4; Totals: 25 5-9 60.

Palmer (45) — Titus 3 1-2 8, Peltier 0 2-2 2, Dean 1 0-0 3, Brown 0 2-2 2, Bohman 1 0-0 2, Niekamp 5 3-5 13, Odom 2 7-10 11, Straight 1 0-0 3; Totals 13 16-23 45.

Three-point field goals: Wasilla 5 (Schierman, Ford 2), Palmer 3 (Titus, Dean, Straight 1); Total fouls: Wasilla 21, Palmer 15.