State hoops: T-Bird defense stuffs Moose

March 23, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

ANCHORAGE -The Palmer Moose knew they'd need a stellar effort on the defensive end to knock off third-seeded East Anchorage in the first round of the large-schools state tournament.

And the Moose did bring that tough defense.

The problem was, Palmer didn't have the offense to compliment that defense.

The Moose shot a season-low 17 percent from the floor, and suffered a 39-20 loss to East Anchorage in the 4A state quarterfinals at Service High School on Thursday.

&#8220I was pretty happy with our defense, but we struggled to put the ball in the hole,” Palmer head coach Paul Reid said after the game.

East took nearly an immediate 9-0 lead very early in the first quarter, but the teams played to a virtual stalemate for much of the next two periods.

&#8220They rattled off those nine points at the start, but we responded pretty well after that,” Reid said. &#8220We held them to six points for the next quarter-and-a-half.”

But while East was in an offensive funk, Palmer's output on the offensive end was equally as ugly. The Moose posted just two buckets in the first half, and scored a total of six points.

&#8220That's how the ball falls sometimes,” Reid said. &#8220The good looks we had, it seemed like there was a lid on the basket.”

Jazzie Gaddy scored 15 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to help the Thunderbirds walk off the court with a 19-point win.

Gaddy hit 12 of her 17 shots, and added nine rebounds and four steals.

&#8220She's athletic, she's dynamic, she can shoot off the dribble,” Reid said. &#8220She's very tenacious on the offensive boards. We tried to prepare for that, but she had a great game.”

Senior Stephanie Houser led the Moose with five points and six rebounds.

Palmer now moves into the consolation bracket to face Mid-Alaska Conference champion West Valley in the early game at 8 a.m. at the Sullivan Arena.

The T-Birds face Juneau in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m.

The Moose have faced the Wolfpack once before this season, losing to West Valley 43-35 in Fairbanks.

Reid said, much like his team's performance on Thursday, the biggest factor in the loss to West Valley was poor shooting.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@

frontiersman.com.