Warrior girls hold on to beat Moose in OT

PALMER — The Palmer Moose were a bounce away from ending a longstanding winless streak against Valley rival Wasilla.

With the score locked at 38 during the final seconds of regulation, the Moose bounced a final attempt off the rim, and the Warriors used overtime to grab a 45-40 victory over Palmer at PHS Tuesday night.

Senior Shayla Johnson hit a pair of free throws late in the extra period to give the Warriors the two-possession lead and help her team improve to 2-1 in Northern Lights Conference play. Johnson and her teammates also held Palmer to only a pair of free throws during the overtime period.

“We capitalized shooting free throws, which is what won it,” Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said.

Junior Cassidy Edwards and freshman McKenna Dinkel also hit key free throws for the Warriors, who were 7 of 10 from the line in the extra period. The Moose were held to just a pair of free throws in overtime.

Wasilla used overtime free throws to secure the win and get past a Palmer team that rallied during the final four minutes of the fourth quarter. PHS senior Taylor Ledger hit a three-pointer midway through the fourth to cut Wasilla’s lead to 36-30. After Wasilla extended the lead to six, PHS senior Kalei DePriest cut the WHS advantage back to a pair of possessions with a layup at the 2:20 mark of the fourth.

Sophomore Carly Venzke further sliced into the lead when the sophomore slashed to the basket for the score with 31 seconds left. Five seconds later, another sophomore, Laya DePriest, tied the score at 38.

Wasilla missed a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity with 17 seconds left, leaving Palmer with a final opportunity to grab the win. Palmer’s final chance went off the rim, forcing overtime.

Palmer used an improved shooting percentage in the second half and an overwhelming advantage on the glass to climb back into the contest. Palmer, which trailed by as many as eight in the game, outrebounded Wasilla 19-5 on the offensive glass, and grabbed 45 total rebounds. Wasilla finished with 25 boards.

“One thing we’re working on as a team is to be able to box out better,” Hebert-Truax said. “That’s one thing we’ve focused on, and we’re going to focus on it a tad bit more.”

Both Kalei DePriest and Leya DePriest notched double-doubles, and combined for 27 rebounds in the loss. Kalei finished with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Leya added a team-high 11 points and 13 boards. Venzke finished with nine points, five assists and four steals.

After finishing only 6 for 22 from the field (27 percent) in the first half, Palmer shot nearly 42 percent from the floor during the final two periods of regulation.

Tuesday marked Palmer head coach Lyle Busbey’s first game against Wasilla during his second run as PHS head coach. Busbey, who coached the Moose from 1994-2005, took over the program during the offseason. The Palmer girls have not scored a win over Wasilla since Busbey’s first stint as head coach

Johnson led the Warriors with 12 points in the win. Freshman Dinkel added 11 and junior Edwards chipped in 10.

Edwards, 6 of 8 from the free throw in the game, hit four free throws for the Warriors in overtime. Dinkel was 3 of 4 from the line.

Wasilla improved to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in Northern Lights Conference play. Palmer is 1-2 in the NLC.

Wasilla girls 45, Palmer 40 OT

Tuesday, Palmer High

Wasilla 11-9-12-6-7—45

Palmer 7-8-14-9-2—40

Wasilla (45) — Johnson 4 2-2 12, Toews 2 1-6 6, Hutchins 2 2-4 6, Dinkel 4 3-4 11, Edwards 2 6-8 10; Totals: 14 14-24 45.

Palmer (40) — King 2 0-3 4, Venzke 3 2-5 9, K. DePriest 4 2-3 10, Osiensky 1 0-0 2, Ledger 1 1-2 4, L. DePriest 5 1-3 11; Totals: 16 6-16 40.

3-point field goals: Wasilla 3 (Johnson 2), Palmer 2 (Venzke, Ledger 1); Total fouls: Wasilla 16, Palmer 20.