Warriors sweep; Wasilla girls rally to beat Palmer

PALMER — With a double-digit lead, the Palmer Moose were less than four minutes from their first victory over Wasilla in decades. But the Warriors found a way to win. Wasilla used a 30-point fourth quarter to cap a 55-48 come-from-behind win over the Moose Tuesday night at Palmer High School.

Bella Hays scored 10 of her game-high 28 during the fourth, and Wasilla was 14 of 16 from the free throw line during the final quarter. Palmer led by 15 after three quarters and again by 15 points midway through the fourth. The Warriors cut that lead to single digits with just more than two minutes left in regulation. Harmony McSorley completed the three-point play with 1:53 left to bring the Warriors within a possession, and Hays cut Palmer’s lead to a point with a rebound and putback. Jazylnn Novelli gave Wasilla its first lead since the first half, a 49-48 advantage, with a pair of free throws with 1:13 left. After a McSorley steal, McSorley hit two more free throw to extend Wasilla’s lead to three points.

The Warriors were 9 for 9 from the free throw line during the final two minutes of the game.

McSorley was 5 for 5 from the line and scored 10 points. Novelli was 5 for 6 from the stripe in the fourth and scored 11.

Palmer held Wasilla to only eight points in the first and seven in the second quarter. Hays had five of Wasilla’s six field goals in the second and third combined.

Hays added 15 rebounds and three steals to her game-high 28 points. Novelli added 10 boards.

Lily Anderson helped Palmer earn the early lead, scoring eight of her 10 points during the first half. Liv Solis and Catherine Uschmann led Palmer with 12 points each. Anderson scored six points in the first to help Palmer jump to an 11-8 lead. The Moose used a 14-7 second-quarter run to take a 10-point lead into half time. Uschmann scored five during the second quarter.

Wasilla improved to 7-0 in Northern Lights Conference play. Palmer dropped to 2-4 in conference.

Brothers lead Wasilla past Palmer

Andrew Devine used a big third quarter to help Wasilla score a 56-53 win over Palmer Tuesday at Palmer High School.

Devine scored 10 of his team-high 18 in the third. Thirteen of his points came in the second half. Devine’s older brother, Luke, added 14 in the win. Luke Devine scored six in the fourth quarter.

Wasilla also survived Palmer’s 20-point fourth quarter. Shea Halbert kept Palmer in the game with a game-high 24 points. Halbert hit eight three-pointers. Four of those came in the final eight minutes.

Wasilla improved to 3-4 in the NLC with the win. The Warriors have now split two-game conference series’ with Palmer, Kodiak and Soldotna. The Moose dropped to 2-4 in the conference with the loss.

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