Wasilla girls sprint past Palmer

PALMER — Trading turnovers back and forth, for about eight minutes Tuesday, the Wasilla Warriors and Palmer Moose appeared to be locked in a game of patty-cake.

And then the Warriors started playing keep-away.

Wasilla overcame a season-high 26 turnovers to score a 74-49 Northern Lights Conference win over the Moose at Palmer High School.

Wasilla trailed 15-11 after a first quarter in which the Valley rivals combined for 24 turnovers. But the Warriors answered the rough start with a 22-7 second-quarter run and a 19-7 run in the third. More than half Wasilla’s turnovers came in the first quarter, committing 14 in the first and a combined 12 in the final three quarters of the game. Meanwhile, the Wasilla defense forced 35 Palmer turnovers, finished with 21 steals and held the Moose to 28 percent shooting.

Freshman Olivia Davies scored eight of her 14 points during Wasilla’s 22-point second quarter. Sophomore Azlynn Brandenburg scored nine of her team-high 15 during the 22-point third.

Freshman Abrianna Busbey sparked Palmer early, scoring nine first-quarter points for the Moose. Late in the first quarter, Busbey scored five straight points that gave Palmer a 15-7 lead.

Davies paced Wasilla early in the second, scoring four quick points. Catherine Baham hit a three-pointer at the 6:30 mark of the second to tie the game at 17. After Brandenberg hit a free throw with 5:44 remaining in the half, Wasilla would never trail again. Following the Brandenburg free throw, the Warriors used a 12-3 run to take a double-digit lead.

Brandenburg added eight steals and four rebounds to her team-high 15 points. Davies also had seven steals and five assists in the game. Baham and Leya DePriest scored 12 points each. Cheyenne Green scored all eight of her points in the fourth quarter.

Busbey led Palmer with a game-high 18 in the loss. The freshman hit four of her team’s six three-pointers. Emma Uschmann drained a pair of third-quarter three-pointers and added 10 points. Kaylee King led Palmer with six steals, and Savanna Dixon supplied a team-high six rebounds.

Wasilla improved to 4-0 in Northern Lights Conference play with the win, and remain unbeaten against in-state opponents. Palmer dropped to 0-2 in the NLC.

Wasilla 74, Palmer 59

Tuesday, Palmer High School

Wasilla 11-22-19-22—74

Palmer 15-7-7-20—49

Wasilla (74) — Brandenburg 6 3-7 15, Davies 5 4-5 14, Drorbaugh 2 0-0 5, Baham 5 0-0 12, Lindeman 0 2-2 2, Anderson 0 1-2 1, Dinkel 2 1-3 5, Green 4 0-1 8, DePriest 5 2-2 12; Totals: 32 13-23 74.

Palmer (49) — Busbey 6 2-4 18, Lee 1 0-0 2, Bull 0 3-4 3, King 3 1-2 7, Bradford 0 2-5 2, Uschmann 3 2-2 10, Till 1 3-4 5, Dixon 1 0-0 2; Totals: 15 13-22 49.

3-point field goals: Wasilla 3 (Baham 2), Palmer 6 (Busbey 4); Total fouls: Wasilla 17, Palmer 24.