Palmer girls rebound, knock Kodiak out of NLC tournamentBy CASEY RESSLER
For the Frontiersman
Published on Saturday, March 8, 2008 11:12 PM AKST PALMER — The Palmer girls’ basketball team advanced to the third-place game — with a shot at the state tournament on the line — with a 32-26 victory over Kodiak early Saturday morning.
After a tough loss to Wasilla Friday night, the Moose had to set their alarms for an early 9 a.m. tip-off. Palmer head coach Paul Reid said he was happy to see his squad was ready to play after an emotional loss.
“I told them they can think about the loss until midnight, but then we have to put it behind us and focus on Saturday,” Reid said. “In the locker room, they were upbeat and they came ready to play.” The same couldn’t be said for Kodiak, however. The Moose raced to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, and set the tempo for the rest of the game.
“That was so, so important,” Reid said. “We jumped on them, and then I was able to rotate a lot of girls in and out to keep their legs fresh for that third-place game. That’s what we were hoping to do.”
The Moose played stifling man-to-man defense, forcing 17 first-half turnovers. They held the Bears scoreless for stretches of four minutes and five minutes in the first half.
The Moose continued with the defensive pressure in the second half, but the Bears were able to cut the lead to six late in the fourth quarter, but each time the Bears cut into the lead, the Moose responded. Ashley Swetzof scored all four of her points in the fourth quarter, and the Bears weren’t able to get within six.
Matti Cox led the Moose in scoring with eight points, but the Moose won as a team — Kelsey Campbell scored seven and Geneva Ratcliff added six for a well-rounded offensive attack.
On the defensive end, Swetzof had three big blocks — in the first half she swatted the ball into the stands — to set the stage for her squad.
“It was a good team effort,” Reid said. “I was proud of the way they rebounded from a loss.”
Palmer 33, Kodiak 26
NLC consolation semifinals
Saturday, Palmer High School
Kodiak 4 5 6 12 – 26
Palmer 12 7 4 10 – 33
KODIAK (26) — Garner 1 0-2 3, Norton 1 0-0 2, Keplinger 1 1-2 3, McCarty 0 2-2 2, Horn 3 1-1 8, Jones 3 2-4 8, Timpke 0 0-0 0. Totals: 9 6-11 26.
PALMER (33) — Swetzof 2 0-0 4, J. Cox 1 1-2 3, Stratton 0 2-2 2, Campbell 2 2-4 7, Mangelsdorf 0 0-0 0, M. Cox 3 2-5 8, Bolling 1 0-0 2, Tzou 0 1-2 1, Ratcliff 3 0-0 6. Totals 12 7-13 33.
Three-point goals – Garner, Horn, Campbell. Total fouls – Kodiak 15, Palmer 10. Fouled out – Jones.
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