Palmer not about to be fooled for 2nd time by Sand Creek

No one can say that the Palmer girls’ basketball team doesn’t learn from its mistakes.

The Pikes Peak 5A-4A No. 4 Terrors lost last month at Sand Creek but would not fall prey again. Boasting an improved defense that forced 27 turnovers, Palmer defeated visiting Sand Creek 61-32 on Tuesday night.

Check out more photos from the game.

“We knew that the last game wasn’t our best and we had to step up the intensity,” Terrors guard Taylor Torres said. “We slacked on defense before, and we knew that would be the key. We played our game tonight.”

Torres scored a game-high 23 points, including 10 of Palmer’s 14 first-quarter points.

The sophomore has now scored 71 points in her last three appearances.

“I think tonight we were mentally strong,” she said. “I felt in control of our offense and how we were attacking and then we all just really made the effort on defense.”

The Scorpions (10-6) played without injured standout post player Taylor Proctor, who sprained her ankle in January but could be ready to return by the end of this week.

Sand Creek, which was down 14-5 at the end of the first quarter, cut the lead to six in the second, but couldn’t keep the momentum.

“Being down a player definitely makes a difference, but we needed to pull down some more rebounds and keep possession,” Scorpions coach Autumn Sereno said.

Palmer junior Mary Miller scored eight of her 16 points in second quarter, including a layup at the halftime buzzer that put the Terrors (14-3) up 29-16.

“I felt the momentum change at the very end of the second half when Mary hit that one at the end,” Terrors coach Dave Shackelford said. “They had made it a close game, but we kept it going in the third.”

The Terrors outscored the Scorpions 18-6 in the third, leading to fourth-quarter opportunities for bench players.
Freshman Jasmine Green and junior Nisa Barela both hit 3-pointers in the last 20 seconds.

“It was great to see some of those players look more and more comfortable,” Shackelford said. “We are going to need them down the stretch.”