Palmer graduated from Farmington in 2007 after leading the Knights to their first district championship, 24 straight wins and a final four appearance in the girls basketball state tournament. Her sister, Tayhlor Milfeld, played on the 2011 Farmington team that finished fourth in Class 4.
Her father, Todd Milfeld, lives in De Soto and her grandparents live in Festus. Her husband, Jimmy, is the boys basketball head coach for North County in Bonne Terre. Her brother, Hayden Sprenkel, is a sophomore guard at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff. Sprenkel played for Jimmy on the Raiders and left as the school’s career scoring leader.
So when Palmer was recently hired to replace Gary Koch as the Mineral Area College women’s basketball head coach, you could say she landed her dream job. Palmer played for Koch from 2007-2009. Koch coached the Cardinals for 13 seasons and posted a record of 248-148 (.626).
“I had played for him and really had thought as most kids do, they want to get away from home after high school,” Palmer said. “I didn’t realize the opportunity at MAC would open for me. I wasn’t a Division II player when I got to MAC and he got me to a high level. Clearly, I wanted to get my shot at doing the same thing for kids in my area.”
After earning an associate degree, Palmer moved on to Christian Brothers University in Memphis, where she received a bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in corporate communications. She received a master’s degree in education from Central Methodist University in Fayette.
Palmer said Koch was keen on teaching fundamentals through repetition. Between her freshman and sophomore years at MAC, she’d drive with Koch to a gym outside of Effingham, Ill., to practice her shot.
“My shooting was my high point,” Palmer said. “(Koch) is a perfectionist on shooting. We’d leave at 6 a.m. and the trip was longer than the time on the court. Now I’m in that boat of being a coach.”
The Cardinals’ season came to an end after they lost 89-68 to Three Rivers in the Region 16 Tournament on Feb. 27. The loss ended Palmer’s eight years as an assistant. MAC beat Jefferson College twice this season.
“We had had some adversities this year and we lost a couple of players over Christmas,” Palmer said. “We had some things not work out in terms of depth.”
Eight sophomores played their last game with the Cardinals. Palmer has already been on the recruiting trail and has signed eight replacements. She’s still on the hunt, though.
She won’t have to look too far past St. Francois County to find talent. Grandview senior Isabelle Kuczka, whose team lost to Steelville in the Class 3 District 3 championship on Friday, is a top outside shooter.
Another county player drawing interest is Herculaneum junior Paige Fowler, who was the Jefferson County Activities Association small-schools most valuable player in 2018-2019. Fowler is one of the top power forwards in the county. The Blackcats were knocked out of the district tournament by Grandview.
Palmer has recruited players from South Iron, North County, Warrenton and the St. Louis area.
“I was given a chance, so I want to recruit the best local kids in the area first,” she said.
Todd Milfeld played for the Jefferson College men’s tennis team that won a regional title in the early 1980s. He said he’s glad he’ll get to watch Briley coach for the school that gave her a chance as a player. Todd used to take Briley to watch the teams coached by Allen Davis and Ron Rhodes at De Soto.
“She’s always been a gym rat,” said Todd, who lived in Farmington for 30 years. “I was a big basketball fan and took her to watch the De Soto shooters. I asked one kid how many shots he took before school, and he said between 200 and 300.”
I’ve learned a lot about basketball rivalries between teams from the county and the ones along the Hwy. 67 corridor. If it wasn’t for the Hillsboro boys team, those rivalries would be pretty one-sided in favor of Farmington, Park Hills Central and North County.
The Raiders (18-7) beat Potosi on Saturday in the first round of the Class 4 District 2 tournament in Park Hills. It was Jimmy’s 99th win as North County’s coach. They’ll play No. 2 seeded Hillsboro (21-4) in the district semifinals on Tuesday after the Leader deadline. The Hawks have won three straight district championships and have beaten North County in each of those three seasons.
The Palmers are friends with Hillsboro head coach Dan Johnson and his family. The Palmers have two young daughters, Dayton, 3, and Nola, 1.
Briley said her offense will run more motion than it has in the past. She wants to recruit players who aren’t “robotical.”
Mostly, she said, she remembers the people who have helped her along the way to her first head coaching position.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity and I plan on being here for 30 years,” Palmer said.