EASTLAKE—Victoria Lynch scored a game-high 27 points in leading Perry to a 49-48 nonconference win at North on Friday.
Lynch scored all 10 of Perry’s fourth-quarter points including an 8-0 run to end the game.
“It was a great win,” Lynch said. “I’m proud of my team. We got through it with teamwork.”
North led 12-9 after the first quarter but the Pirates adjusted on the fly and outscored the Rangers in the second quarter, 18-9, and took a 27-21 lead into the break.
The Rangers outscored the Pirates in the second half, 27-22, but Lynch donned her superhero cape in the fourth quarter to help Perry hold off its hosts.
The Rangers used back-to-back 3-pointers from Angelie Cisternino and one 3-pointer from Samantha Cantrell to take the lead midway through the fourth. Kaitlin Dobida’s 3-pointer gave the Rangers a 48-41 lead with just over three minutes left in the game.
Lynch drained two 3s and converted a layup to close out the scoring on an 8-0 run.
“When North came down and hit a bunch of threes in a row and took the lead, we could have hung our heads,” said Perry coach Roy Infalvi. “We kept battling even when we were down, and we executed and got some open opportunities.”
After graduating the bulk of its scoring, Perry needed somebody to step up and impose her will on the offensive end.
Lynch did that and more.
“We definitely need her to do that, and we expect her to do that,” Infalvi said. “That’s what I expect her to do coming in. She’s worked really hard. I thought last year she could have scored a little bit more than she did, but I think she’s embraced that role and knows she’s going to be counted on for some points. She didn’t have a great shooting night on Wednesday against Chardon but she responded with a great day today and made some big shots. She’s a great defender for us, too.”
Lynch drained three 3-pointers in the win while the Pirates finished with seven threes in the game. Jaidyn Newsome hit two 3-pointers to score six points, and Payton Winters and Audrey Austin each recorded one.
Austin finished with nine points in the win while Newsome had six. Winters scored four, Mia Lynch added a bucket, and Rosalyn Tharp added one point and an impressive defensive performance in the game.
“Everyone played really well and even our subs that came into the game did a great job,” Infalvi said. “Mia Lynch, a freshman, came in and had some huge rebounds in the first half, and Abby Bartlett defensively did a really nice job for us. I thought it was a good defensive team effort.”
North’s Cami Welty scored seven of her nine points in the first quarter as the Rangers got off to a solid start.
Dobida scored seven points in the second quarter and added a first-quarter 3-pointer to finish with 10 points in the half. She hit two 3s and a pair of free throws in the second half.
The Rangers outplayed the Pirates for most of the second half, but the final three minutes belonged to Lynch.
“It was game one and as coach (Eric) Seufer said before the game, we’re on the first tee,” said North coach Paul Force. “We knew it would be an exciting game. Perry has a good program and we have a good program. We came out early and then they made a run in that second quarter, but I was proud of how we responded to a little bit of adversity there in the second half.”
Dobida, Cisternino, and Katie Bucy each hit 3-pointers in the third quarter and Cisternino found her groove in the fourth when she hit back-to-back treys.
Unfortunately for the Rangers, they were limited to just five baskets in the fourth quarter—four of them from behind the arc—but they couldn’t convert down the stretch to pull out the win, despite several attempts in the closing seconds.
“Certainly, Angelie coming off the bench and hitting some shots sparked us and gave us a little bit of energy,” Force said. “I was pleased with everything we did. I would have liked to see us take a little better care of the ball, we ended up with a dozen turnovers and they had seven, so we knew that it would be a key battle. We outrebounded them and made more free throws than them, but they got us in the turnover battle. Usually, if we win two of three of those, we have a good chance to win, and we had a good chance all the way up until the very end today.”
North converted 7-of-9 free throws while Perry hit on 4-of-6 tries. The Rangers outrebounded the Pirates, 30-23.
Cisternino finished the game with nine points, Bucy added seven and Cantrell scored three.
The Rangers will need contributions from other players moving forward.
“I think we have seven or eight girls that can come in and give us a spark,” Force said. “They’re going to get those opportunities game in and game out. Cami certainly led us offensively and on the boards, Angelie knocked down some shots, and Sam had a big one. Katie made some nice plays, so I think everybody contributed. I know we have a lot of girls walking out of that locker room wishing they had one or two plays back, and that’s what we preach. Hopefully, we come back tomorrow and watch film and lift, and we get a new sense of focus.”
Perry (2-0) hosts Conneaut on Tuesday while North (0-1) looks to rebound at Bedford on Wednesday.
