Perry overcame a slow start to defeat visiting Riverside in a nonconference game on Thursday, 36-30.
The Pirates trailed 3-2 after the first quarter but outscored the Beavers the rest of the way, 34-27, to seal their second straight win and improve to 6-2 overall.
“This was as close to our complete game as we have played all year,” said Perry coach Roy Infalvi. “We played a solid four quarters and even though the first quarter was low scoring, I thought defensively, we played really well. We made them work and I thought the flow of the game was in our favor.”
Riverside’s Savanah Laurenty scored two of her team-high 14 in the first quarter and Rhys Shantery hit one of two free throws as the Beavers took an early 3-2 lead in the first.
Perry’s Jadyn Newsome sparked the Pirates with two 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Pirates regrouped offensively and took a 16-14 lead into the break.
Tharp then matched her four first-half points with four more in the third and she closed out the game with an eight-point fourth.
“She did a really good job finishing around the basket and when she got the ball in the paint, and when she drove into the paint, she did a good job of either finding the open kickouts or taking it all the way in and scoring,” Infalvi said of Tharp. “Towards the end of the game, she did a good job of getting some dump downs and getting in good position to receive a pass and finish around the basket. She also did a great job of rebounding and getting after loose balls, so this was her best game she played all year.”
Tharp focused on the game plan and capitalized on the momentum her team’s defensive effort created.
“From an offensive side, we really just ran our sets and knew we had to swing the ball and limit turnovers and find the open spots,” Tharp said. “Our team does a great job of dumping down the ball to the posts and so having a team that can drive and dump down or kick out for a shot was working really well against Riverside’s defense.”
Perry’s focus was taking away Riverside’s transition game and limiting Laurenty’s opportunities to make plays.
“Our big thing we knew that needed to be solid tonight was our defense,” Tharp said. “We knew we needed to shut down No. 25 and Audrey (Austin) did a great job of that, but also keeping the other players out of the paint really kept them from scoring and rebounding.”
Newsome contributed to the win with 10 points, Austin added four, Chloe Haase pitched in with three, Abby Bartlett scored two, and Victoria Lynch scored one.
Laurenty led the Beavers with 14, Shantery added eight, Jayden White scored five, Madison Divens finished with two points, and Kellie Mapes and Emma Wilhem each scored one.
Perry travels to Geneva on Jan. 5 while Riverside (3-4) plays Perrysburg on Dec. 27.
