MADISON–Perry outlasted host Madison in a 49-47 overtime thriller on Saturday.
At one point, Perry held its largest lead, 19-12, at the half, but Madison battled back to tie the game with 16 seconds left, forcing overtime.
“We were super active on defense; we didn’t give them any easy shots,” said Perry head coach Roy Infalvi, Jr. “We did a really good job communicating, switching, and protecting the basket. We had high intensity on the defensive end.”
The Pirates and Blue Streaks battled to a 6-6 stalemate after the first quarter.
Jaidyn Newsome powered Perry on a 9-2 run to close the half with seven second-quarter points, giving her 11 for the half and putting the Pirates up 19-12 at the break.
Madison found its rhythm in the second half by outscoring the Pirates 28-21, bringing the game to a 40-40 tie.
“Zoey (Deligianis) and Gianna (LaMarco) are both players that aren’t going to stop; they’ll keep shooting and scoring,” Infalvi said. “We’ve seen that from Zoey for the last four years. There’s no resting with her. Her coming out in the second half and scoring more in the second half doesn’t surprise me.”
Deligianis got going in the third quarter with eight points in the frame with five more coming from LaMarco, leading Madison to a 15-13 advantage.
Perry kept pace with 3-pointers from Sophie Sivon and Victoria Lynch, plus three more points from Emily Mechenbier.
The Blue Streaks also won the fourth quarter, 13-8, with five more LaMarco points plus a pair of 3-pointers from Deligianis, including the game-tying triple with 16 seconds left.
Audrey Austin and Mechenbier closed the deal with nine combined points in overtime to cap off a thrilling win.
Perry led nearly wire-to-wire, only having trailed once early in the second quarter, before abruptly finding themselves tied up at 40-40 for overtime.
“We didn’t want the fourth quarter to close the way it did,” Infalvi said. “We just had to keep up the effort defensively and take what the defense was giving us offensively. We had some big buckets and big stops in overtime.”
The Pirates handled the quick turnaround well, bouncing back to capture the win.
“It was like starting over like we’re back at even,” Infalvi said of the message going into the extra period. “Both teams were tired; it became a mental game of who could fight through that adversity. We had to overcome it. We talk about being comfortable outside of your comfort zone.”
Newsome led the Pirates with 14 points, Mechenbier pitched in with 10, while Lynch added nine in the win.
Madison couldn’t overcome its early offensive woes early in the loss.
“We were out of rhythm,” said Madison head coach Heather Reho. “I felt like we were forcing shots, and they clogged the paint a lot when a big touched the ball, and we weren’t shooting the ball well.”
Despite that, it’s been a strong start for the Blue Streaks, who are 8-3 overall and 3-0 in Lake Division play at the year’s halfway mark.
“We learned a lot tonight,” Reho said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t complete the comeback, but credit Perry for playing a great game.”
Deligianis led all scorers with a game-high 21 points, and LaMarco pitched in with 14 points and nine steals.
Madison visits Geneva on January 6, while Perry visits West Geauga on January 9.
