Perry bounced back from back-to-back losses with a 51-36 win at Edgewood on Wednesday.
With the win, the Pirates closed out the regular season with a 15-7 record.
“That was a good win for us,” said Perry coach Roy Infalvi. “Edgewood is a really good team, and going on the road for our third game in five days against really tough teams, so it was good to pull out this win tonight.”
Perry took an 11-7 lead in the first but it didn’t come easily.
Audrey Austin drained a 3-pointer and Victoria Lynch, Rosalyn Tharp, Mia Lynch, and Emily Mechenbier also scored in the frame.
Edgewood countered with five points from Carly Kary and two from Leigha Guyton.
“I felt like in the first half we were a little sloppy until kind of close to the half,” Infalvi said.
The Warrior held a 13-11 advantage when Perry’s offense found its groove.
It started with a Jaidyn Newsome 3-pointer that gave the Pirates a 14-11 lead and they never looked back.
Perry closed out the half on a 10-1 run and led 21-14 at the break.
“We really talked at halftime, and I thought we came out with some better energy and intensity, especially on the defensive end,” Infalvi said. “We responded really well coming out of the locker room at halftime and had a good start to the third quarter, and we were able to pull away a little bit.”
Perry outscored Edgewood in the second half, 30-22.
The Pirates were motivated by a split with the Warriors last winter.
“It was definitely really exciting to pull that game out,” said Austin, who finished with 11 points. “Edgewood really has always been viewed as a rival to us. Last year we split with them in the season, so going into this game we knew it would be tough. They’ve always put up a good fight against us and they always play super hard. Also coming off of two tough losses, we really just wanted to close our regular season on a win to give us momentum going into the tournament. Although it wasn’t our best performance, we were able to get the job done and push through which is what we wanted.”
Austin credited Newsome’s 3-pointer for sparking the Pirates.
“The end of the first half definitely helped us get momentum and separation going into the third quarter,” she said. “We were lacking our usual energy in the first half so when a teammate hits a big shot like Jaidyn did it really brings everyone together and lifts everyone up. This definitely helped us come out with more energy in the second half and maintain our lead.”
Victoria Lynch led all scorers with 12 points, Austin finished with 11, Mechenbier contributed with nine, Newsome finished with six, Andora Porcello scored five, and Rosalyn Tharp and Mia Lynch added four points each.
Kray led Edgewood with 11, Avery Vencill scored nine, Faith Vencill added seven, Leigha Guyton scored six, and Annie Johnston finished with three points.
Perry now sets its sights on Saturday’s postseason opener against Akron Coventry while Edgewood opens the postseason against Firelands.
