Perryville's girls basketball team finished with a flourish. The Panthers used a late 13-2 run to post a 39-33 triumph over visiting Edgewood Thursday night. Edgewood led 28-26 with five minutes remaining before the Panthers' decisive spurt. Jill Miller started it off with a free throw and had four points in the run. Teri Wennersten added six. Perryville made seven of 10 free throw attempts in that stretch, including two by Nikki Hill. The Panthers had a 39-30 lead before the rams made a last-second three-pointer to account for the final score. It was Perryville's fifth straight win. "I think we're finally starting to learn each other's weaknesses and advantages in the games," senior forward Jill Miller said. "We're starting to really come together as a team. It's not one person on the team. Everyone is contributing to our wins so it's kind of cool because no one knows what to do against our defense and our offense because everyone is moving, everyone can play, everyone can shoot." Perryville started sluggishly, falling behind 5-2 in the first six minutes. "I think our challenges were definitely we were letting them get in our head," said Miller. "They weren't the nicest people ever. We were letting them get in our heads and they're aggressive, so we needed to fight back. If we wanted to win, we definitely had to fight for it cause they wanted it, too." That's just the kind of game Miller prefers. "That's my favorite thing ever," she said. She finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. "I'll do anything for a win," Miller added. "I like winning. I don't mind getting bruises. Bruises are part of the game. I love basketball season for that. I like the whole team effort that we have…I don't mind diving for the ball. It's part of the game." Jordyn Pollitt provided 10 points and Teri Wennersten had eight points and eight rebounds. With both teams struggling from the field and the free throw line for much of the game, defense made the difference. "Defensively, I think they finally get the system because what we are asking them to do is contrary to what they've been taught for however long they've played basketball," Perryville coach Mike Blizzard said. "If you look at what we do we're not necessarily between the ball and the basket. We're trying to dictate what you can do to us because if know what you do then we have a much better chance of stopping it. If we play you straight up, you can go left, you can go right. You're a triple threat. If I force you to do one thing, you're a single threat." On Tuesday, January 12, the Panthers downed host Bohemia Manor 54-44. Miller collected 14 points and eight rebounds. Jules Jones also scored 14 points. Brianna Yadlosky supplied 12 points. On Monday, January 10, Perryville nipped Tome 37-36 on a Teri Wennersten basket at the buzzer. Miller provided 18 points and Yadlosky notched eight. "This was a huge week," said Blizzard. "Tome, Bo Manor, and Edgewood. If you told me we would go 2-1 I'd be very happy. But 3-0? After you win one, you start to get greedy. I don't think we fear anyone. That was a huge accomplishment because this school feared just about everybody. So now we can go into a gym and expect to win. I've been fighting that battle for 16 months, so that's good." Comments are closed.
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