The Perryville girls basketball team had been pointing to this game for a year. Despite a few shaky moments late, the Panthers were determined to make sure it did not slip away. Perryville exacted a measure of revenge for a playoff loss to Bohemia Manor last winter by ousting the Eagles 46-42 Tuesday night, March 1. "It's all we've been working for every day," Panthers senior forward Jill Miller said. "It's definitely a great feeling. I know all of us seniors and the team didn't want it to be over yet. We weren't going to let Bo Manor come in here, our house, and end it for us again. That's what we've been working for and we definitely proved to them what we've been doing." A victory was far from a guarantee when Perryville trailed 36-32 with less than six minutes remaining. Following a free throw, Teri Wennersten scored on a putback with 5:34 remaining and Miller made a pair of free throws 55 seconds later to put the Panthers ahead for good. After Bo Manor missed a go-ahead layup, Wennersten hit two free throws to lengthen the lead to 39-36 with 3:28 to go. The Eagles made one of two free throws to get within two before Wennersten scored again. That was Perryville's last field goal. Both teams struggled to protect the ball in the final two minutes. Both Wennersten and Lydia Hill fouled out but the Panthers were able to hang on. Jules Jones made a free throw to up Perryville's lead to 42-38 with 31 seconds left. A technical foul was called on a Perryville player after Jones was fouled but the Eagles missed both free throws. Delany Midash answered six seconds later before Sierra Johnson hit two from the charity stripe to make it 44-40 with 22.1 seconds remaining. Bo Manor missed two shots and trailed 45-40 after a Kayla Losoya free throw with 9.6 ticks to go. The Eagles' Kayla Thompson made two free throws with four seconds left but Jones iced it with a free throw with 1.1 seconds left. Kayla Losoya led Perryville with 13 points. She was injured for most of the season and missed both regular season matchups where the schools each won on their home court. She returned for the final two games of the regular season. "I was personally a little nervous going in because I had been out for so long," Losoya said. "But since I got in my groove it felt really good. I felt like I was back again and I just kept shooting and shooting. My shots were falling." Miller collected 11 points and 10 rebounds. Hill had all eight of her points in the final 10 minutes. "I knew in the first half [I was going to have to score more]," said Hill. "I was kind of going through the motions. In the second half, I realized, alright, we're going to do this. I've got to step it up. I've got to put up the intensity, help everyone else step it up. That was my goal." Bo Manor led 13-6 at the end of the first quarter. That's when Losoya got involved. Losoya scored her team's first six points of the quarter to narrow the gap to 15-12. Nikki Hill and Miller each scored after offensive rebounds to provide Perryville with a 16-15 halftime edge. The Eagles went up by five following an 8-0 spurt midway through the second quarter. Perryville responded with an eight-point run of its own and held a 28-27 advantage entering the fourth quarter. Perryville received key contributions from several reserves. In addition to Johnson's two late free throws, Emani Bell grabbed two rebounds down the stretch after Hill and Wennersten had fouled out. Nikki Hill drew the difficult assignment of guarding the Eagles' star guard Thompson. Faceguarding her over every inch of the court, Hill made Thompson work for each of her 12 points. "She was probably our 12th player [at the beginning of the season]," Perryville coach Mike Blizzard said of Hill. "She was the last player kept and now she's starting games and starting in the playoffs. The motor keeps going. She is what Bill Belichick talks about. 'Do your job.' I give her a job. She did it." Last season's playoff loss to Bo Manor was a major motivating factor all year. "We say this is the cornerstone of what we wanted to do," Blizzard said. "Sometimes, I'm in the locker room and the tears are because it's the end of the season. There were just as many tears in there [Tuesday night] because that's what they worked for. They hated that feeling." Lydia Hill was one of several Panthers who were emotional following the victory. "It was incredible," she said. "I knew we could do it all along but it feels really good because this is what we worked for all season. And to come together and do it, and being home and having all of our fans, it's just amazing. I couldn't be prouder. I'm proud to be a Panther." Perryville travels to Patterson Mill Thursday night. Comments are closed.
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