Sports
Girls Basketball: Lions Upset Gators in Blow Out
A fatigued Perry Hall drops to Dulaney, 49-26.
Playing its second game in as many days, the Perry Hall Gators were behind in Friday night’s matchup against the Dulaney Lions before it even began.
The Lions took advantage of Gators' fatigue, notching a 49-26 victory that was won in the first half due to strong defensive play. The Gators were held scoreless in the second quarter.
“Their defense was intense, aggressive. They wanted the win more than us,” Perry Hall head coach Amanda Fischer said. “You can’t win a game with 26 points.”
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After taking an 18-8 lead in the first quarter thanks to tight man-to-man defense and a trapping full-court press, Dulaney stepped on the gas.
The run started with steals on back-to-back plays by senior guard Parie Kerr. She raced down the court alone for easy layups, extending Dulaney’s lead to 22-8.
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“Parie is just a great defender. We just told her to go after somebody and go get the ball,” Dulaney head coach Rich Welsh said. “I knew that would ignite the team – a couple steals, a couple easy baskets. That really got us going.”
Dulaney continued to play tight man-to-man defense. The pressure closed the Gators’ passing lanes, forced them into several mistakes and prevented them from taking open shots. When the Gators did take shots, the Lions crashed the boards and prevented any second-chance opportunities.
The shut-down defense translated into a wide-open offense. Dulaney used quick perimeter passing to find open shooters, which yielded two 3-pointers by junior guard Courtney Jantzen. Four points later and the game had reached halftime, but the outcome already seemed decided.
“We wanted to end the game in the first half,” Welsh said. “That was our best shot and we gave it to them.”
After losing to Perry Hall in their second game of the season, 50-42, the Lions wanted revenge.
The senior captains took it upon themselves to make sure the outcome was different.
Kerr finished with 12 points, all of which came in the first half; Cristy Askew scored eight of the Lions first 10 points; Erin Eller ran the offense, pushing past the Gators’ full-court press and assisting on several baskets, including both of Jantzen’s 3-pointers, and Nancy Kelly led the team in scoring with 14 points.
“We really wanted to blow out Perry Hall,” Kerr said. “We came here to win and we blew them out."
