| Perrysburg’s Nicole Delas advances the ball as Anthony Wayne’s Aisha Tyre (15) defends. (Photo: Andrew Weber/Sentinel-Tribune) |
TONTOGANY — Perrysburg’s girls dug a hole and could never fully recover against Anthony Wayne Thursday
night.
The Yellow Jackets fell victim to a slow start and foul trouble, and the result was a 56-50 loss to the
Generals in a Division I district semifinal at Otsego High School. PHOTO GALLERY
Perrysburg was
able to come back and take the lead after trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, but the
energy and fouls used catching up came back to bite the ’Jackets.
Trailing 39-38 after three quarters, AW (17-5 overall) went on a 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter and
made enough free throws down the stretch to pull off its second win this season over its Northern Lakes
League rival.
“We got down too much, too early. I don’t why, but we looked a step slow,” said Perrysburg coach Todd
Sims, whose team ends its season at 18-4 overall. “It was because of (Anthony Wayne) too, obviously.
They came out like a ball of fire.
“We came back … But we used so much energy to get back there that once you get there you kind of relax
a little bit, and then we didn’t have enough at the end.”
AW jumped out to a 15-4 lead after an Emma Rickets basket with 19 seconds left in the first quarter. The
’Jackets shot just 2-of-10 (20 percent) from the floor in the first quarter while the Generals shot a
scorching 70 percent, making 7-of-10 shots.
The lead ballooned to 21-6 early in the second quarter after two Danielle Smith free throws before
Perrysburg was finally able to get some offense going and cut the lead to 28-22 heading into halftime.
Junior Emily Treece provided a spark off the bench for Perrysburg, scoring six straight points in the
second quarter as Perrysburg’s two starting post players, seniors Kayla VanderVlucht and Nicole Delas,
sat out most of the first half with two fouls.
“Emily Treece hit a couple of big shots and then she got us going,” Sims said. “We played decently well
in the middle of the game, but we didn’t start off very well and we didn’t end very well.”
Perrysburg took its first lead with 2:45 left in the third quarter and led by as many as three points
late in the third.
“Perrysburg is just too good to just lay down,” AW coach Justin Zemanski said. “I knew they were going to
make a run … Our kids just made plays.”
AW was able to switch to a higher gear in the fourth quarter that Perrysburg couldn’t match, out-scoring
the ’Jackets 18-11 over the final eight minutes.
“It’s always a battle when you play (Anthony Wayne). They’re very well-coached. It was a fight,” Sims
said. “For some reason, I don’t know if we match up well with them. Maybe it’s their post quickness or
something like that. They’re a half-step quicker than us.
“Sports are a game of matchups, and for some reason we don’t match up very well with them. They’re
well-coached and they’re a good team.”
Rickets finished 7-of-8 from the foul line and scored a game-high 17 points. As a team the Generals went
26-of-39 (67 percent) from the free-throw line.
With the win AW advances to face Marion Harding in the district finals Saturday at Liberty-Benton High
School.
“It’s huge. We just did something that to my knowledge has never done in Anthony Wayne girls basketball
history,” Zemanski said. “I think the key of this postseason has been, this is our time.
“Perrysburg has had a lot of great teams in the past,” Zemanski added. “But this year we kept on thinking
this is our time. It’s just a testament to what our kids go through every day in practice. There’s never
an easy day. Come tournament time, obviously we lighten the load. But they earned this.”
Treece finished with a game-high 10 points for Perrysburg, while junior Kelsea Newman and Delas each had
eight points. VanderVlucht, Newman and Treece all fouled out in the fourth quarter.
The loss marked the final game for Perrysburg seniors Kendall Tudor, Lindsay Matolyak, Delas and
VanderVlucht, who all played roles in Perrysburg’s back-to-back runs to the regional finals the last two
seasons.
“It was a great season. This is a great group,” Sims said. “I think most every coach says this at the end
of the season, how you’re going to miss the seniors.
“Of course I’m going to miss them. They’re great kids. They helped us to the regional the last couple
years. This year we just fell a little short.”
GIRLS
DIVISION I
ANTHONY WAYNE 56, PERRYSBURG 50
ANTHONY WAYNE
Bedard, 1-3—5; Barrett, 3-3—9; Tyre, 3-2—8; Ricketts, 5-7—17; Hilfinger, 0-1—1; Kreft, 3-5—11; Smith,
0-5—5. TOTALS: 15-26—56.
PERRYSBURG
K. Tudor, 1-1-0—5; Knight, 1-2—4; B. Tudor, 3-0—6; Matolyak, 0-2—2; Kaczinski, 0-0—0; Treece, 5-0—10;
Delas, 2-4—8; Newman, 3-2—8; Diehl, 1-0—2; VanderVlucht, 2-1—5; Mufti, 0-0—0. TOTALS: 18-1-11—50.
ANTHONY WAYNE 17 11 10 18 —56
PERRYSBURG 6 16 17 11 —50
