TOLEDO — Perrysburg girls basketball went from ice cold in the first half to sweltering heat in the second half during their 40-31 Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division victory at Whitmer Memorial Fieldhouse Thursday.

At least, the shooting hands of 5-foot-9 junior guard Chloe Kilbride caught fire in the second half.

Kilbride did not score a single point in the first half as the Yellow Jackets connected on 17% of shots from the field (5-for-30).

That included one triple by sophomore forward Sophie Mitchell from the top of the key with one minute remaining, or the Yellow Jackets would not even have reached double figures by intermission. As it was, with Mitchell’s triple, they were down, 16-12.

In the second half, Kilbride hit her stride with five triples, scoring a game-high 17 points and restoring much-needed confidence to Perrysburg’s offense.

To open the second half, she scored Perrysburg’s first 14 points, including four triples, two of them coming off steals by junior guard Hayley Griggs. She also scored on a transition layup beating Whitmer down the floor.

“My shots were not falling in the first half and I knew I had to get back with that in the second half, so I just locked in and they just started falling,” Kilbride said. “Once I start hitting my shots, I just feel good and the energy is up so they just keep on falling.”

Whitmer coach Leon Kynard said he warned his team what could happen if the Panthers relaxed in the transition game.

“We told them when they get out in transition they do a good job of sharing the basketball,” Kynard said. “If you don’t get up on their shooters, they can run up maybe three or four threes in a row if you don’t get back.”

Making, and not missing, threes is the other aspect of Perrysburg’s transition game that was not going well in the first half, but did in the second half. Perrysburg coach Todd Sims said it was a matter of time.

“I told them this morning, this team is the best I’ve ever had for lots of years that I’ve been coaching at getting shots — penetrating, pivot and kicking and getting teammates open and stuff like that,” Sims said.

“You’ve got to make them, obviously. I said at halftime, ‘Shooters shoot. That’s what you do. You can’t think about the shots you missed. The next shot is the one you are going to make.’

“Obviously, Chloe was off in the first half and then hit her first shot and she got it rolling there in the second. It was much better.

“It was like I said, ‘Do your best not to dwell on those things. They’re over. You can’t control them. You’ve got to try to go to the next play,’ and we did that.”

A Kilbride triple gave Perrysburg its first lead, 26-25, with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter, and then sophomore guard Kallie Thames scored on an offensive rebound and putback to put the Jackets up, 28-25, entering the fourth.

In the fourth, Kilbride hit yet another triple as the Jackets quickly opened a nine-point lead and their offensive possessions could not be denied. Perrysburg finished with just six turnovers.

The Jackets’ second half pushed their overall shooting percentage up to 30% (16-for-54), they made 1-of-4 free throws, but outrebounded the taller Panthers, 36-32.

The Jackets had 16 caroms on the offensive glass, and combined with eight steals, they got off 15 more shots than the Panthers.

“We played really hard, we rebounded really well, we shared the ball like we always do, and it was a great team win,” Sims said.

Perrysburg sophomore guard Addy Byrne had six points and two steals, Griggs had five points and four steals, and Thames had four points and seven rebounds.

Sophomore forward Hayden Siebenaler had four points and five rebounds, Mitchell had three points and a team-high 10 rebounds, and junior guard Ayla Turk added one point.

It was not just a comeback win after the Panthers took an early 9-2 lead out of the gate, it was about avenging Perrysburg’s 37-34 loss to Whitmer on December 5 and shutting down their 6-foot-1 senior center Mackenzie Royal-Davis.

“It’s real nice. The first time around we fell short so we definitely came in with the mentality to take the win,” Kilbride said. “We definitely focused on Royal-Davis and made sure she wasn’t a high scorer.”

Royal-Davis still finished with a double-double 10 points and 10 rebounds, but she scored only four points after halftime.

“She played well the first half, but I thought the second half she kind of disappeared and we can’t have that because she is our go-to girl,” Kynard said.

Whitmer sophomore guard Madison Finch scored 10 points, senior forward Jada Shoup had nine points and 12 rebounds, and senior forward Madison Welch added two points.

The Panthers shot 31% (12-for-39) from the field and made 5-of-6 free throws with 10 turnovers.

Perrysburg improves to 11-5 overall and 3-2 in the NLL Buckeye Division, while Whitmer drops to 9-6 and 1-4.

The five teams in the Buckeye Division are a combined 42-10 against non-league competition, and since Anthony Wayne (13-2, 5-0) currently controls its own destiny, maybe second place isn’t so bad if that’s the way it has to go down.

“It’s a tough league,” Kynard said. “I like it though. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It brings a challenge every night.”