Defense ruled the day Saturday at the Perry Park Center, and it was St. Vincent that imposed its will from start to finish.
Behind a relentless defensive effort and a decisive third-quarter surge, the Lady Indians (14-4) pulled away from Perryville (7-8) for a 49-29 victory in the 26th annual Mayor’s Cup on Jan. 31, extending their season winning streak to nine games and adding another chapter to the crosstown rivalry.
The game was a grind early, with both teams struggling to find offensive rhythm. St. Vincent managed just enough scoring in the first half to build a 21-13 lead, but coach Mel Kirn said the numbers didn’t tell the whole story.
“You think, ‘Well, we really didn’t accomplish nothing,’ but when you hold somebody to 13 points in a half, you’ve accomplished something,” Kirn said. “They’ve got a good team. That [Aby Amberger] girl and a couple of the others are really good athletes, and our defense did a good job.”
Neither team shot the ball particularly well in the opening two quarters, but St. Vincent’s defensive pressure, rebounding and discipline kept Perryville from capitalizing. The Lady Indians limited second chances and forced turnovers, preventing the Lady Pirates from getting comfortable offensively.
That defensive work paid off in a big way after halftime. St. Vincent came out of the locker room with renewed energy, scoring 22 points in the third quarter alone — topping its first-half output — while holding Perryville to just eight points. The surge turned a manageable lead into a commanding one, as the Lady Indians stretched the margin to 43-21 heading into the fourth.
“Our defense is what won this whole game for us,” Kirn said. “We got a lot of turnovers, and we pressed them some. I was very, very happy with the effort. From the tip to the end of the game, our girls gave it everything they had.”
The Lady Indians finished the game shooting 31.6 percent from the field, while Perryville struggled to a 24.4 percent shooting night. St. Vincent also held the advantage in points in the paint, rebounding and assists, consistently getting the ball to the right spots at the right time.
Kirn said one of the most encouraging aspects of the win was the play of his seniors. St. Vincent started all of its seniors in the Mayor’s Cup matchup, and Kirn said they set the tone with their intensity and leadership.
“We started all our seniors today, and they all stepped up awesome,” Kirn said. “I couldn’t ask for anything else.” Senior Brie Rubel led the Lady Indians with 18 points, followed by her sister, senior Kate Rubel, with 11. Amberger, a junior, led the Lady Pirates with 11.
For Perryville, the loss came despite a strong defensive effort and a high level of effort throughout the game, according to coach Jason Dreyer. The Lady Pirates were shorthanded, playing without one of their key players, Zoe Hoehn, and relied on a seven-player rotation for much of the contest.
“I felt like we played really, really hard,” Dreyer said. “The seven girls that we played tonight all played really well. Defensively, I felt like we probably played good enough to win.”
Offensively, however, Perryville couldn’t overcome its shooting struggles. The Lady Pirates shot just 21 percent from the field and 41 percent from the free-throw line, numbers Dreyer said made it difficult to keep pace with a team like St. Vincent.
“It’s hard to beat average teams like that,” Dreyer said. “But a good team like St. Vincent, you’re not going to beat them when you shoot the ball like that.”
Despite the result, Dreyer said there were positives to take away, particularly on the defensive end.
“If we can keep that energy and focus defensively, I feel really comfortable with that,” he said. “We’ve just got to continue to focus on rebounding and, offensively, getting people to make more shots.”
Kirn hopes that defense, effort and experience will continue to serve his team well as the season moves deeper into its most important stretch.
“It’s a good win for us,” Kirn said, “and we want to keep this thing going.”
