Pirates’ quick start leads to win over Twin Rivers

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The Perryville girls basketball team started fast and never looked back.
The Pirates defeated Twin Rivers 55-31 in the opening round of the Fredericktown Tournament on Tuesday at Fredericktown High School.
First year coach Jason Dreyer was happy with the victory, but said there was plenty of things to work on.
“We pretty well defensively,” Dreyer said. “Through the first two games it seems like we have had consistent efforts on that end. On offense, we still need to work some kinks out and I think we are standing around a lot. I think our effort has been good as well.”
Perryville junior Brooklyn Moll led the way with 19 points, while Kyla Schurbusch had 14 to pace the Pirates. Senior Rachel Riney had eight points and Carlie Holdman followed with seven.
Perryville (2-0) started the game quickly as Moll hit a three-pointer in the first minute and the Pirates were off from there. Alyssa King followed with a putback and Schnurbusch converted a steal into a lay-up and she buried a three-pointer later as Perryville built a 13-1 lead with one minute left in the first quarter.
Twin Rivers sophomore Maci Hockersmith, who had 12 points for the Royals, made a three with 20 seconds left in the opening quarter which proved to be the first field goal made by the Royals in the game. Dreyer was proud of his team’s defensive effort in the first quarter which forced Twin Rivers into six turnovers.

“We knew that if we kept them outside of the paint and limited them to one shot that they would probably have a hard time scoring,” he said. “Out of the gate we felt like we did that and that was why we were able to build such a big lead.”
The momentum continued for the Pirates as Moll hit a pair of three-pointers in the second quarter and had five for the game.
“She is a good shooter when she has her feet set,” Dreyer said. “I felt like everyone helped set her up with passes from the inside and she was the beneficiary of people penetrating and kicking the pass out to her.”
This was the second runaway game for Perryville in their two games so far this season. Perryville defeated Grandview 53-24 on Nov. 22. There was a common theme for both games for Dreyer: defense.
“Our defense has been consistent and our rebounding for the most part has been there as well,” Dreyer said. “When you hold teams to around 30 points you should win most, if not all, of your games.”
Perryville will play Park Hills Central on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in their second game of the tournament. Park Hills defeated Twin Rivers 81-18 on Monday, so Dreyer knows it will be a tough challenge.
“They are one of the better teams in the state,” Dreyer said of Park Hills, “It will be a good measuring stick for us to see where we are at this point of the season.”