A strong defensive response in the second half helped St. Vincent erase an early deficit and pull out a 31-26 victory over Perryville on Saturday in the junior varsity girls’ game at the 26th annual Mayor’s Cup at the Perry Park Center in Perryville.
Perryville controlled much of the first half, using an active transition game to take an 18-12 lead at the break. The Pirates continued to apply pressure coming out of halftime and still held a slim advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
That’s when St. Vincent changed the momentum.
After struggling defensively in the opening two quarters, the Lady Indians locked in on that end of the floor, holding Perryville to just eight points in the second half — including a single point in the fourth quarter — while scoring 19 of their own to close the game on a decisive 19-8 run.
“It was definitely a tough battle,” said St. Vincent coach Jack Rigdon. “We really pride ourselves on the defensive end, and I’d say in the first half we didn’t do a very good job guarding. The girls responded in the second half, and that made the difference.”
St. Vincent leaned on its full-court pressure down the stretch, forcing turnovers and disrupting Perryville’s rhythm during the final minutes. The Lady Indians also knocked down timely shots late to swing the game in their favor.
Freshman Emery Amschler led St. Vincent with 14 points, while sophomore Brynn Renner added 10. The win improved the Lady Indians to 10-9 on the season and marked their sixth consecutive victory.
“It was a complete team effort,” Rigdon said. “All eight girls contributed today. We started hitting some big shots toward the end, but it really came down to our defense and the pressure we put on them.”
For Perryville, freshman Lauren Sattler scored 12 points and freshman Karlyle Stell added 9. The Pirates fell to 7-4.
Perryville coach Amanda Nuyt said turnovers and late-game mistakes proved costly after her team led for most of the contest.
“We were a little excited, trying to push in transition, and the turnovers hurt us,” Nuyt said. “It came down to some mental errors in the last few minutes — fouling when we didn’t need to, and not fouling when we should have.”
Despite the loss, Nuyt praised her team’s effort and noted the atmosphere played a role.
“Some of these girls haven’t played in an environment like this,” she said. “I appreciated the effort, and we’ll learn from it.”
