By John George
In two games and four halves of basketball, the Perham girls played pretty well. Unfortunately, that one poor half cost them in their opening round game at the Pelican Rapids Holiday Tournament last week.
The Lady Jackets had a solid 33-24 lead over a very good Battle Lake team last Thursday in their first round game, but were outscored 29-16 in the second half as Battle Lake pulled off a 53-49 win.
"We played well in the first half," Perham head coach Keith Johnson said. "In the second half, we had the shots, we just couldn't make them."
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Johnson also added that Battle Lake played much more aggressively than his squad, which shows in the free throw differential. Perham was just 2-for-3 from the line, while the Battlers went 10-for-22.
"They (Battle Lake) took it too us. Took us completely out of our offense," Johnson said. "They got us back on our heels and played a great second half."
Elisa Moenkedick led the Jackets with 17 points, 15 coming in the first half, and six rebounds. Tara Sailer just missed a double-double with eight points to go with 10 assists. Tiffany Schroeer added 11 points along with seven boards.
Rebound win
The Jackets responded to the previous night's loss with a 56-48 win over Sauk Centre to capture third place in the Valkyrie Bracket.
A strong first half by Becca Peloquin, who scored eight of her 12 points in the first 18 minutes, helped Perham open a 28-19 halftime lead.
The Jackets opened up their largest lead of the game, 13 points, with 13 minutes to play in the game when Sauk Centre started chipping away at the lead. The Streeters closed the gap to within four points with four minutes left.
A big 3-point shot by Rachel Pfeffer, her only points of the game, and clutch free throw shooting by freshman Steph Miller in the final minutes helped Perham preserve the victory. Miller went 8-for-11 from the line for the game to finish with eight points.
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"We got into some foul trouble early, but some girls stepped in and played well when we asked them to," Johnson said.
Perham's front line of Peloquin, Schroeer, Moenkedick and Sara Formanek combined for 34 Perham points and 27 rebounds.
"We picked up our defense at the end of the game," Johnson added. "We retook control of the rebounds after they made a run at us."
Tournament round-up
Battle Lake beat West Central Area, 66-44, for the championship in the Valkyrie Bracket. In the Valhalla Bracket, Underwood beat Pelican Rapids, 51-44 for the title, while Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley beat Norman County East for third place, 59-40.
Kickin' off 2008
It will be Country Night at Prairie Wind Gymnasium when the Lady Jackets will kick-off 2008 by hosting Staples-Motley tonight (Jan. 3). Perham has won the last two meetings against the Cardinals (2-6, 1-3 Mid-State) who are in the midst of a five-game losing streak.
Perham returns to Heart O' Lakes action on Jan. 8 when they take on West Central Area in Barrett. WCA (7-2, 5-1 HOL) is currently ranked No. 5-AA and has won three-straight against the Jackets.
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Pelican Rapids Holiday Tournament
Thursday, December 27
Battle Lake 53, Perham 49
Battle Lake 24-29--53
Perham 33-16--49
Jackets--Elisa Moenkedick 17, Tiffany Schroeer 11, Tara Sailer 8, Becca Peloquin 6, Steph Wieczorek 5, Sara Formanek 2.
Battlers--C. Colton 17, Evavold 17, L. Nelson 16, K. Colton 2, Koep 1.
Field Goals--P 19, BL 20; 3-pointers--P 3, BL 1; Free Throws--P 2/3, BL 10/22; Rebounds--P 28 (Schroeer 7); Assists--P 19 (Sailer 10); Steals--P 10 (Sailer 4); Turnovers--P 18; Team Fouls--P 20, BL 9.
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Friday, December 28
Perham 56, Sauk Centre 48
Sauk Centre 19-29--48
Perham 28-28--56
Jackets--Peloquin 12, Schroeer 10, Moenkedick 8, Formanek 8, Steph Miller 8, Sailer 7, Rachel Pfeffer 3.
Sauk Centre--Gruber 18, Olmscheid 12, Peschel 7, Borgmann 4, Rieland 3, Donnay 2.
Field Goals--P 20, SC 15; 3-pointers--P 2, SC 1; Free Throws--P 10/14, SC 13/20; Rebounds--P 35 (Peloquin, Formanek 8); Assists--P 15 (Sailer , Moenkedick 4); Steals--P 8 (Schroeer 3); Turnovers--P 20; Team Fouls--P 20, SC 19.
Heart O' Lakes Conf. All
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#10AA Hawley 4-0 5-2
#5AA WCA 5-1 7-2
D-G-F 5-1 5-4
Perham 4-2 6-3
Frazee 2-3 7-3
Lake Park-Audubon 2-3 5-4
Barnesville 2-3 3-5
Pelican Rapids 1-4 3-6
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Ulen-Hitterdal 1-5 2-6
Breckenridge 0-4 1-7
