For the first time since the 2008-09 season, the Perham girls basketball team won the Heart O’Lakes conference championship with a 71-61 win over Hawley on Thursday night.
Four Yellowjackets (18-5) hit double-digit points to knock off Hawley (16-5) in a pivotal conference and Section 8-2A battle. Willow Thiel led the way for Perham with 20 points, while Greta Hillukka and Olivia Pilgrim had 18. Sydney Anderson also had 14 points.
Perham held onto its 44-31 halftime lead to snap Pelican Rapids’ three-year streak of conference championships.
In the 2008-09 season, Perham went unbeaten in conference play with a perfect 18-0 record. The Yellowjackets went 26-2 overall that season. They clinched their best conference record since an 11-1 mark in the 206-17 season when they tied for second place. Perham will have a chance to go undefeated in HOL play on Feb. 26 in Hawley.
Boys get back on track
The Perham boys basketball team got back in the win column on Thursday after a frustrating loss against Pelican Rapids Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Yellowjackets (11-7) dominated Pequot Lakes (15-5) 52-35 behind a big night from Soren Anderson. He had 27 points and 11 rebounds in the 17-point victory. Micah Thompson had 11 points as well.
On Tuesday night, the Pelican Rapids (16-5) Vikings bit the Yellowjackets for the second time this season. Timmy Guler had 23 points in a 64-59 win over Perham. Anderson had 24 points, while Thompson (12) and Chas Melvin got into double digits.
The Yellowjackets are now 5-3 in conference play this season. The Yellowjackets are still the second-highest rated team in Section 8-2A in the ORF ratings, according to Minnesota-Scores. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (14-4, 102.1), Perham (100.2), Pelican Raids (92.0), Hawley (13-5, 86.4), Warroad (19-3, 86.3), Thief River Falls (14-6, 83.4) and Fergus Falls (8-12, 83.4) all have QRF ratings above 80 points. The Section 8-2A tournament will be QRF seeded.
