The Lake High School girls basketball team was an exception to the rule Saturday afternoon.
The top-seeded Blue Streaks overcame 6 of 24 floor shooting in the first half to defeat Perry 47-40 in the second game of the Division I sectional tournament at Walsh University. The Blue Streaks (20-1) will face Green in a sectional final Wednesday.
“It shows that we were strong, that we had will and the light of a streak,” Lake head coach Henry Cobb said. “We battled and we made some plays.”
Lake and Perry went back and forth, punch-for-punch in the second game.
Perry senior Kaitlyn Bucksar scored the first seven points of the contest, capitalizing on three early turnovers by the Blue Streaks.
The Panthers led 19-15 at the break.
Lake hung in partly by forcing 12 first-half turnovers while pressuring the Panthers up and down the floor.
Cobb delivered a stern message to his team at the break.
“He yelled at us and told us, ‘They’re playing harder, and let’s pick it up,’ ” said Lake junior McKenna Stephens, who led her team with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Message answered.
Lake’s offense attacked Perry in the second half, and the Blue Streaks’ defensive pressure never let up.
After Marissa Knop’s free throw with just over four minutes left in the game gave Perry a 38-36 lead, Lake closed with an 11-2 run. Baylen Drylund was fouled while laying it in with 44 seconds left, putting her team up by eight and sealing the victory.
Foul trouble created problems for the Panthers’ depth. Starter Marwah Hmeidan got hurt in the first quarter and was limited afterward. Knop took Hmeidan’s spot for the most part and finished with three points and five rebounds.
“Marissa came in and did a great job,” Perry head coach Abbey Allerding said. “I’m real pleased with her effort.
Cobb wasn’t surprised that the game was oriented toward defense.
“I told my wife if we scored 50 points we would win this game,” he said.
He also said the Panthers (10-11) presented plenty of problems.
“Perry is a good team,” Cobb said. “We knew we would have our hands full with them. Abbey has done a great job with that program.”
Audrey Myers added 11 points for Lake. Katy Frease led Perry with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Macy Byrd also scored 12 points and Bucksar added 11 for the Panthers.
at the 
BOXSCORE
Lake 47, Perry 40
Division I at Walsh University
PERRY (10-11)
Hmeidan 0 1-4 1, McCaulley 0 1-3 1, Bucksar 5 1-1 11, Frease 4 4-11 12, Byrd 3 4-7 12, Knop 1 1-2 3
Totals 13-36 12-28 40
LAKE (20-1)
Myers 4 1-5 11, Diesz 1 0-3 2, Stephens 8 3-4 19, Bornstein 1 0-1 2, Dyrlund 3 3-7 9, Libby 1 0-0 2, Hymes 1 0-1 2
Totals 19-49 7-21 47
