Central girls basketball team survives Perryville scare

Only after Allison Moldenhauer's buzzer-beating 3-point attempt caromed off the rim could Central coach Sherri Shirrell breathe a sigh of relief.

She had just witnessed her Tigers weather a storm of turnovers and missed opportunities, but still manage a 42-39 girls basketball victory over Perryville on Thursday night.

"It looked good from where I was," Shirrell said of Moldenhauer's uncontested attempt from just beyond the top of the key.

The win didn't come easy. Perryville effectively shut down Alayah Cooper-Johnson, the Tigers' leading scorer, double- and triple-teaming the senior forward whenever she got the ball near the paint.

The result was that Cooper-Johnson didn't score until the 4 minute, 35 second mark of the second quarter, her layup knotting the score at 11-11.

"That was our focus," Perryville coach Vicki Lohmann said about going all-out to limit Cooper-Johnson's touches. "We know how solid she is. A couple of their other players stepped up and hit some shots, but we would give those points up to hold Alayah below her average."

That's precisely what happened. With Cooper-Johnson bottled up, senior guard Bailey Kratochvil scored on a drive and a pullup jumper, and senior forward Katie Williams added a pair of putbacks, the final one beating the halftime buzzer and giving the Tigers a 21-14 lead at intermission.

"That's what we've got to have," Shirrell said. "We can't be one-dimensional. But then we've got to make those easy shots."

Misses plagued the Tigers (11-13) throughout the game. They were just 10 of 33 from the field in the first half, and 17 of 60 for the game, most misses coming from point-blank range and allowing Perryville to remain within striking distance.

Except the Pirates failed to take advantage. Perryville (12-9) was just 1 of 11 from the field and 1 of 7 from the free-throw line in the first half. The Pirates finished the game 16 of 48 from the field and a woeful 5 of 16 from the charity stripe.

"Oh, the missed free throws," Lohmann lamented. "That was the game right there."

Perryville stayed in the game because of the Tigers' misses and their own defensive pressure, which forced 17 turnovers -- 10 in the second half. Twelve were steals by the Pirates' aggressive defense.

"We knew we could pressure some of their ballhandlers and get some steals," Lohmann said. "It would've been nice if we converted on some of those."

Cooper-Johnson -- who finished with 15 points, 17 rebounds and four steals -- began to assert herself in the third period. Her layup off an assist from Maddie Daum put the Tigers up 34-25 after three periods.

But Moldenhauer hit a 3-pointer from the left wing and scored on a drive to open the fourth quarter to keep the Pirates close. And after Natalie Gremaud, who led all scorers with 18 points, drove the lane for a layup, Perryville trailed just 37-35 with 3:15 left.

Cooper-Johnson answered with a drive of her own to make it 39-35, but Desiree Brown hit two free throws at the 1:55 mark to make it a two-point game at 39-37. The teams traded points before Central's Kadie Orenstein hit one of two from the line with 16.8 remaining to put the Tigers up 42-39.

Perryville 11 3 11 14 -- 39

Central 8 13 13 8 -- 42

PERRYVILLE (39) -- Natalie Gremaud 18, Ahnie Hoff 2, Allison Moldenhauer 16, Desiree Brown 3. FG: 16, FT: 5-16, F: 11. (3-pointers: Moldenhauer 2. Fouled out: none)

CENTRAL (42) -- Abby Shupert 2, Alayah Cooper-Johnson 15, Kelly Morton 6, Bailey Kratochvil 8, Kadie Orenstein 2, Kassidy Pannier 3, Katie Williams 6. FG: 17, FT: 7-11, F: 12. (3-pointers: Pannier 1. Fouled out: Kratochvil)

JV -- Central won 44-24.