Perryville girls cruise past crosstown rivals

PERRYVILLE -- Junior Emily Hanquist looked impressive in her first ever start against rival St. Vincent on Saturday evening.

Hanquist, a first-year starter for the Pirates who had played off the bench against the Indians the past two years, netted a game-high 19 points.

She and her Perryville teammates went on a 13-2 run in the middle of the first half to put away St. Vincent early. Perryville built a 17-point halftime lead and cruised to a 67-40 victory at the Perry Park Center.

"It was very important [to get an early lead] because this is a big game," Hanquist said. "We're both town people. When we were younger, we used to always all play together. We used to play with Courtney Besand and Amanda Wengert and Anne Steele and Elizabeth Martin."

Hanquist admitted she has been a little surprised by the way she has been scoring on varsity this season. She said when she played with the freshman team and the junior varsity in past years, she averaged about 10 points per game.

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.comPerryville senior Alicia Kueker, center, spins away from St. Vincent defenders after grabbing a rebound Saturday at the Perry Park Center in Perryville.

Hanquist has been a consistent scorer all year for the Pirates. She entered Saturday's game averaging 13.9 points per contest and has been in double digits in every game this season except for Perryville's first two contests against Notre Dame and Jackson.

Hanquist, who is 5 foot 9, has scored 15 or more points in eight games and 20 or more points in two games.

"She has really stepped up," Perryville senior Ava Johnson said. "She improved a lot since her freshman year -- calming down her shot and not being so crazy with her movements. We definitely look for that in her -- to step up and be aggressive and create shots when we need shots."

Perryville (9-6) led 10-7 late in the first quarter, but went on a 9-2 run over the final 2 minutes, 30 seconds of the period to take a 19-9 lead. Over the stretch, Johnson netted her first seven points of the contest. She finished just behind Hanquist with 17 points.

"Normally when we play St. Vincent, it's just a huge mental block and they're our rivals and we just get all nervous and we don't normally play as good as we could [early]," Johnson said. "But I think today we got our nerves out and we weren't going to give them a chance of hope. We just wanted to get it and make our point."

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.comSt. Vincent junior Amanda Wengert draws a foul from Perryville defender MaKenzie Schirmer Saturday evening, January 31, 2009, at the Perry Park Center in Perryville.

The Pirates began the second quarter on a 4-0 run to increase the lead to 23-9. They never let St. Vincent (4-12) cut the lead to fewer than nine points for the rest of the contest.

The Indians missed a number of high-percentage shots near the basket in the first half.

"This a big deal to come to the Perry Park Center and the kids come out a little nervous and it takes a little bit to settle in," St. Vincent coach Mary Rozier said. "They [the Pirates] are a good team. They are quick and they are fast and they are a little stronger than we are. But we fought to the finish."

Perryville held St. Vincent to fewer than 10 points in each of the first three quarters.

"We started out in a box and one, putting myself on their quickest ball handler, Courtney Besand," Johnson said. "She creates most of their shots or plays. And I just tried to frustrate her from the beginning."

Besand scored just four points. Wengert led the Indians with 13 points.

The Pirates led 35-18 at halftime. They outscored the Indians 19-7 in the third quarter to build a 54-25 before winning by 27 points.

"This is our rival, and even though it's not the Mayor's Cup anymore, it still feels good," Johnson said. "It's just good to win it."

@z_agate_HSbasketball_linescore:St. Vincent99715--40

Perryville19161913--67

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:ST. VINCENT (40) -- Chelsie Boxdorfer 5, Courtney Besand 4, Lindsey Wehmeyer 11, Amanda Wengert 13, Anne Steele 2, Briana Burroughs 2 Alyse Wheeler 3. FG 15, FT 9-18, F 11. (3-pointers: Boxdorfer 1)

PERRYVILLE (67) -- Alicia Kueker 9, Ava Johnson 17, Makenzie Schirmer 8, Emily Hanquist 19, Lilly Johnson 2, Natalie Bauwens 6, Samantha Amberger 6. FG 31, FT 3-12 F 16. (3-pointers: Kueker 1, Johnson 1)