Perryville girls improve to 14-4

~ The Pirates downed their crosstown foes, St. Vincent, 45-33.

PERRYVILLE -- Perryville senior Kendra Schilli knew what was at stake when her team played in-town rival and conference foe St. Vincent on Saturday evening.

"I was nervous as heck," she said. "I wanted to puke,"

The senior admitted she was feeling anxious because three things were on the line when the two schools met -- first place in the Jefferson County Conference, town-bragging rights and the chance for some payback after the Indians beat the Pirates last year.

Schilli scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to help the Pirates past St. Vincent 45-33 in front of a full crowd at the Perry Park Center.

St. Vincent senior Lacey Siegmund looked to shoot over Perryville defender Ava Johnson Saturday, January 26, 2008, in Perryville. (Kit Doyle)

The win helped the Pirates remain perfect in the Jefferson County Conference at 6-0.

They still have three more conference games left, the most important, Schilli said, being Monday against Crystal City.

"This year was our revenge trip," said Schilli, who has been a member of the varsity team all four years and has now beaten the Indians three of four times. "For me going out as a senior, it's bragging rights for the rest of my life. I didn't want to go out with a bad taste in my mouth. ... And [conference wise], this one topped the cake. We have one more big game against Crystal City, which we have on Monday. And the other two teams we have we blow out every year by at least 40 or 50 points."

Perryville junior Ava Johnson also had a strong game, netting a team-high 16 points.

The game was low scoring early with the Perryville leading 8-4 after the first quarter.

Perryville's Kendra Schilli, right, drove to the basket Saturday.

The Pirates outscored the Indians 12-8 in the second quarter to enter halftime with a 20-12 lead. Schilli and Johnson combined to score eight of their team's 12 points in the second quarter.

"She gets it done when we need it," Schilli said of Johnson. "So she's a good person to have on the team."

The Pirates also stepped up their defensive pressure as the first half progressed, making 15 steals in the game and also keeping the Indians from consistently scoring inside.

Johnson, who remembered how difficult it was to lose last season even though she could not recall the score, said the Pirates played with a great deal of intensity.

"It was an adrenaline rush," Johnson said. "And if you miss it, you've got to cover up on 'D.' Once a year we play them and everyone comes and it's a big thing."

In the second half, Johnson and Schilli picked up right where they left off.

The two combined to score their team's first nine points of the third quarter to build a 29-17 lead with 3 minutes, 27 remaining in the period.

From there, the Pirates hit their free throws down the stretch, going 10-of-16 in the fourth, and held on for the 12-point win.

"I have a good taste in my mouth coming out of this one, and I'm happy with what we've done," Schilli said. "I can't take anything back. I left everything out on the court."

Courtney Besand scored 14 points and Lacey Siegmund netted 10 points for St. Vincent.

"We came out there not ready to play and we were playing not to lose instead of to win," Siegmund said. "They are great ball handlers and we knew we'd have to play tough against them."

Perryville 8 12 9 16 -- 45

St. Vincent 4 8 8 13 -- 33

Perryville (45) -- Alicia Kueker 4, Ava Johnson 16, Nicole Gremaud 4, Kendra Schilli 11, Alyssa Bauwens 4, Makenzie Schirmer 6. FG 16, FT 13-22, F 18 (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)

St. Vincent (33) -- Lacey Siegmund 10, Kelsey Cissell 4, Courtney Besand 14, Lindsey Wehmeyer 2, Brooke Brown 1, Elizabeth Rozier 2. FG 11, FT 11-17, F 16 (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)