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Thiel's 31 Point Effort Carries Yellowjackets to 67-44 Win Over Otters

By Craig Olson, 02/18/23, 9:45PM CST

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After Fergus Falls scored a basket to pull to within two points at 23-21, the Perham girls’ basketball team went on a fourteen point run to open up a 37-21 lead and maintained a double digit lead the rest of the night, leading 38-26 at the half and recording a 67-44 victory over the Otters.  Perham ran their record against Section 8AA opponents to a perfect 15-0 with the win.

Junior Willow Thiel had a double double with 31 points and 13 rebounds.  She was joined in double figures by sharpshooting Mya Morris who connected on four 3’s for a total of 12 points.  Kaia Anderson added 8 points off the bench.  Olivia Pilgrim (4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists), Kennedy Pilgrim (4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) and Ryleigh Mickelson (2 points, 5 assists, 6 steals, 2 rebounds) were also very productive with their minutes.

Fergus Falls jumped out early with some good three point shooting.

"We figured Fergus would come out ready to go,” said Perham Head Coach TJ Super.

Perham was down early after Fergus made three early threes, but the Yellow jackets made a run, especially the girls off the bench that turned the deficit into a seven point advantage.

"Every night it seems that our bench continues to give us great minutes," noted Coach Super. "Every night it seems like someone steps up and makes a huge impact on the game. What a luxury it is to know that we can go to our bench and have girls that can really make plays!”

Then it was Willow Thiel’s turn, as she went to the basket a bunch of times, and had some tough finishes scoring 15 points in the first half. Mya Morris had a stretch where she got loose and had three consecutive threes. The second half saw more of the same for Perham.   Thiel, who earlier in the season scored her 1000 career point, moved into third place on the all-time scoring list.

Brynn Sternberg led the Otters with 13 points, including a pair of 3’s, and freshman Hattie Fullhart finished with 11, making all five of her free throw attempts.  Cyntreya Lockett had nine points, with eight of them coming after halftime.

Fergus Falls (6-17) will host Alexandria on Tuesday and will finish up regular season play at Bemidji on Thursday.

Perham (22-2) has their regular season finale on Thursday in Thief River Falls.