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Perham Girls Stop Cinderella Run by Wadena-Deer Creek to Claim 8AA Title

By Craig Olson, 03/11/23, 11:15AM CST

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Perham built a 42-24 halftime lead over Wadena-Deer Creek in the Section 8AA Girls’ Basketball Championship game on Friday night in Detroit Lakes.  The Wolverines fought back, holding Perham to just 16 second half points, but couldn’t overcome the deficit and came up short by the final score of 58-44.  WDC held Perham to just 3 second half field goals.

 

“Ran into a very tough Perham team,” said Wadena-Deer Creek Head Coach Jordan Cresap.  “Towards the end of the first half, we struggled to rebound and had a few lapses which led to a 42-24 halftime deficit. Loved our gritty effort to fight our way back into the game in the second half, just couldn't get past that 7 point barrier. Perham's pressure defense, depth, and athleticism can a lot of times put opponents away, so I'm really proud we hung in there. Credit to Perham and their performance tonight. They are a great team and we hope they represent section 8AA well down at state.” 

Willow Thiel once again sparked the Yellowjackets, scoring a game high 18 points.  She was joined in double figures by Cora Grismer with 13 and Kennedy Pilgrim with 11.

Madison Carsten led the Wolverines with 13 points.  Addyson Gravelle and Payton Gravelle added 9 points each.

Wadena-Deer Creek completes an 18-12 season with a tremendous tournament run which featured wins over sixth-seeded Hawley, third-seeded Pelican Rapids and second-seeded Thief River Falls.

Perham (26-3) will open Class AA State Tournament play on Wednesday at 8:00pm at Maturi Pavilion on the campus of the University of Minnesota.  Their opponent will be third-seeded Albany.  The Huskies are 28-1 and are riding a 22 game winning streak into the tournament.  They captured the Section 6AA title with a 49-41 win over Sauk Centre on Friday night.  Their only loss came at New London-Spicer, 45-33, on December 20.

Here are the quarterfinal round matchups on Wednesday:
Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial vs #1 Providence Academy (6:00pm Williams Arena)
#5 Minnehaha Academy vs #4 New London-Spicer (8:00pm Williams Arena)
Crosby-Ironton vs #2 Goodhue (6:00pm Maturi Pavilion)
Perham vs Albany #3 (8:00pm Maturi Pavilion)