The Perham girls came to play, though, handling the pressure and weathering a couple of first half runs by the Redhawks. Kaia Anderson hit a couple of big threes, scoring all 8 of her points in the first frame, while Willow Thiel was a beast, leading the Jackets with 14. Cora Grismer had the unenviable task of matching up with D1 recruit Addi Mack, who scored 14 points in transition but struggled to get anything against Grismer. Perham went into the break with a 33-31 lead. The two things that stood out was the exceptional ball movement and patience on offense and the unbelievably tough half-court defense, where Minnehaha could not get to the rim at all. 

It was evident that when Perham was able to dictate the game, the advantage was in their favor. Unfortunately, that isn’t how the second half played out. A three pointer by Grismer to start the half pushed the lead to 5. Tough defense by both sides ensued and Minnehaha held a 4 point lead halfway through the second half. It was a 6 point lead with 7 minutes to go in the when the Yellowjackets missed 2 free throws and Minnehaha hit threes on their next two possessions. What could’ve been a 4 point game ballooned to 12. Perham struggled to find the bottom of the net or take care of the ball at Minnehaha caught fire, hitting 6 more threes to end the game with 14 makes. It was a 17 point lead with just over 3 minutes to go but Perham wouldn’t score again and Minnehaha added to the lead, then would pile on 20 more points, many of those coming after Perham pulled the starters. Mack finished with 37, scoring 12 of the final 15 points of the game. 

Willow Thiel finished with a double-double, 23 points and 10 rebounds and was chosen as a player of the game along with Mack. 

Overall, the score was not indicative of the game, as it was a tight contest through most of the game. Perham struggled mightily with turnovers in the second half, coupled with shots not falling and it was over. AA basketball has two-time defending state champ Providence at the top, Albany and Minnehaha are the clear next two teams, and Perham is sitting with that next group of teams and showed they could play with the best.

Overall, I was very pleased with our effort and energy, on the court and on the bench! We know we can play with the best teams in the state but we also know we have a lot of areas to improve.