Visiting Ballard lifted their record to 5-5 overall and 4-1 in Raccoon River Conference girls action with a 38-24 win over host Perry Friday.
Those are the raw numbers — just the facts, as it were — but the numbers alone fail to tell the entire story.
Perry (2-10, 0-5) faced a 14-4 deficit after one quarter and entered the intermission trailing, 23-10. The Jayettes found themselves looking at a 29-15 gap with eight minutes to play, but did not relent.
Showing a level of energy and hustle that had to please head coach Chris Morrow, Perry managed to twice trim the gap to seven points. The hosts were within 31-24 with three minutes remaining, but struggled in the final minutes — as they had in the first quarter — to find any kind of open shot, and were unable to complete the rally.
Free throws were not a factor, with Ballard sinking 3-of-6 and Perry 3-of-7.
Sophomore guard Molly Lutmer connected on four 3-pointers to lead the Jayettes with 14 points. Grace Stewart had four points and Alyssa Kruger three, with Gabby West adding a basket and Isabel Saemisch a free throw.
Juliana Vier had 15 points for Ballard, with Tara Sanders and Molly Ihle scoring eight points apiece. Seven points from Maggie Larson and two from Karlee Ahrenholtz capped the scoring.
Perry hosts Boone Tuesday and travels to Bondurant-Farrar Friday.
