WILLARD, Ohio — Baseball season can wait for at least another week. Sandusky Perkins girls basketball coach Ray Neill has other commitments after leading the Pirates to a 66-52 win over Shelby in the Division II sectional championship game Thursday at Robert L. Haas Gymnasium.
Neill moonlights as Perkins’ wildly successful baseball coach — he piloted the program to the Division II Final Four last spring. Baseball practice began Monday.
“I’ve got five or six assistant coaches who have been with me for a long time. They are taking care of baseball,” Neill said. “I’ll do double-duty for as long as these girls allow me to.”
The Pirates (14-8) advanced to next week’s Ashland district thanks largely to Emily Wagner, Hallee Smith and Haylee Darr. The trio combined for 56 of Perkins’ 66 points.
“Those three have been there all year for us,” Neill said. “They are our big three and they got it done for us again.”
Shelby trailed 10-8 after one and 18-14 at the half. Every time the Whippets got close in the second half, Wagner, Smith or Darr had an answer.
“They shot very well, especially from behind the (3-point) arc,” Shelby coach Natalie Lantz said. “It helps when you’re hitting and we certainly were not.
“I think we settled for a lot of deep shots when we actually hit on our drives. We told them to keep penetrating and attacking, but we just kept settling.”
Shelby trailed 46-40 going to the fourth, but Wagner’s traditional three-point play on Perkins’ first possession of the period gave the Pirates a 49-40 lead.
It was an uphill struggle the rest of the evening for the Whippets. Shelby was forced to gamble defensively and the Pirates took advantage with several uncontested layups and mid-range jumpers.
“Our defense is set that way. We do take some gambles,” Lantz said. “Occasionally they are going to get some layups, but that is where we have to put up the extra hustle.”
Under Pressure: Neill was pleased with how the Pirates handled Shelby’s pressure. Perkins turned the ball over 18 times.
“They are a run-and-jump team,” Neill said. “There were times when there were three of them on our girls. We are normally a deliberate team, but we had to attack the basket and take advantage of that.”
Balance: Jackie Garrett led Shelby with 18 points. Maddie Fidler had 12, while Kennadie Goth and Gabby Stephens each had eight.
“We knew they had some girls who could shoot the ball,” Neill said. “We had to identify shooters and try to limit their looks.”
Bright Future: Shelby’s 13-player tournament roster included nly two seniors: Stephens and Bri Heydinger.
“I feel bad for our seniors because they don’t have a next year,” Lantz said. “We do have a lot of kids coming back. I hope they take this to heart and learn and come back a lot stronger next year.”
