Mission accomplished for Perry, Westport in Division V Round of 32, advance to Sweet 16

WESTPORT — Sarah Perry had a tall task heading into Friday’s playoff game against St. John Paul II.

The senior tri-captain was asked to do her best and blanket the Lions' leading scorer Maggie Crofford under the board.

It was mission accomplished for Perry.

“I told Sarah, she had the assignment to cover Crofford, their best player,” Wildcats head coach Jen Gargiulo said. “She’s skilled, athletic, and strong. I said ‘your job is to keep her off the boards’. Sarah fought hard tonight.”

Perry set the tone right from the start, igniting the sixth-seeded Wildcats to a runaway 55-29 win over 27th seed St. John Paul II in the Division V Round of 32 before a large gathering at Westport High School.

“I had a job tonight, and I was told from the beginning what I was supposed to do,” said Perry, who finished with seven points. “I fulfill that, and it’s nice to be successful.”

With the win, Westport (17-4) will host 11th seed Ayer Shirley on Tuesday, beginning at 6 p.m.

“I’m lucky,” Gargiulo said. “These girls work hard, and they are committed. They come in every day, and they are prepared. I think because they push one another, we did not lose that momentum from the last game, 10 days ago."

Leah Sylvan had a big game for the Wildcats. The senior tri-captain and 1,000-point scorer netted a game-high 22 points, including 13 in the first half. She also had five steals, five assists, and two blocks.

Korynne Holden finished with 12 points, four steals, and two assists.

TOURNAMENT:28 Fall River area girls basketball players to watch; unsung heroes in tourney

The contest was never in doubt for the Wildcats.

Westport opened with a 7-2 lead and took a 17-6 at the end of one quarter. The Lions (16-5) closed the gap to 19-12 before the Wildcats ended with 9-0 run to go into the locker rooms with a 28-12 lead.

“The experience on the Westport team was too much,” Lions head coach Gus Adams said. “Those kids play so well together and they’re well coached. [Leah] is incredible and so confident. We watched her on film and she looked good. Clearly, they were the better team.”

The lead grew to 41-19 after three quarters, heading into the final eight minutes.

"Jenna [Egbe] played amazing tonight and she played with a different intensity that I haven’t seen yet," Sylvain said. "I really hopes she keep doing it. Meghan [Molley] and Sarah [Perry] each played phenomenal. Julia [George] she was driving to the rim. I’ve been telling her all year to do that because she can make that. Korynne [Holden] is full of speedy energy. She always will be like that."

Unsung heroes

George stopped up her game with Wildcats, scoring six points in the third period. Senior Shelby Orr scored a late bucket in the fourth, which hype up Westport's bench.

What's next for the Lions?

"I told the kids you’re going to gain something from this," Adams said. "The more tournament you get under your belts, you’re going to be in good shape and confident."

The difference between last year's Westport team and this year's team

"This a different looking team than we had last year," Gargiulo said. "We graduated six people and I think they bought in from Day 1 and it just been awesome. It's awesome to go to the Sweet 16. It's great for both programs, boys and girls. They are just a great group of kids."

Stats

Freshman Raegan Dillion score a team-high eight points for the Lions. Westport had 32 rebounds overall

'We were not very good with the ball in the first half,' Adams said. "A lot of turnovers and positioning was a little off. Defense we played zone, they beat that. We went to man, they went to the bucket. Pick your poison. We did not have answer for it."

NOTES: The Lions came into Friday's Division V Round of 32 winners of eight of nine games .... Westport controlled the glass as Perry led the way with a game-high 12 rebounds. She also had two blocks and five steals. Egbe had nine rebounds and Molloy finished with six rebounds ... Sylvain connected on several 'Damian Lillard' type bombs from well beyond the arc in the second half.

Westport 55, St. John Paul II 29

St. John Paul II

Mario Jumper 3-0-6, Shea Ryan 2-0-4, Michaela Enright 2-0-5, Maggie Crofford 1-0-2, Rosanna Sullivan 1-0-2, Ella Cheney 1-0-2, Raegan Dillon 4-0-8. Totals: 14-0-29

Westport

Julia George 2-1-6, Jenna Egbe 2-2-6, Korynne Holden 5-1-12, Sarah Perry 2-3-7, Leah Sylvain 6-6-22, Tess Silvia 0-0-0, Meghan Molley 0-0-0, Shelby Orr 1-0-2. Totals: 18-13-55

SJP II 6 6 7 8 — 27

Westport 17 11 13 14 — 55

Three-pointers: St John Paul II — Enright ; Westport — Sylvain (4), Holden, George.

Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Westport advances to Sweet 16 game after beating St. John Paul II