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Perrydale basketball teams face tough road

Girls, boys look to do damage in Class 1A playoffs

February 22, 2012

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: GIRLS: PERRYDALE 44, PORTLAND WALDORF 27

The Pirates defeated Portland Waldorf in Tuesday's Class 1A first-round playoff game, advance to second round at McKenzie for 7 p.m. tip Friday.

PERRYDALE -- The Perrydale boys basketball team made it into the Class 1A playoff first round with a big win over St. Paul last week, while the girls made their playoff road a bit tougher with a loss to their rival Buckaroos.

Either way, the Pirates have some work to do.

"It was really about how we came out and competed more than anything else," Perrydale girls coach Luke Lindell said of his squad, which dropped Saturday's Casco League championship game to St. Paul, 36-19.

"I don't think we came out to win -- it was more of a `not to lose.'"

The No. 6 Pirates (19-7) faced elimination in Tuesday's first round, when they hosted the Oregon School Activities Association's power rankings No. 11 team, Portland Waldorf (18-6), after press time.

The teams split during the regular season -- Perrydale won 52-34 in its season opener, while Portland Waldorf defeated the Pirates 54-23 on Jan. 25.

"It's a good matchup for us," Lindell said. "But we're going to have to get it done on the defensive end of the floor.

"When we're effective, we're creating our offense off our defense, and that's going to be a huge key. Can we do that?"

If the Pirates win, they'll head to No. 1 McKenzie for Friday's second round.

The Perrydale boys, on the other hand, defeated rival St. Paul 49-43 Feb. 14 for a spot in the playoff first round, and will travel to No. 25 Triangle Lake (16-11) for a 7 p.m. matchup Wednesday.

Perrydale (14-11), ranked No. 27 in the OSAA's power rankings, split with Triangle Lake during the regular season, defeating the Lakers 54-45 on Dec. 8 but falling 60-47 in the title game of the Perrydale Tournament Dec. 28.

If the Pirates win, they'll travel to No. 3 Elkton for a Saturday second round game.