The Perry basketball teams didn’t get the new year started the way they wanted Friday night losing to Ballard in a varsity girl boy doubleheader in Huxley. The Jayettes played without star guard Molly Lutmer who is nursing a sore ankle. Ballard opened up a 21-0 lead and led 41-5 at halftime before ending with a 66-13 victory. Perry finished with 1 two-point basket.
The Perry boys played without top scorer Muhammad Abdelnabi due to a suspension and struggled to find their groove offensively losing to Ballard 64-19. Perry trailed only by 10 points late in the first half but a 10-0 run in the final two minutes along with a strong start to the second half put the game away. Keeghan West led Perry with 8 points.