A trip to Ballard resulted in two more losses for the Perry boys and girls varsity basketball teams.

The Jayettes lost to the Bombers 55-25, while the Bluejays fell 45-42. In the girls game, Ballard spent the whole time locking down Perry’s leading scorer, sophomore Molly Lutmer, and it paid dividends. Lutmer was held scoreless for the first time this season. Coach Chris Morrow said after the game, he’ll be working with Lutmer on moving without the ball, as she’s likely to see similar defensive efforts against her the rest of the season and beyond. Seniors Grace Stewart and Alyssa Kruger tried to pick up the slack on offense, scoring 10 and 9 points, respectively, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the balanced Bombers team.

Meanwhile in the boys game, the Bluejays played well throughout the game, and held the lead the entire first half. However, in the second half Ballard came back, and the lead went back and forth several times. Sloppy play and missed free throws in the final minutes doomed Perry to the three-point loss. The Bluejays were led by the efforts of seniors Connor Nielsen and Drew Levan, who scored 14 and 13 points, respectively. Rashon Ivory, Perry’s leading scorer on the season, struggled with early foul trouble and inconsistent shooting, resulting in just 9 points for the game. The win by Ballard meant the two teams split their season series, with both winning on their home court.

The losses drop the Jayettes to 2-17 and the Bluejays to 5-14 on the season. Their next games will be on Tuesday, as they travel to Boone for a doubleheader against the Toreadors. You can hear both games live on FM 99.7, AM 1310 KDLS, with the Perry Hy-Vee Pregame Show starting at 5:45 p.m.