Canton, Ohio – The Laurel Gators led wire-to-wire in a 59-43 win over Perry in the Canton Regional semifinals Wednesday evening.

Laurel got off to a great start thanks to an opening triple from Jordyn Meyer. After a triple from Victoria Lynch of Perry, baskets from Tristan Williams and Liv Schneider made the score 13-5 in favor of the Gators. The Pirates responded with a 6-0 run to cut their deficit to 13-11. However, Laurel responded with buckets from Tristan Williams and Sydney Robinson to make the score 19-13 at the end of the first quarter.

The Gators would go on a 13-3 run to increase their lead to 32-16, thanks to a strong defensive effort leading to buckets on offense. Junior guard Tristan Williams, who holds multiple Division I offers and recently surpassed 1000 career points, was a huge part of the Gators’ run. She scored 16 of her 24 points in the first half. Laurel would lead 35-20 at halftime.

Perry looked to get back into the game, utilizing the efforts of Mia Lynch and Emily Mechenbier, who each scored four points in the stanza. However, the Gators maintained a double-digit lead, at 46-30 at the end of three.

The Pirates would trim their deficit to 46-35 in the fourth quarter, thanks to a triple from Victoria Lynch. But that was as close as the Pirates would get the rest of the way. Jordyn Meyer sank a triple, and  a pair of free throws following a steal, increasing the Gator lead to 51-35.

The two teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes. Tristan Williams sank a jumper, followed by a triple from Audrey Austin of Perry. On the following Pirate possesion, Mia Lynch drew contact for a bucket. The Gators then got an offensive board, and Reese Grammes sank a triple off an assist from Liv Schneider.

In the end, the Gators would add a pair of free throws for the final margin, and punch their ticket to regionals for the third consecutive season.

In addition to the 24 points from Tristan Williams, the Gators got 12 points from sophomore Jordyn Meyer, and six each from Liv Schneider, Reese Grammes, and Sydney Robinson.

Perry, who was making their first regional appearance since 2021, was led by senior Victoria Lynch, who scored 16 points. Freshman Emily Mechenbier finished with 11, followed by Mia Lynch with nine and Audrey Austin with seven.

Laurel School advances to the regional final where they will take on Streetsboro on Saturday, March 1st, at 1:00pm. The Rockets defeated Canfield in the other semifinal, 51-45.

Extended highlights below: