North Penn shuts down Perk Valley in season opener

TOWAMENCIN >> A team with little varsity experience is gaining it in a hurry, as North Penn brought the defense Friday night and allowed just six fourth-quarter points on its way to a season-opening 45-38 victory over non-league rival Perkiomen Valley.

“We knew coming in that we didn’t have a lot of varsity experience so everything is a learning experience,” said Knights first-year coach Jen Carangi. “We would do a lot of great things but then give up a three at the other end because we had a lapse.

“But what I told the girls was in the fourth quarter, when it really mattered, they buckled down, they took care of the ball, they made foul shots down the stretch, and I’ll take it.”

The Knights (1-0) shut out the Vikings (0-1) in the final two minutes and closed out on a 14-3 run to hold off Pioneer Athletic Conference power Perkiomen Valley.

”We’ve been so excited to start our season,” said Carley Adams, whose ball handling and game-high 15 points were key for the Knights. “We were just so excited to come out here and show people what we can do.”

In the fourth quarter, North Penn drew even at 35 apiece on a jumper by Rachel Dunne. The two teams went back and forth until the Knights went ahead for good on a pair of free throws by Adams, making it 39-38.

“We had to bring up our intensity and we did,” said Adams, who sank five crucial free throws in the final frame.

The Knights got out on the Vikings’ shooters, and when Val McGriff (11 points) battled for a rebound on a missed three by PV’s Kelly Owens (12 points), McGriff was fouled and calmly sank both free throws to extend the margin to 42-38 with 1:40 to play.

Adams dribbled out the clock and sank three foul shots to help put it away for North Penn. Seven different players contributed points for the Knights.

“That’s the way our season’s gonna be this year, and we told them, we’re gonna need everybody to step up,” said Carangi. “We’re gonna need everybody to play, everybody to score, and whatever they give us is what we’re gonna take.”

North Penn begins play in the Suburban One League Continental Conference on Thursday with a home game against Souderton. The Vikings host Owen J. Roberts in a PAC Liberty clash on Wednesday.

“I know the final score was not in our favor,” PV first-year coach Kelly Sorber said of the opener, “but the way we played is showing teams that we can play with high-caliber teams this year, despite whatever we lost from last season.”

North Penn jumped out to a 6-1 lead early, not allowing Perk Valley to find open shots.

The Vikings got going on a three by Owens and then tightened things to 8-7 on a three by Gabby Marinacci.

Moments later, Marinacci got a strip at midcourt, streaking to the basket for the easy layup to put Perk Valley ahead for the first time, 9-8.

The Vikings ended the first quarter with an 11-10 edge.

Both offenses started to get into more of a flow in the second quarter, with a three by Adams drawing things even at 15 apiece.

Emma Miley put PV ahead for the last time in the first half, making it 17-15 in the midst of a 12-4 run by the Knights.

Seven first-half points by Adams and six by McGriff had North Penn ahead at the break, 24-21.

Perk Valley would hit six threes in the contest.

“We are a three-point shooting team,” Sorber said. “Most of my girls that step out on the court can shoot a three.”

The Vikings went up 35-31 early in the fourth on a three by Owens, but open shots were harder to come by in the final minutes.