Military mom’s surprise return from Afghanistan lifts Perkiomen Valley to win
GRATERFORD >> Allysion Loveless got an early Christmas present Friday.
Loveless and her Perkiomen Valley basketball teammates gave themselves another that night. It stands to reason both will be cherished long after the holidays have gone by.
Loveless’ mother, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Lisa Wilson, returned home early from a deployment to Afghanistan, where she was Commander, DLA Support Team. Col. Wilson was introduced prior to the Vikings’ game with Phoenixville, embracing her daughter and posing for photos during the pre-game moment.
Then the game started, and the Vikings effectively went wire-to-wire in a 57-46 victory over the Phantoms. Scoring 10 unanswered points to start the fourth quarter, PV effectively kept Phoenixville (6-2) from making its own 10-3 run over the final 2:19 dash the Vikes’ winning designs in this Pioneer Athletic Conference divisional crossover game.
Welcome home Lt Col Lisa Wilson
Commander, DLA Support Team – Afghanistan 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/RVqmyw98lJ— Coach Sorber (@CoachSorberPV) December 22, 2018
Prior to the start of the game, Loveless, a junior, spoke about how happy she was that her mother was returning home from her deployment in approximately two weeks — that before seeing Col. Wilson walk through the gym doors at the conclusion of the national anthem.
“She had no idea,” Wilson said.
The feel-good moment was a lift the Vikings carried into the contest.
“We kept some momentum,” first year PV head coach Kelly Sorber said. “We looked like the team that practices having the momentum.”
Perk Valley played at a higher level belying its 2-5 record. The Vikings last year made the PIAA 6A Championships and were PAC runner-up while being led by a pair of since-graduated Mercury All-Area first team choices in forwards Megan Jonassen (All-Area Player of the Year, Fordham) and Taylor Hamm (University of the Sciences).
A Kelly Owens’ 3-pointer broke up a 5-5 tie Phoenixville forged with Aubrie Breisblatt converting a tradition three-point play just under three minutes into the game, and the Vikings led the rest of the way.
Owens got six of her 10 points from outside the 3-point arc. Gabby Marinacci, the team’s scoring leader with 12, had five in a first quarter PV took by a 12-9 count with her and Owens getting five apiece.
“It was a case of us, in general, coming out more relaxed,” Sorber said. “We took care of their press, and got points off the press.”
The Vikes got their first double-figure lead late in the second half, on the way to going up 27-19. A six-point run early in the third helped them to a 39-34 lead even while Phoenixville strung together eight, 3s by Ameerah Green and Aubrie Breisblatt (game-high 17) bookending Nailah Green’s second-shot basket off a steal at the 3:43 mark.
“That run in the third, our shooting started to improve,” first-year Phoenixville floor boss Mike Behnke said. “We’re a good technique team, priding ourselves on our positioning and shooting.”
Perk Valley offset that with a solid rebounding game. Sorber attributed that to a high level of player contributions off the boards.
“We had a lot of girls step up and rebound,” she said. “We have players out of position this year, post players guarding. They’re driving to get boards.”
“We’re rebounding physically,” Kate Hurd, a senior guard/forward, added.
Behind Breisblatt, Ameerah Green scored 13 points for Phoenixville. She finished the night with a trio of 3s, all in the second half.
“We’re off to the best start Phoenixville has ever seen,” Behnke said, adding the team will be taking a break from game action over the holidays. “We’ll be reworking some wrinkles in our offense. I believe you build early in the season, then space off.”
PV, in turn, will return to the court next Friday. The Vikings will host neighboring Souderton in a 7 p.m. non-leaguer.
NOTES >> Perk Valley had better free-throw accuracy numbers, making 11 of 16 while Phoenixville was 8-for-17. … Both teams made six 3-pointers on the night.
