All the pieces come together for PAC-10 champ Perkiomen Valley

ROYERSFORD >> There was something missing.

When the key members around the Perkiomen Valley girls basketball program looked within themselves, they realized it.

They weren’t ready to hoist the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship plaque last season.

“Until you’ve been there, it’s hard to understand the kind of pressure and atmosphere that (the PAC-10 championship) is. I think last year we just weren’t there yet mentally,” Vikings head coach John Strawoet said.

For as promising of a season the Vikings had in 2014-15, they still couldn’t claim a win over Boyertown in what has become the defining rivalry of the PAC-10 in the past two seasons.

On Dec. 8, that changed. So did the Perkiomen Valley basketball team.

“Beating them early in the season (39-32 on Dec. 8) let us know that we could beat them. That mystique of never having beaten them was gone,” senior KT Armstrong said. “We went in believing we could win. That was big.”

Belief has carried the Vikings to greater heights this season, as evidence by the No. 2 seed in the District 1-AAAA playoff field.

It carried them to a new place Wednesday night as well when PV put on a comprehensive performance punctuated by rebounding dominance in a 45-25 victory over defending champion Boyertown to win its first PAC-10 girls basketball title.

Belief was one large piece of the PV puzzle. But it wasn’t the only one.

The team certainly benefitted from the return of Armstrong, the team’s leading scorer, for her final year, sophomore forward standouts Meg Jonassen and Taylor Hamm (who had 13 and 11 rebounds respectively), plus senior Tori Walter.

Hanan Richmond, who transferred to PV from Chicago entering this season (along with sister Iman), didn’t know of her new team’s history with Boyertown. But she wanted to be a part of changing it.

“In practice, preseason and in season, KT and the seniors talked about how they’d never beaten Boyertown. Ever,” Richmond said. “I was like, ‘Really?’ Well we’re going to change that this year.’
“Once we beat them one time we felt like we could do it again. But we had to keep working hard and never taking them for granted because they’re a very good team. Show them who’s boss basically, and show them why we beat them the first time and why we can beat them again.”

Richmond – who tied for game scoring honors with Armstrong and Jonassen with 12 points apiece Wednesday – brought a versatile, athletic presence to nearly complete PV’s lineup.

End of 3rd quarter, Jonassen put back for 27-16 lead pic.twitter.com/vW9WwnlMvh

— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) February 11, 2016

“I saw that we have great shooters – KT, Tori, Ashley Bangert – and I felt that I could penetrate the ball and get after the defense,” Richmond said. “And we have great post players in Taylor Hamm and Meg Jonassen. Once you give them the ball it’s over. They’re going to score.”

Plus rotation pieces Bangert, who has forced her way into the lineup as a freshman, and Bridgette Bonjo, the pieces have come together for the 22-2 Vikings.

“We’re just a more mature team than last year. We’re deeper. We’ve now got Hanan, Ashley Bangert and Bridgette stepping up,” Armstrong said. “I think we’re smarter and mentally ready to go. Last year we might have been a little afraid to play (Boyertown in the final) after losing to them twice. This year we came in knowing we could beat them.”

Once the pieces were all on the table, putting together the puzzle wasn’t so difficult, according to Armstrong.

“Last year the roles were a little confusing but this year everyone has a load they know they can carry,” she said. “North Penn was our first game this year and we played really well and it felt like it clicked right away. It wasn’t that hard to build the chemistry.”

The first half Wednesday was a grinding affair, much like their first matchup. Like that encounter, the Vikings opened up their arsenal in the third quarter and came away celebrating.

“We’ve never won a PAC-10 (girls basketball) championship in all of PV school history,” Richmond said. “We want a banner in our gym. Tonight we got it.”