Boyertown’s Abby Kapp becomes program’s all-time leading scorer

GRATERFORD >> Long after the stands cleared and the bleachers were repelled, chants echoed through the hallways of Perkiomen Valley High School.

Echoes of ‘Abby! Abby!’ bounced off the walls as dozens of members of the Boyertown faithful remained out in the concourse.

At the center of it all stood Abby Kapp, smiling for photo after photo, thanking every one of her teammates and hugging family, friends and likely even a few strangers.

The Boyertown senior had just become the program’s all-time leading scorer — her 20 points Tuesday night a game high as the Bears beat Perk Valley 61-39 to give themselves even more separation in the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s Liberty standings.

There it is! @abby_kapp is Boyertown’s all-time leading scorer! pic.twitter.com/xWW0wzTnrt

— Thomas Nash (@Thomas_Nash10) January 25, 2017

“It’s a little bit overwhelming,” Kapp described of the scene, “but I don’t mind it at all. I’m so glad that I have so many people here to support me and our team. I love it.”

Kapp was stifled to just three points in the opening half — seven by the end of the third quarter — by Perk Valley’s twin towers, Megan Jonassen and Taylor Hamm. She turned it on in the fourth quarter, though, knocking down three 3-pointers, including the most memorable shot of her career with 1:55 left.

The Bucknell commit received the inbound pass from Kylie Webb along the right elbow. She turned, faced the basket, gave a jab-step to her defender and stroked it just as she has the past four years. Just like that, she had passed Kaitlyn Eisenhard’s record of 1,420 career points set in 2013.

Not one to mentally keep a running track of her points throughout the game, Kapp had no idea she had just passed the mark.

“Right away, I turned to run back to our end on defense and then I saw from the corner of my eye everyone on our bench jump up,” she recalled. “I said to (teammate) Alli Marcus, ‘Did I do it?’ She just smiled and next thing I knew, everyone was around me.”

Boyertown head coach Jason Bieber immediately took a timeout as the Boyertown players flocked to their senior captain.

“It’s a great compliment to her and all the hard work she’s put in for this program,” said Bieber. “She’s been a great kid to coach, a great leader and an ultimate team player.”

Kylie Webb backed Kapp with 14 points including four 3-pointers while Alli Marcus posted 13 with a pair of 3-pointers as the Bears shot an impressive 11-for-20 from beyond the arc. Victoria Boalton added nine points as Boyertown jumped out to a 14-2 lead by the end of the first quarter and bolstered it to as much as a 21-point lead.

“That’s been our thing this year,” said Boyertown head coach Jason Bieber. “If we’re open we’re taking 3-point shots. It’s a different philosophy than we’ve had in the past, but we do have kids that can make them. It was good to see them all take advantage of that.”

Kapp battled in the paint with Jonassen and Hamm, but became a facilitator during the first half where she posted four assists and grabbed eight rebounds. After a slow 24 minutes, Kapp exploded during the fourth quarter — which included her run of 10 points in less than two minutes — en route to scoring 13 in the quarter.

“I was trying not to think about it early on,” she said, “and I think I got a little bit in my own head. In the fourth quarter, I just started to let it happen.”

With the win, Boyertown improves to 6-1 in the PAC’s Liberty Division (7-1 against PAC opponents) and 13-3 overall. The Vikings — last season’s PAC champion — fall to 4-3 in the Liberty Division and 9-7 overall.

Hamm and Iman Richmond led Perk Valley with eight points apiece while Jonassen collected six points and seven rebounds. The Bears constantly had a hand on sharpshooting junior Alex Blomstrom, limiting her to just one 3-pointer on two tries for five points.

From here on out, with every basket, every point, Kapp will add to the decorated legacy she’s already generated at Boyertown. The only difference now — she’s not chasing a record, she’s the one setting it.