PAC Girls Basketball Final 6 Preview: Perkiomen Valley-Owen J. Roberts, Upper Perkiomen-Spring-Ford

It’s David versus Goliath Night when the Pioneer Athletic Conference girls basketball playoffs tip off Thursday at Spring-Ford.

It’s a distinct size advantage for the Vikings when No. 3 Perkiomen Valley and No. 6 Owen J. Roberts meet in the 6 p.m. opener. In the second game of the doubleheader (7:30 p.m.), it’s a disparity in program pedigree when No. 4 Upper Perkiomen, which hadn’t come close to the PAC playoffs for nearly a decade, brings upset dreams into its meeting with four-time reigning champion and PAC gold standard Spring-Ford, the No. 5 seed.

Division champions Methacton and Pope John Paul II await Thursday’s winners in the semifinals, which will be held Saturday. Liberty winner and

No. 1 seed Methacton meets the winner of Spring-Ford/Upper Perkiomen at 1 p.m. Frontier champion and No. 2 seed Pope John Paul II will play the winner of Perkiomen Valley/Owen J. Roberts at 2:30 p.m.

The championship game will take place at Spring-Ford on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.

A breakdown of Thursday’s games:

Perkiomen Valley (3) vs. Owen J. Roberts (6)

Records >> Perkiomen Valley (8-2 Liberty, 11-2 PAC, 17-4 overall, No. 8 in District 1-6A rankings); Owen J. Roberts (4-6 Liberty, 7-6 PAC, 14-8 overall, No. 23 in District 1-6A rankings)

Head-to-head >> Perkiomen Valley swept the regular season meetings, 52-24 on Jan. 7 and 54-38 on Jan. 27.

Playoff history >> PV returns to the PAC playoffs for the first time since 2017-18 when it was a finalist, falling to Spring-Ford. Perk Valley won its lone PAC championship in 2015-16. … Owen J. Roberts returns to the PAC playoffs for the third straight time (excluding playoff-less 2020-21 season). The OJR program has reached one PAC final, the 2006-07 title game (63-50 loss to Spring-Ford).

On Perkiomen Valley >> The Vikings were expected to take a step forward this winter in John Russo’s second year in charge. They’ve done that and then some to go from 8-7 in 2020-21 to a 17-4 regular season this year. PV benefits from an ideal blend of players and skillsets. The senior captains are knockdown shooter Jennifer Beattie (13.3 points per game, PAC-best 49 3-pointers) and slasher Emma Miley (10.0 ppg). They’re complemented by frontcourt presence Quinn Boettinger, a freshman forward, who averages 10.7 points. Fellow freshman wing Grace Miley (7.7 ppg) brings toughness and an all-around game. The rest of the rotation outside of junior Ella Stein is comprised of freshmen – Bella Bacani, Julia Smith, Lena Stein – sign that both the present and future is bright for PV.

On Owen J. Roberts >> Records can tell different stories: on one hand, OJR went 4-6 in the PAC Liberty Division; on the other, it’s a very respectable 14-8 overall. But the story that is most worthy of being told is that head coach Jeremy Mellon’s Wildcats are playing their best ball of the season in crunch time. In jeopardy of missing the District 1-6A playoffs, they have strung together wins over playoff teams Central Bucks South (58-54 in OT last Saturday) and Villa Maria (45-42 on Tuesday) in the past week to breathe life into their postseason hopes. Senior guard Avery White, who became OJR’s all-time leading scorer last week, is averaging 16.8 points per game while junior guard Gabbi Koury has been a late-game beast in the last few outings. The three-sport standout is averaging 9.1 ppg. Freshman Ashly White (6.5 ppg) and juniors Alexa Vogelman and Ava Clemson round of a starting lineup that doesn’t have a player taller than 5-8.

Matchup and prediction >> The regular season meetings between PV and OJR seemed like they would have been close matchups but the Vikings dominated both by exploiting their size advantage. Freshman 6-2 forward Boettinger scored 15 and 22 in the matchups and triggered an inside-outside game OJR couldn’t cope with. It shouldn’t be overlooked that OJR has played great in must-win situations lately, including defeating a Villa Maria team PV lost to on Monday, and will be better equipped to keep it closer than 22-point average margin in the regular season. But unless a Wildcat starter grew half a foot in the last week the frontcourt matchup swings big in PV’s favor and is a deciding factor .. Perkiomen Valley 48, Owen J. Roberts 41.

Upper Perkiomen (4) vs. Spring-Ford (5)

Records >> Upper Perkiomen (8-2 PAC Frontier, 9-4 PAC, 15-7 overall, No. 10 in District 1-5A rankings); Spring-Ford (7-3 PAC Liberty, 10-3 PAC, 16-5 overall, No. 10 in District 1-6A rankings)

Head-to-head >> Teams have not met this season. Their most recent meeting was on Jan. 25, 2021, which Spring-Ford won 70-7.

Playoff history >> This is Upper Perk’s first spot in the PAC playoffs since 2012-13 when it finished second in the Frontier and played in the semifinals (69-20 loss to Spring-Ford on Feb. 9, 2013). Upper Perkiomen has won one PAC championship, in 1992-93. … Spring-Ford are 10-time PAC champions and the winners of the last four titles in a row. The Rams won the pandemic-altered 2020-21 title by going 14-0 in the league season and defeated Methacton in the previous two playoff finals.

On Upper Perkiomen >> It’s been a long decade since Upper Perk’s last trip to the PAC playoffs – it entered the season with a 12-132 record over its previous seven seasons. It makes the 15 wins of this season such a revelation. A revelation is a great way to describe the emergence of freshman Grace Galbavy. The 6-0 guard/forward is third in the PAC in scoring with 18.5 points per game and has recently become an automatic double-double and is a force blocking shots. She’s a high-level talent that has elevated head coach Matt Bowe’s team out of the PAC cellar. Sophomore forward Erin States (11.0 ppg) and senior forward Hannah Keeney (6.9 ppg) are UP’s primary second options. Others in the Tribe’s rotation include Abby Davidheiser, Elena Fabian, Bailey Cahill and Gabby Neal.

On Spring-Ford >> The Rams as the No. 5 seed for the PAC playoffs feels curious. It is their proper placement as the third-place finisher in the PAC Liberty, but it bears remembering that the program is four-time defending PAC champion and were PIAA 6A runner-up in 2020-21. Head coach Mickey McDaniel has had a big task of getting a talented but underclassmen-dominated roster ready for the battles and for the most part they’ve come through with flying colors as evidenced by a No. 10 ranking in District 1 and 16 wins. Sophomore point guard Anna Azzara (15.0 ppg) is a reliable ballhandler and scorer and classmate Mac Pettinelli (7.7 ppg), who also played in crunch time of last year’s state finals run, does a bit of everything as a 3-and-D threat. Senior Kam Pufko and sophomores Katie Tiffan (7.2 ppg) and Siena Miller (6.3 ppg) round out the starting lineup. Sophomore Alliyah Solliday, freshman Haley Prophet and junior Meg Robbins also figure into the Rams’ rotation. Spring-Ford carries a threat from 3-point range: it knocked down 14 in their last outing against Bishop Shanahan and nine against OJR on Feb. 23.

Matchup and prediction >> Upper Perkiomen and Spring-Ford meeting in a PAC playoff game feels like a wild convergence of events. It’s taken significant elevation for the Tribe to be playing into the second week of February; meanwhile, the Rams’ reload has them understandably down a level from last season’s title-hoarding 24-1 campaign. Don’t be mistaken though: Spring-Ford is still a PAC championship threat considering they played within three points of top seed Methacton last week. Upper Perk’s ascent is a great story, but title contender is too big an ask. The Tribe have played too close against lower-level teams in recent weeks to be able to best talent-rich Spring-Ford. … Spring-Ford 55, Upper Perkiomen 35.