Perk Valley brimming with confidence entering PIAA 1st round

It didn’t happen overnight, but it sure seems that way.

The Perkiomen Valley girls basketball program’s first trip to the state tournament, which will happen Friday against Red Lion (District 3 No. 7 seed) at Wissahickon High School (7:30 p.m.), looked as remote as the moon two years ago. The Lady Vikings were 6-16 in 2013-14.

It was KT Armstrong’s sophomore year. Already the PAC-10’s leading scorer that season, the lopsided record wasn’t what she envisioned. She and her classmates were looked upon as a strong future foundation for the program, but from a team standpoint that year, things were falling apart.

At that point, could she have imagined a school-record 27-2 senior season, including a historical trifecta — the school’s first-ever PAC-10 and district championships and the state tourney berth?

“No way,” she smiled after practice this week. “We had played together since fourth grade, so when we came in as freshmen, everybody said, ‘You’ll be really good your junior and senior year.’ But sophomore year we were like, ‘How’s that going to happen?’”

— KT Armstrong, Perkiomen Valley

A new coaching staff came in, getting the girls to believe that, with a much more committed, coordinated effort in the offseason and during the season, they could make it happen.

“It seemed like a light switched on,” Armstrong said, “and suddenly we started playing really well together.”

John Strawoet, Perkiomen Valley School District lifer, turned the lights on in the gym. He brought equally committed assistants Lee Terry and Kelly Sorber. They started having open gyms in the offseason, competed in summer and fall leagues, and got the girls to commit to the fundamental building blocks of tough, unrelenting defense and rebounding.

“I think the coaches honestly put a lot of hard work into it,” says senior guard/forward Tori Walter.

“Playing together in the offseason, getting to know each other, all that repetition helped us a lot,” added senior forward McKenna Kohler.

No ‘I,’ just ‘We’

“When the three of us came in, we decided we needed to press the ‘we before me’ and be a disciplined team,” Sorber says. “They bought in, and that’s what’s gotten them this far, I believe.”

Strawoet, who played basketball and football at Susquehanna, has coached for nearly four decades at PV on various levels. At one point, he did a rare double — coaching the Ursinus College women’s basketball team and Perkiomen Valley varsity football. He’d had great success in particular with the girls freshman team, recording back-to-back undefeated campaigns in 2010-12. He’d sit on the bench also for junior varsity and varsity games and was the obvious choice when he took the varsity job starting with the 2014-15 season.

“When things kind of fell apart at the end of (2013-14), it was kind of like, what do you want to do?” Strawoet said. “ I looked at my wife (Paula) and said, ‘What do you think?’ She said, ‘You’re there all the time anyway.’ She said go for it.”

Retired from teaching 10 years ago, Strawoet, now 64, threw himself into the hard work required to turn the program around. That began in his first season. The Lady Vikings went 21-7 overall. They reached the PAC-10 final for the first time, and lost in the second round of districts.

Expectations were understandably high for this season, with a good team forming around Armstrong, a highly skilled 6-2 senior point guard who will play at Saint Joseph’s. The starting five and most frequently used reserves have jelled into a cohesive, confident group.

Intense, physical sophomore forwards Taylor Hamm and Megan Jonassen (13.4 points per game) are difficult for teams to deal with. Walter adds a lot to the terrific team defense and can score, and junior guard Hanan Richmond, a transfer from Chicago, is a game-changer with her athleticism. Off the bench come dependable, valuable players like Kohler, freshman guard Ashley Bangert and sophomore forward Bridgette Bonjo. Strawoet commends every player on his roster for their contributions and effort whether in practice or games.

“Everybody’s comfortable with each other and has confidence in each other, where the last two years I think we’ve all kind of been watching KT play too much,” Terry said.

Armstrong is actually averaging fewer points this season (15.9) than her junior year (17.8), but the team as well as her sparkling all-around play have gotten better. One reason: her relentless dedication. As Strawoet is being interviewed after practice, Armstrong is working on a variety of shots.

“KT is the face of the program,” Strawoet said. “This right here is an every-day occurrence. Her work ethic and dedication are unbelievable. And that’s catchy.”

Defense keys it all

Defense guides this ship. During the Lady Vikings’ 6-16 season, there was leakage all over, allowing 54 points per game against AAAA competition. The next year, with the new staff and mindset, they cut it to 38. This season they’ve allowed 36.7 while scoring at a 52.5 clip.

“Kelly and Lee were excellent from the standpoint that when we first sat down, we said what’s going to win games for us?” Strawoet said. “We said defense and rebounding. The kids have been great, and bought into what we were doing.”

“Trying to get 15-18 year old girls to enjoy playing defense and rebounding, it’s not always an easy sell,” Terry said. “But these girls bought in. And defense and rebounding are our strength.”

“It was really just discipline,” Armstrong said. “During the season we work on defensive drills all the time. It’s not fun. We know how to position ourselves, talking a lot, so it became second nature.”

Their season was a study in constant improvement. They beat Boyertown two out of three, including by 20 for the conference championship. They’re on a 13-game winning streak after a reality-check 22-point loss to Governor Mifflin. Aside from a one-point gut-check win over Upper Dublin in the semifinals, the Lady Vikings, No. 2 seed in District 1, won their other four district tourney games by an average of 16 points.

“We don’t step on the floor thinking we can lose,” Strawoet said.

From six wins and going nowhere to 27 and going to states, it’s been a galvanizing storybook ride. With a gritty, together and talented team on the same page, the chapter turns to more unchartered waters for the Lady Vikings.

“It definitely is something new,” Kohler says. “PV has never been here. It’s crazy for all of us, so we have to take it game by game, not get too nervous and play our game.”

“Last year we kind of shocked everyone, we had such a turnaround,” Walter adds.” For us to go this far, it’s amazing.”