Pottsgrove overcomes slow start to edge Perkiomen Valley, 49-45
GRATERFORD >> The Pottsgrove girls basketball team got off to a slow start on Thursday night, with no field goals and only three points in the first quarter. Later, the Falcons allowed 11 straight points and their lead quickly shrank from 13 points to just two with four minutes to go.
But Pottsgrove recovered nicely from both dry spells and remained undefeated in the early going with a 49-45 Pioneer Athletic Conference crossover win at Perkiomen Valley.
Junior forward Sydney Mowery led the Falcons (4-0 PAC, 7-0 overall) with 18 points and 10 rebounds and junior guard Riley Simon chipped in 11 points and seven boards. Sophomore Emma Miley scored 23 for the Vikings (1-3, 1-5).
Final: Pottsgrove 49, Perkiomen Valley 45, PAC girls basketball.
Falcons tighten up on D, led offensively by Sydney Mowery for crossover win at PV pic.twitter.com/vNfNpD7wOi
— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) December 20, 2019
Pottsgrove went 0-for-7 from the floor with five turnovers before finally getting on the board on a free throw by Simon with 2:37 left in the opening quarter. Despite that, the Falcons trailed by only 6-3 after one and then racked up 19 points in the second period to pull to within 23-22 at the half.
“I think the girls were just a little nervous,” said Pottsgrove coach Mike Brendlinger. “I think they just relaxed. Sometimes when you’re scoring, it gets contagious for everybody on the floor.”
Mowery hit her first four shots of the second quarter, but Miley scored 12 in the period, including a 3-pointer from the top of the circle for the 23-22 advantage.
The Vikings led 28-27 early in the third quarter after Miley knocked down another trey from the left wing. But six turnovers in the quarter hurt the hosts and Pottsgrove took advantage of 1-and-1 situations at the line to pull out to a 38-31 margin after three. Then the Falcons completed a 17-3 run on two free throws by Mowery for a 44-31 lead with seven minutes remaining in the contest.
“We talked about how it’s the little things … the turnovers, not taking care of the ball,” said Perk Valley second-year head coach Kelly Sorber. “Not making the hustle plays we needed.”
But Miley got the Vikings going again with a jumper, Anna Hallisey sank a shot from the right baseline, Jennifer Beattie hit two from the line, Naiya Daisey connected on a 3-point shot from the left corner and two Viking free throws made it 44-42 with 3:53 to go.
“We just got a little bit anxious on offense,” said Brendlinger. “We didn’t necessarily want to stall. We just wanted to get a good shot every time down the floor. We just got so impatient, taking quick shots and not getting back on defense. Perk Valley scraps. They’re going to fight until the end.”
But Simon made two at the line and the Falcons hit three more foul shots the rest of the way for a 49-42 margin with 30 seconds left.
“We finally got relaxed and made some foul shots,” said Brendlinger.
Summer Walker added seven points, including 5-for-6 shooting from the line in the third quarter, and five rebounds for the Falcons. Pottsgrove forced 20 PV turnovers and settled down on offense with only eight miscues of its own over the final three quarters after committing seven in the first.
Pottsgrove grabbed 32 rebounds on the night and Grace Ramsey collected six of Perk Valley’s 25.
After a 17-5 regular season a year ago, Pottsgrove is again on a promising track by reaching 7-0.
“It’s just a progression,” Brendlinger said concerning his team’s fast start on the season. “We’ve still got our work cut out for us. This is the first time we’ve played one of the big schools. We’re looking forward to it.”
Perk Valley’s record is less flattering at 1-5, but the Vikings have shown flashes they hope can fully come together going forward.
“We can still have a really good season,” said Sorber. “We’re young. We’re still putting things together, trying to put four quarters together. We haven’t been able to get everything going at once. This is my second year with the program. They’re starting to buy into it.”
