Up for the task: Perkiomen Valley uses size to rout Pottsgrove

ROYERSFORD >> Perkiomen Valley advanced to the Final Four in girls basketball a year ago, but the Vikings fell to Boyertown in the championship game.

Still, the Vikings gained plenty of valuable experience in playing the Bears in the title contest. Now Perkiomen Valley is headed back to the championship game for another try against the Bears for the 2015-16 campaign.

That scenario came about following Saturday afternoon’s doubleheader at Spring-Ford High School.

Liberty Division winner Perkiomen Valley beat Frontier Division runner-up Pottsgrove, 51-22, in the second game of the twinbill. That verdict puts the Vikings up against Liberty second-place finisher Boyertown, which stopped Frontier Division winner Pope John Paul II, 43-27, in the first game at Spring-Ford’s Ram Gymnasium.

The championship game between Perkiomen Valley and Boyertown will be played Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. back at Spring-Ford High School.

Sophomore forward Megan Jonassen recorded game-highs of 18 points and 17 rebounds to power the highly-rated Vikings (21-2) to their victory over the Falcons (10-13). Jonassen, a 6-0 forward, retrieved seven rebounds at the offensive end of the floor.

The Vikings took a 10-5 lead after the first period and were up 22-10 by halftime. They blew the game open by outscoring the Falcons 17-0 during the third quarter.

“Our coach (John Strawoet) designed a couple plays for us,” said Jonassen. “We really executed that in the second half.

Now in her sophomore season with the Vikings, Jonassen and her teammates came into the season with this goal in mind.

“We have never won the championship game. We got in last year and now we’re really excited to be back. Everybody on the team has to work together.”

Junior guard Hanan Richmond added seven points with one 3-pointer for the Vikings with five rebounds and two steals. Jonassen shot 5-for-10 from the field and 8-for-9 at the foul line. Five Viking players chipped in with four points apiece.

Pottsgrove was led by  Diana Randleman with seven points and six rebounds, two assists and two steals, plus Kyler Conrad with five points (one trey) and two steals.

“We said let’s go inside to Megan (Jonassen) and Taylor (Hamm),” said Strawoet. “They (Falcons) can’t match up with our size. We also wanted to get out on the break. That makes for easy baskets, too. The kids did a nice job when KT (standout player KT Armstrong) went down (with a turned ankle).”

Armstrong finished with four third-period points, two rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot on a day when the Vikings were fortunate they did not need a big output from their star 6-2 senior guard, who is headed to St. Joseph’s University next year.

“We want to control the basketball,” said Jonassen, who said cutting and handling defenses will be a larger factor. “We feel we can match up with Boyertown.”

Jonassen said she has always thrived on consistent rebounding at both ends of the court.

“That is just a key part of my game,” she said.

Perkiomen Valley used 14 players in the contest, and each of the Vikings seemed to contribute to the victory in some way.

Pottsgrove coach Mike Brendlinger was glad to see the Falcons qualify for the Final Four playoffs for the first time in six years. But he also realized the Falcons would have a difficult time battling PV inside due to the Vikings’ distinct size advantage.

“We felt if we had the ball, they can’t score,” said Brendlinger. “But it was their size in the interior. They are bigger and stronger than us, but our girls worked their butts off.”

Pottsgrove is also looking forward to the upcoming District 1-AAA playoffs.

NOTES >> Bridgette Bonjo and Hamm each pulled down five rebounds for PV while Tori Walters had three assists and Ashley Bangert had three steals.