PV bursts by OJR, 52-24
The Perkiomen Valley girls basketball team had not played a game since December 18 so naturally it was going to have some rust.
But there must have been a mistake. The Vikings added a B, scrambled it up and turned rust into burst.
Burst is exactly what Perkiomen Valley showed while running out to a 29-point halftime lead in a first half demolition of host Owen J Roberts that resulted in a 52-24 Pioneer Athletic Conference victory Thursday night.
The ‘B’ injected by Perk Valley may have been for ‘Beattie’ or ‘Boettinger’. Or maybe both.
Senior guard Jen Beattie and freshman forward Quinn Boettinger were an outside-inside force while combining for 33 points. Boettinger, a 6-2 forward who OJR had no match for, dominated the first quarter by scoring eight of her 15 points while Beattie took control in the second quarter by knocking down three 3-pointers as part of her game-high 18 points.
Those outputs were complemented by the Miley sisters, freshman Grace Miley scoring 11 while senior Emma Miley netted six. Collectively, the Vikings were great on defense, allowing OJR only nine first-half points.
For Owen J. Roberts (1-1 PAC, 6-3 overall), junior Gabbi Koury had a team-high 13 points while senior Avery White, the PAC’s top returning scorer, was held to six points.
A blowout was not the expected result in a matchup of two probable District 1 playoff qualifiers that entered with a combined 9-3 record.
“We expected a tight matchup,” said Emma Miley. “We really focused on our defense in practice, and when we got here our offense just clicked. We played really good defense, we talked, and we really hustled a lot and worked as a team.
“I think everyone was really excited. We were all hyped up for our first game back.”
Perkiomen Valley (1-0 PAC, 4-1 overall) had not played since a Dec. 18 win over Unionville due primarily to COVID precautions through the Christmas period.
It was a night to savor for the Vikings, especially senior leaders Beattie, a three-year starter, and fouryear starter Emma Miley. They’ve endured middling results their first three seasons – 8-14 their first two years, 8-7 a season ago – but look to have turned a corner with the infusion of a strong freshman class led by Boettinger and Grace Miley.
“Knowing we can be a contender and win most if not all of our games in the PAC this season is very exciting,” said Beattie. “Knowing we have people that can come off the bench and play the role they need to play … we know what we have and we like to use it.”
It wasn’t so long ago PV was known for its frontline advantage with standout 6-0 forwards Megan Jonassen and Taylor Hamm, Class of 2018 graduates now in their senior years at Fordham and University of the Sciences, respectively. That advantage in the post may have returned with the introduction of Boettinger.
“She’s brought so much. Having that figure in there for blocks, boxing out, defense, she helps so much,” Beattie said. “And on offense, OJR tried to collapse on her and it got us a lot of open looks. She helps open the entire floor.”
“And more than stats, when she gets a block everybody is so energized by it, we’re talking and confident feeling like we’re locking down the other team on defense,” said Emma Miley.
Meanwhile Grace Miley is averaging 10.5 points per game and brings a hard-nosed presence – literally. She wears a protective face shield after suffering a broken nose in AAU play and was in a scrap for nearly every loose ball.
It was all on display for Perk Valley from the jump while running out to a 12-1 lead on back-to-back buckets from Boettinger. Grace Miley’s 3 and following putback opened a 19-5 lead after a quarter.