City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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ROYERSFORD — No question, no lingering doubts. With 18 seconds left and her team down three, it was Grace Galbavy’s shot to take.

It had been a frustrating night for the Perkiomen Valley junior, who spent much of it livid at herself for a subpar by her standards shooting performance. Spring-Ford had been slugging it out with the Vikings all game, the host Rams less than 20 seconds from a win when Galbavy turned frustration into revelation with a pair of game-saving plays.

Galbavy’s fourth-quarter heroics and dogged team defense pushed PV past Spring-Ford 56-48 in an overtime classic between the PAC heavyweights Friday night.

“I’m really confident in myself and what I do,” Galbavy said. “I know my teammates got my back, if I miss a shot, they get the rebound, we share a lot of confidence. 

“We were prepared, it shouldn’t have been that close if I didn’t miss all those shots, but I think I made up for it.”

Galbavy certainly made up for it. She finished with a game-high 21 points, 10 of those coming in the fourth quarter, to go along with nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks. It was the last of those blocks, which came the possession after her game-tying 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime, that was the biggest as she unfurled every quarter-inch of her reach to deny Anna Azzara’s look at a game-winner.

She kept coming back to the shots she didn’t make, Galbavy off the top of her head knowing she had been 1-of-6 from deep before the tying shot and almost grating her teeth talking about her missed free throws earlier in the game. 

But there was no way Galbavy was allowing any iota of that to break her vision of the rim as she rose up from the wing in front of the Vikings bench, trailing 45-42 with 18 seconds on the clock.

“Absolutely not,” Galbavy said. “When we’re down and there’s 18 seconds left, something just changed in me this season that my confidence is through the roof. If I’m open and I’m in rhythm, I practice it all the time.

“I believe it’s going to go in, and like I said, I know my teammates have me and I’ll get another look if I don’t make it.”

Galbavy gave the ball up to Anna Stein with about 22 seconds on the clock, then hovered in the same area as Grace Miley ran a cut behind her and Stein dribbled back toward her. The movement was enough to suck in the Rams’ defense, and by the time the hosts recovered for a contest, the ball was already out of Galbavy’s hands.

“Down three, I’m not looking for an and-one with my foul shooting abilities tonight,” Galbavy said. “I was probably 1-6, maybe 1-7. It’s preparation and it’s opportunity. Look, I’m really happy I hit it.”

PV coach John Russo wasn’t surprised Galbavy took the tying shot just the same way he wasn’t surprised the way she willingly gave up the ball a couple possessions prior to get a more open teammate a shot. The Vikings are a talented team top to bottom, and Galbavy sees herself as one of them, not the one for them to play around.

“That’s who she is,” Russo said. “She is the most unselfish teammate ever created, but she also has that ‘When I get ticked off, I’m taking over the game’ in her. She could come here to try and score 30 points per game, but she came here to try and elevate our program while also shining.”

Galbavy yelled toward her bench as she backpedaled up the floor, Russo meanwhile running out to get a timeout. While it gave Mickey McDaniel and his staff a chance to draw up a play, Russo knew full well he needed to stop the game to set his defense.

There was still a stop to get, and Galbavy wanted to make it.

“[Azzara is] great with hesitations; I’m honestly just watching the clock, and I tend to get a lot of blocks like that usually at the end of a half when you know somebody’s going to shoot it,” Galbavy said. “It’s really just knowing what’s going on in that situation. If there’s two seconds left, who’s shooting? Anna Azzara.

“With two seconds left, I’m going for the block.”

Galbavy wouldn’t score again, but she didn’t need to. After Miley converted the and-one to start OT, only for Azzara to answer with a 3, Bella Bacani got one to roll in with two minutes left for the go-ahead bucket.

The Vikings got stops on the next three possessions, while also going 6-of-6 at the foul line to pick up their first win at Spring-Ford with this current group.

The second meeting of the season between the two teams carried the same weight as any future meetings this year might, that of a high-stakes postseason game. The stands were packed, each possession carried significant value, both team’s leading players made their mark and so did their respective supporting casts in a multitude of ways.

Quinn Boettinger had 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists and three emphatic blocks of her own for Perk Valley. Lena Stein was relentless on the glass with six of her eight rebounds on the offensive end, her older sister Anna Stein was 6-of-6 at the foul line in the second half and Miley gave big minutes off the bench with five points.

Spring-Ford got 12 from Kareena Preuss, who came out blistering hot with eight first-quarter points; 10 from Katie Tiffan before she fouled out in the fourth quarter; 11 points from Aaliyah Solliday; nine points and four assists from Azzara and six points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals from Mac Pettinelli.

“It was a really even game, I thought they played a little harder and we made the right plays at the right time,” Russo said.

Spring-Ford came out on fire, Preuss and Tiffan combining for 13 points as the Rams built an 18-11 edge eight minutes in. Galbavy didn’t mince words about it: she felt the Vikings started slowly and paid for it, so they decided to lock in on defense in the second quarter. 

PV held the hosts to just one basket in the second, but with Preuss making a tough shot over the contesting Boettinger, it was enough to give Spring-Ford a 20-19 halftime advantage. The Vikings finally got over the barrier in the third, a 10-4 run giving them a brief 31-28 lead before Pettinelli drilled a corner trey to level the score for the last eight minutes.

Galbavy sank a pair of free throws under a serenade of “Overrated” chants from the Spring-Ford student section to halve the lead to 44-42. The Rams split a pair of free throws on the ensuing trip down, giving them a three-point lead with 31.6 to play and setting up her game-tying shot.

“The team defense was phenomenal, it really was,” Russo said. “They can score everywhere, they have seven kids who can score the basketball. It takes our whole team and coaching staff to stop them.

“I love this. I’ve been on the losing side of it and the winning side of it, I love their staff and their kids. Everybody fights as hard as they can without trying to hurt somebody.”

If things go well, the teams will meet again in two weeks’ time for the PAC championship. They may well meet a fourth time in the District 1 Class 6A playoffs, and there’s always a possibility of a meeting in the state tournament.

It’s a matchup built on innate competitiveness, but also a steadfast respect between the programs. Players routinely dove to the floor fighting for loose balls or tie-ups, then helped each other up once the whistle chirped. 

“I prefer to play basketball like this,” Galbavy said. “I look forward to games like this. It makes you better, it makes them better, it prepares you for the postseason and I think win or loss, it’s going to teach us something.”

By Quarter

Perkiomen Valley: 11 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 11 || 56

Spring-Ford: 18 | 2 | 11 | 14 | 3 || 48

Scoring

Perkiomen Valley: Grace Galbavy 21, Quinn Boettinger 13, Anna Stein 8, Bella Bacani 6, Grace Miley 5, Lena Stein 3

Spring-Ford: Kareena Preuss 12, Aaliyah Solliday 11, Katie Tiffan 10, Anna Azzara 9, Mac Pettinelli 6