District 1 6A finals: Perkiomen Valley girls defend title; Lower Merion boys grab third crown in four years

Grace Galbavy needed to get angry.

The Perkiomen Valley junior scored just two points as the Vikings trailed rival Spring-Ford in the District 1 6A girls’ championship game Saturday at the Liacouras Center.

As it turns out, being down in a title game — along with a little smack talk — is exactly what she needed. Galbavy came up with big plays down the stretch to help Perkiomen Valley force overtime, then successfully defend its district title with a 62-55 win.

Perkiomen Valley won the district title a year ago as underdogs, a team starting five sophomores that beat Haverford High for its first title since 2016. This year, as favorites, the Vikings won the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship and steamrolled their way back to Temple for the district title.

“It feels even better to do it twice,” Galbavy said.

Navy-bound center Quinn Boettinger led Perkiomen Valley with 18 points, along with seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal. Galbavy contributed 14 points and four rebounds.

“I wanted to play like I should have been playing the whole game,” said Galbavy, a 6-foot-1 wing who had just two points at halftime. “But it just gives me a lot of confidence when the game’s on the line. It just motivates me when people think we’re going to lose.”

“The best thing about Grace is she does not need to dominate the basketball,” coach John Russo added. “She knows how good of a team we are. ... But when we get her the ball by herself, and it’s one-on-one, nobody can stop her.”

Early on, Spring-Ford was in control, leading 12-8 after the first quarter and 16-8 midway through the second. But thanks to Anna Stein, who came off the bench to score seven of her 11 points in the second quarter, Perkiomen Valley rebounded to take a 28-23 lead into the break.

“The game changed,” Russo said of Stein’s contribution. “We were kind of on our heels and she just didn’t want this one to slip away. She was injured last year and this is her last one. I’m proud of her, happy for her, and she deserved it — she earned it.”

The Rams had a chance to win it in regulation, holding the ball for the last minute of the fourth quarter to get the last shot, but a game-sealing block by the Vikings’ Grace Miley sent it to overtime.

» READ MORE: The story behind this Perkiomen Valley senior’s ‘miracle’ scholarship to Kutztown

As the district runner-ups, Spring-Ford enters the western half of the 6A state tournament bracket. The Rams will host the fifth seed out of District 3, Northeastern Senior High School, in Friday’s first round.

Perkiomen Valley hosts the District 3 sixth seed, Manheim Township, the same night.

Last year’s state tournament run was brief for the Vikings, who fell to Archbishop Carroll in the second round. They’re planning on a much deeper stay this time around, with the goal a trip to Hershey later in the month.

“We want to go out and we want to win everything,” Galbavy said. “Two district championships are great, but we want to be state champions.”

The Lower Merion boys’ basketball team cemented its place in the program’s rich history Saturday night at the Liacouras Center.

The top-seeded Aces earned a 57-49 win over No. 13 Garnet Valley in a battle of Central League rivals for the program’s third District 1 6A championship in four years.

It’s the 18th overall for Lower Merion and fourth under 33rd-year coach Gregg Downer.

“I feel at the start of the year people weren’t believing in us the way we believed in ourselves,” said senior Justin Mebane. “Whatever we could have done to just get out and win was fine by me.”

Senior John Mobley led the Aces with 17 points. Junior Carson Kasmer added 11 points and senior Owen McCabe had 10. Mebane chipped in eight points and three blocks. The Aces (27-1) jumped out to an 11-3 lead after Garnet Valley (19-9) scored the first bucket and played front-runner the rest of the game.

After a tough shooting start, Garnet Valley junior Jake Sniras tried to rally his team with eight points in the fourth quarter. He and classmate Brady Krautzel finished with 14 apiece. The Jaguars cut the lead to five with 30.7 seconds left on free throws by senior Quinn O’Hara, but Kasmer and Mobley iced the game at the line.

“I think that might have been the key,” Mebane said. “We were all willing and able to do what we needed to do to win. That was our No. 1 priority. No stars. Just pure focus on winning and nothing else.”

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.