
The Perkiomen School girls basketball team and coaches celebrated their third-straight Tri-County League title last Thursday night by beating Barrack Hebrew Academy, 52-25, at The Hill School in Pottstown.
|
Destinee Astheimer described a perfect three-year record in the Tri-County League Independent School League as evidence that the Perkiomen School girls basketball team has built a family.
"For the last three years, we've done enough work to keep it going," said Astheimer, a senior forward.
On Feb. 12, the Panthers, who played the entire postseason without injured junior forward Jordan Barth, breezed to their third consecutive league title.
Kristen Burdo led them to a 52-25 victory over Barrack Hebrew Academy at The Hill School in Pottstown. Burdo finished with a game-high 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
Stephanie Falcone added 12 points, five assists and three steals for Perkiomen School, which was never challenged. Laura Vetter chipped in with 11 points, five assists and two steals.
In the last three seasons, the Panthers, who finished 2014-15 with a 16-5 record, have not lost a regular season or playoff game against league opponents.
"This feels good," said Burdo, a junior. "It feels like every year the improvement has been constant. Regardless of the opponent, we are determined to play our game."
Head coach Randy Littlefield expressed pride in the team's accomplishment. He said its approach to the game has not changed during the streak. "All year we've done the same thing, which is to play a solid team style that looks like good basketball," Littlefield said. "Part of that was because I was dealt a pretty good hand three years ago. And I'm still getting good cards dealt to me."
Despite losing Barth, who suffered a fractured left ankle in a non-league win over Upper Perkiomen on Feb. 3, the Panthers defeated West-Mont Christian Academy and Mercy Vocational in the league playoffs to reach Thursday's title game.
Against the Cougars, Perkiomen School opened the game with 17 straight points. Vetter scored eight of the points and Burdo contributed seven.
"We were hitting our shots early," the coach said.
Burdo scored all of those points in the low post, converting a layup, a two-foot jumper and three of four foul shots. "Kristen moved very well from block to block," Littlefield said.
As the Cougars' defense collapsed in an attempt to contend with that shooters took advantage. Vetter delivered two 3-point shots during the early flurry. Falcone added a 3-pointer late in the quarter to help the Panthers extend that edge to 22-3.
They opened the second quarter with nine consecutive points. A layup by Falcone opened a 31-3 lead midway through the second.
Two days later, the Panthers struggled in the first round of the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association Tournament on the road against Baldwin School, a private, independent, all-girls school in Bryn Mawr.
Perkiomen School started slow in a 46-36 victory. The team trailed 14-4 at the end of the first quarter, before pulling within 22-17 at halftime.
But a three-point output in the third quarter helped secure the Panthers' season-ending defeat. Falcone scored a team-high 11 points. Astheimer finished with nine points, six rebounds and three steals. Vetter contributed nine points and four steals.