Girls Basketball: Rullo, O’Hara defense shut down Perkiomen Valley in PIAA 6A quarterfinals

NORRISTOWN — One sequence embodied the heady play of Cardinal O’Hara in its 49-35 win over top seeded and highly-regarded Perkiomen Valley Friday in the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Class 6A playoffs.

With the third quarter winding down the Lions were holding a five-point lead and looking for a last shot. For a moment it looked like the Vikings’ frenetic defense had forced a stop. But the Lions skillfully swung the ball this way and that, inside and out until Molly Rullo found younger sister Megan outside the arc.

Faster than you could say, boom, and-1, the shot fell and Megan was fouled on the play. She hit the free throw for a rare four-point play sending the Lions (24-4) into the final frame with a nine-point lead.

The Vikings (29-2), the top seed out of District 1 who had lost only to nationally-ranked Gill St. Bernard’s private school in northern New Jersey, never got closer than eight points the rest of the evening.

“They were doubling and we got it into the post,” Megan Rullo said. “Molly kicked it out, I was ready to shoot and let it go. Coach Chrissie (Doogan) always talks about getting your teammate the shot, that it’s not about getting your own shot, reverse the ball. And that’s what we really did. And we knocked down the shots that mattered.”

That was the backbreaker for the Lions, who take on Parkland in the state semifinals Monday at a site and time to be determined. The District 11 champs denied a PCL semifinal rematch with Archbishop Carroll courtesy a 48-37 win at Pottstown Friday night.

Megan and Molly Rullo had 14 and 13 points respectively, and Molly did a stellar defensive job on Vikings 6-foot-3 center Quinn Boettinger (six points) to inch the Lions to within two victories of a state title. Joanie Quinn added 10 points.

Much as the Lions were considered underdogs, Doogan insisted that thought never entered the minds of her players, who outhustled and wore down their taller opponent.

“Everyone in the locker room expected us to win,” Doogan said. “Our O’Hara family expected us to win. I don’t know how many people in the state expected us to win. So, it’s a big win. They’ve had the No. 1 ranking all year and we just believed. These girls love each other and they don’t want their season to end.”

The Vikings had their moments. Early in the game they previewed just how well they could play with precision passing and an inside-out offensive attack with Boettinger swinging the ball to her teammates.

Grace Galbavy, the Vikings’ 6-0 guard, hit the offensive boards and drove to the basket to give her team a 10-3 lead. But Galbavy could manage just five points the rest of the evening, finishing with nine points along with teammate Bella Bacani, and the Vikings just didn’t have much energy left for the second half in a game that was tied after one quarter and at the intermission.

“They outworked us from the coaching plan to the rebounding, to the turnovers, to the good decisions with the basketball,” Vikings coach John Russo said. “They outworked us in every facet of the game. They’re right there with the good teams that we’ve played. Right there with Carroll, Wood, Spring-Ford, Gill St. Bernard’s, Penn Charter.  They’re a good basketball team and they did all the extra stuff tonight to get the win. They won the game on the offensive and defensive glass. They were more physical than we were, and they had a better offensive game plan than we had.”

You could not understate the pressure the Lions put on Boettinger, who was skillfully swinging the ball around the perimeter in the first half. By the time the fourth quarter arrived Boettinger appeared winded, as did Galbavy. A lot of the credit goes to the 5-foot-10 Molly Rullo, who kept the big girl from her favorite spots.

“The plan basically was just to play our game, play hard and play tough,” Molly Rullo said. “It was just outplaying them toughness-wise. The guards made entry passes tough. We forced some tough shots. The hustle, that’s non-negotiable for us. Everyone plays hard, everyone plays defense. And just really emphasizing that today really helped us.”

That is Lions basketball, and it served them well. Win the battle of the 50-50 balls, play hard and limit the touches of the opposition.

“They had size on us but Molly did a great job on Quinn and Carly (Coleman) stopped Grace a little bit,” Doogan said. “And the girls wanted it.”

The loss marked the end of a banner season for Perkiomen Valley, which included a second straight Pioneer Athletic Conference and District 1 championship. The roster will say goodbye to Kutztown-bound senior Anna Stein, but with six of seven players in the rotation coming back, the Vikings are positioned for another run into March.

“It doesn’t discredit the season we had, but now it becomes a game we want to get back to next year and now we have to wait another 365 days to get it back,” Russo said.

Cardinal O’Hara 49, Perkiomen Valley 35

Cardinal O’Hara  10  7  18  14 – 49

Perkiomen Valley  10  7  9  9 – 35

Cardinal O’Hara: Miller 0 1 0-0 3, QUinn 2 1 3-4 10, Coleman 2 0 2-4 6, Mol Rullo, 5 0 1-2 13, Donohue 0 1 0-0 3, Meg Rullo 1 3 3-3 14.

Perkiomen Valley: A Stein 1 0 0-0 2, Bacani 2 1 2-3 9, Smith 0 0 0-0 0, L Stein 0 1 2-2 5, Miley 2 0 0-0 4, Boettinger 2 0 2-2 6, Galbavy 3 1 0-1 9. Totals 10 3 6-8 35.