Grace Brethren captures PVAC title

Eagles runs the table on conference foes

Although sophomore point guard Andrea Jones, one of county’s top scorers, had 21 points and earned MVP honors, she made way for Rawles in the third quarter. The senior forward scored 10 of her 16 points in a 14-2 run, becoming unstoppable in the lane and helping Grace Brethren open up a 41-34 lead that only grew the rest of the game.

‘‘We always have to be ready for her passes, and I know when [Jones] passes it to us we have to finish,” said Rawles, who also grabbed six rebounds.

Jones, who added four steals, led the Eagles in the first half with 15 points, but didn’t get her next basket until three minutes remained in the game. The second half allowed other players, like Rawles and Samaria Parker, who had eight points and 11 rebounds, to show what they can do.

‘‘[Rawles is] probably the best small forward I’ve ever had,” said Perry. ‘‘She can score, she’s a heck of a rebounder for her size and she’s got tremendous heart. Everybody knows Andrea can score and play defense and get tough. Sometimes she’s got two or three players on her, and the other kids will step up.”

The next task for Grace Brethren (22-5) is the Maryland Christian Schools Tournament this weekend. It’s a chance for the Eagles to do something no other team has done in Perry’s seven seasons, which is to follow up an undefeated PVAC season with both a conference championship and the Christian schools title.

The conference tournament semifinals and final were the toughest two games of the season for Grace Brethren, which went undefeated in the conference for the first time in five years and beat every league opponent by double-digit margins. But it took two overtimes to slip by McLean, 63-59, in the semifinals. In the final, the Eagles trailed Covenant Life by as many as six points in the first half.

‘‘I was hoping [for a run],” Perry said. ‘‘We didn’t do real well with the pressure and we turned the ball over too much and we just weren’t good managers of the ball. We got a spurt there, and I could start to feel it.”

Jones and Rawles said last year’s boys’ team, which went 30-5 but lost in the PVAC tournament championship game, served as a reminder to stay focused on finishing the job, even while they blew through opponents all season.

‘‘We have a motto for the whole year — ‘One team, one dream,’” Jones said. ‘‘So for the whole year it was one team, one dream. The whole time we were playing, we just wanted to make it back to the championship to defend our title.”

E-mail Kevin Hilgers at khilgers@gazette.net.