Upper Dublin fell to Germantown Academy 50-43 in the Blue Star Elite Invitational at Cabrini College on Sunday.
GERMANTOWN ACADEMY 50, UPPER DUBLIN 43
Morgan Funsten figured his team would find out a whole lot about itself this weekend when it did battle with area powers North Penn and Germantown Academy in a 24-hour span. The Flying Cardinals coach liked what he saw even though his team came up just short in both games.
At Sunday’s Blue Star Elite Invitational at Cabrini College, the Cardinals faced a GA squad that brought a 15-2 record into the contest.
“We had seen GA play a couple of times and had them on tape, and we saw how talented they were,” Funsten said. “We knew we had to absolutely bring our ‘A’ game today, and I think we did.
“I thought GA played very well. If we could stick with a GA team who is as talented as they are and who I thought played a good game – they made (six) threes against us, so they shot the ball well. They were 11-for-15 from the line. Every time they missed a foul shot you were amazed because they are so fundamentally solid.”
The Flying Cardinals trailed by just two after one quarter and three at halftime (28-25).
“We came ready to play,” Funsten said. “They scored the first couple of baskets, and we didn’t go away. Josie Barrett came out in the first quarter and had eight points and really set the tone for us.
“That forced them to pay more attention to her, which opened things up for other players. Demi Balasa had eight points in the first half.”
GA took a 37-31 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Cardinals stayed within striking distance, trailing by just three with three minutes remaining.
“We got great contributions from Nicole Kaiser off the bench,” Funsten said. “She had seven points in the second half.
“We never took the lead, and every time it they got the lead up to seven or eight, we would respond and get it back down to three.”
Barrett led the Cardinals with 12 points while Kaiser had nine points and three rebounds off the bench. Balasa finished with eight points, and Allison Chernow had six points and eight assists.
“Even with Allison Chernow not scoring as much as she usually does, she’s the one that allows us to stay under control against teams that pressure as much as GA does,” Funsten said. “Ashley Barber didn’t put up big numbers, but she’s such a post presence.
“(Lauren) Oeth picked up three fouls in the first half, she picked up her fourth early in the third quarter, and I think a big part of it had to do with Ashley being around. She frustrates people because they try and post up, and they just bounce off Ashley because she’s such a strong girl. Ashley and Allison still play major roles on the team even when they’re not scoring.”
Senior Erin Lindahl led GA with 17 points, which included a pair of three-pointers. Cat Polisano added 14 with a pair of threes and University of Penn-bound Kendall Grasela had eight with two threes.
“I think we proved a lot to ourselves this weekend, and maybe we proved something to other people too,” Funsten said. “Mainly, we had to convince ourselves that we were an upper level team, and I think we did.
“I think we played much better today than we did against North Penn. I think GA is just off the charts good.”
While GA improved to 16-2, Upper Dublin is 10-4 overall (8-0 SOL) with an American Conference showdown at Cheltenham on Tuesday night.
“We went into the weekend knowing that by far the most important game of our season is on Tuesday against Cheltenham,” Funsten said. “You’re always nervous about playing two physically demanding games back to back. You’re afraid – are you going to come out alive?
“I think physically we’re feeling good, and I think we’re stronger mentally than we were going in. We’re not satisfied keeping it close against two top teams, but yet we proved we could become a great team by the end of the year. We don’t think we’re there yet. We pretty much know we’re a good team, and our goal moving forward is we want to become a great team.”
Upper Dublin 14-11-6-12 43
Germantown Academy 16-12-9-13 50
Upper Dublin: Nicole Kaiser 9, Josie Barrett 12, Alison Gouveia 4, Allison Chernow 6, Demi Balasa 8, Maggie Weglos 2, Ashley Barber 2.
Germantown Academy: Kendall Grasela 8, Erin Lindahl 17, Cat Polisano 14, Lauren Oeth 2, Lilly Bolen 6, Alexa Naessens 2.
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