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WYNCOTE – They’re back at it again, creating the kind of chaos on the basketball court that makes life miserable for opposing teams.Upper Dublin can certainly vouch for that.
The Flying Cardinals had an opportunity to experience Cheltenham’s version of in-your-face defense in Tuesday night’s SOL opener between the perennial American Conference powers. It was not a good experience.
The Lady Panthers – poised to make some noise after a down year last year - forced one turnover after another in Tuesday’s showdown, opening up a 28-17 halftime lead and then blowing the game wide open in the second half on their way to a 64-42 win.
“The problem is first of all you have to have somebody that wants the ball,” Upper Dublin coach Vince Catanzaro said. “The thing is we don’t have the experience, and it shows.
“We have to keep working at it. We have to find somebody who wants the ball, somebody who can bring it up without throwing it away. We have guards, but they’re inexperienced, and you can only put so much heat on the kids.”
In addition to creating havoc with their defense, the Lady Panthers gave glimpses of a potentially explosive offense as well. Junior Monet Constant used a combination of smooth-as-silk outside jump shots as well as drives to the hole to score a game-high 24 points.After the game, Schaefer put Constant in some lofty company when he compared the fleet-of-foot guard to former Panther star Shayla Johnson, who led the Lady Panthers to a state title as a senior.
“She’s like Shayla, but she’s quicker and not as tall,” the Lady Panthers’ coach said. “She’s everywhere – getting the ball, rebounding. I love to watch her, and she’s a delightful kid.”
The soft-spoken Constant, who gave glimpses of her potential last year, admits it feels a whole lot different this time around.
“I think we all grew as people, especially I know myself I have matured and grown,” she said. “I understand the game and understand how to work with my teammates and trust them. I think that’s what we needed – that trust and understanding.
“We always had the talent. We were just so inexperienced. This year we really wanted to come out and not be afraid and show them what we knew we had.”
In addition to Constant, the Lady Panthers received 14 points from junior guard Shayla Felder while sophomore guard Tiffany Johnson had 10 points on a night that belonged to the guards.
But it was the team’s ‘let’s create chaos defense’ that was the subject of conversation on the Cheltenham sidelines when it was over.
“It’s total fun,” Constant said. “From all the hard times we had at practice – our coach is always pushing us, showing us this is how we can play.
“It’s really our coaches pushing us hard at practice and making us work harder to give us speed and the confidence we need to play good defense.”
It was a 6-5 game when the bedlam began in earnest.
After Upper Dublin’s Kristen Fuery (13 points) buried a shot to make it a one-point game, Cheltenham’s Dayna McCrewell answered with a drive at the other end. A Flying Cardinal turnover set the stage for a basket by Constant in the paint.
Johnson pulled down the rebound of an Upper Dublin miss and took it coast-to-coast for the bucket, and moments later, McCrewell – benefiting from Johnson’s pressure - came up with a steal that netted a Felder trey.
In a deadly two-minute span, the Lady Panthers had turned a one-point lead into a double-digit lead.
“We’re quicker this year,” said Felder. “We were inexperienced last year. This year we’re more experienced, and we’re able to communicate more with each other.
“We have this bond, this chemistry that knows where each other is on the court to get the ball. We went through some tough stages. Now we have this.”
The Cardinals made it a 24-17 game after a Rebecca Courter trey late in the second quarter, but a basket by Jenna Peoples from the top of the key was followed by a Flying Cardinal miss.
When freshman Sydni Epps scored at the buzzer, the Panthers took a 28-17 lead into the halftime locker room, and the fun was just starting.
After Danielle Derr (12 points) connected on one-of-two from the foul line for the Cardinals, Johnson converted a McCrewell takeaway into a bucket. A shot off the dribble just inside the three-point arc by Constant put the Panthers on top 32-18, and that lead grew to 35-18 after a putback by Constant.
Derr answered with a bucket, but Constant followed her own miss for an easy deuce, and after the Cardinals misfired on a pair from the foul line, Felder scored on a pull-up off the dribble. Another Flying Cardinal turnover set the stage for another Felder pull-up jumper, and the Panthers led 41-20.
“They can mix it up,” Schaefer said of his players. “We’re still not as smart as we should be defensively, but they’re doing a good job. I’m really happy with the level of intensity. They don’t quit, and that’s what I want. I want 100 percent when they’re out there on the floor.”
The Flying Cardinals trimmed that lead to 12 but never threatened as the Panthers rolled to the big win. 
The key to the Lady Panthers’ turnaround is simple, according to Felder.
“We work hard continuously at practice- never slack off, just keep working hard,” the junior guard said.
“They’re coming together nicely as a team,” Schaefer said. “They’re rooting for each other to get the job done, and that’s good.”
The Panthers were coming off an intense weekend that saw them split a pair of games in the Hazleton Tournament. They defeated Abington Heights 43-32 but fell to Hazleton 66-65 in the title game.
“That was just practice,” Felder said. “This is the real thing.”
While the Panthers improved to 2-1 on the season, the Flying Cardinals fell to 1-2.
EXTRA POINTS: People led the Panthers under the boards with 10 rebounds to go along with five blocked shots. Epps added seven boards off the bench. Derr led the Cardinals with 10 boards and two blocked shots.
CHELTENHAM 64, UPPER DUBLIN 42
Upper Dublin (42) – Courter 3 0-0 9; Kane 2 0-0 4; Fuery 5 2-3 13; Harchut 1 1-4 3; Derr 4 4-6 12; Marvel 0 0-0 0; Hallowell 0 0-0 0; Ellert 0 0-0 0; Waters 0 1-2 1. Totals 15 8-15 42.
Cheltenham (64) – Peoples 2 0-0 4, Constant 9 4-7 24; Johnson 4 2-4 10; Felder 6 1-1 14; McCrewell 3 0-0 6; Taliaferro 1 0-0 2; Epps 2 0-0 4; Oliver 0 0-0 0; Taylor 0 0-0 0; James 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 7-12 64.
Upper Dublin 7 10 13 12-42
Cheltenham 15 13 16 20-64
Three-point goals: Courter 3, Fuery, Constant 2, Felder.
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