Neshaminy defeated Upper Dublin in Tuesday’s SOL Tournament title game at Holy Family University. Photos courtesy of Trish Sexton. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f913170668
SOL Tournament Final
#3 NESHAMINY 35, #1 UPPER DUBLIN 22
The final horn had barely sounded when the celebration began.
Lola Ibarrondo tossed the ball she’d been dribbling into the air as she was mobbed by jubilant teammates. Neshaminy had just captured the program’s first SOL Tournament, and it was reason to celebrate.
“It’s incredible to get it done, especially for me, Reese (Zemitis) and Ava (Irizarry) our senior year,” Ibarrondo said. “Going into this year, I didn’t know what it was going to be like because we’re so young, but this group is one of the best groups I’ve ever had a chance to play with. This means everything to me.”
“This is huge for our program and our team,” Zemitis said. “The fact that we’re able to get here – especially for us seniors, it’s something we wanted to do for so long, so I think this will carry into districts and states. It’s good momentum, for sure, for the rest of the season.”
In Tuesday’s win, it was Zemitis giving her team some early momentum, scoring on her team’s opening possession, and after freshman Ashlyn Duffy buried a 3-pointer to give Neshaminy a 5-2 lead, Zemitis went on a personal tear. Her second of back-to-back 3s gave the Redskins an 11-4 lead, and after UD’s Amy Ngo scored on a short jumper to make it five-point game, Zemitis closed out the quarter with a shot from the top of the key to put the ‘Skins on top 13-6 after one quarter.
“It was nothing I didn’t expect from Reese, honestly,” Ibarrondo said. “To me, that’s just Reese, and that was huge to get our momentum.”
It not only gave the Redskins an early lead but a shot of confidence for a young Neshaminy squad.
“In an environment like this, especially for our younger players, it’s huge for them to see shots go in and what we can create on offense,” Zemitis said. “So, when they start changing up their defense, it gives other players opportunities to make those types of plays.”
It was not a coincidence that Zemitis had the hot hand.
“In the first quarter, we just ran everything for Reese, and she did not disappoint,” Neshaminy coach John Gallagher said. “I know Morgan (Funsten) had to call a timeout to tell his girls, ‘You have to cover this girl,’ but we ran some really good stuff.
“Our younger girls set some really good screens that got Reese the half-second she needs to get a shot off. She’s really improved as far as getting her shot off a lot quicker, and that’s going to help her in college.”
The Cardinals – in their second game without point guard Megan Ngo – came roaring back in the second quarter. Five straight points by Amy Ngo, including a three-point play, pulled the Cardinals to within two, and they knotted the score on a basket by Brighid Brady.
Ibarrondo turned a steal into a basket and a 15-13 Neshaminy lead, but freshman Bridget DiMartile sank a pair at the foul line to even the score. A baseline drive by freshman Grace Weyler sent Neshaminy into halftime with a 17-15 lead.
“It’s tough,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “I think the magnitude of the game got us – at least in the first quarter, and I thought we made some nervous plays and nervous decisions.
“I thought we settled in in the second quarter and played obviously much better and scored some points.”
The opening five minutes of the third quarter didn’t feature a whole lot of offense by either team, and when Ngo found DiMartile for an easy bucket, the two teams were knotted 20-20 with 2:30 remaining in the frame.
On the Redskins’ ensuing possession, Ibarrondo was whistled for an offensive foul for lowering her shoulder, a call that just might have given the senior captain some extra motivation.
“That got me fired up,” Ibarrondo said. “I felt like – we’re not getting calls like that. It added fuel to fire.”
After the Cardinals came up empty on their next possession, Ibarrondo buried a 3-pointer from the top of the circle. That was followed by a Zemitis block that resulted in Alena Cofield sinking one-of-two at the foul line, and Ibarrondo closed out the quarter with a steal and layup to send Neshaminy into the fourth quarter with a 26-20 lead.
Ibarrondo’s 5-2 mini-run to close out the quarter marked the beginning of a 15-2 run to close out the game.
Getting defensive – Neshaminy’s defense, according to Gallagher, came into question in his team’s 39-35 win over Central Bucks West on Jan. 18, a contest that saw the Bucks take a 24-17 lead into halftime.
“I went into a zone, and we came back and won,” Gallagher said. “The following day we had practice, and I said, ‘That’s it, girls, we can’t defend man-to-man. You don’t try hard enough, we’re going to a zone.’”
There was some murmuring amongst the players, who – according to his assistants – were not happy with their coach’s mandate.
“(My assistants) came back and told me, ‘They don’t want to play zone. They think they’re a really good man-to-man team,’ and I said, ‘They haven’t showed it,’” Gallagher said. “They said they were going to show it, and ever since that game we’ve been so good defensively man-to-man.
“I thought our defense against North Penn (in the semis) was fabulous, but today it was even better. Upper Dublin has so many kids that shoot the ball extremely well, and we were out on them. They couldn’t get shots off. Obviously, they’re short-handed, but I don’t think that takes away from anything that we did. We were so good defensively.”
The Cardinals managed just two points after Brady’s basket with 3:40 remaining in the third quarter, but listening to Gallagher tell it, an earlier defensive switch was the key.
“Probably the best thing that happened in the game – Alena got two fouls, and we switched Alena off Amy Ngo and put Lola on her,” the Redskins’ coach said. “Nothing against anyone else on our team, but Alena is our best defender without a doubt.
“Lola just picked up that defensive assignment and made it her own. She was so good defensively.”
For Ibarrondo – who will be teammates with Ngo at Holy Family University next year, it was a special challenge.
“My shots weren’t falling in the beginning of the game and the beginning of the second half, so I just had to get it done defensively, and I knew I was guarding one of the best players in the SOL. I knew I had to really challenge her, and that’s what I did. My defense got my offensive game going.”
Neshaminy’s lockdown defense was the undeniable story as Upper Dublin connected on just 7 of 33 shots (21 percent). The Cardinals were just 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.
The heart of the team” – Alena Cofield scored just two points in Tuesday’s historic win, both from the foul line. For the junior guard, that’s three points below her modest average of five points in game.
In Cofield’s case, points don’t begin to tell the story. The diminutive guard is a difference maker on the court for the Redskins, a fact that is not lost on her teammates.
“Sometimes she gets herself frustrated because she’s not scoring as much, but the truth be told – she’s the heart of the team,” Ibarrondo said. “Without her rebounds and second chance opportunities, we would not be as good as we are. And her defense – she’s literally the heart and soul of the team.”
In Tuesday’s win, Cofield was second only to Zemitis in rebounds, pulling down eight – six on the offensive end that led to multiple shot opportunities for the Redskins.
“It’s crazy important for us to get those second chance shots,” Zemitis said. “It’s so big. She makes those hustle plays, and she is the heart of the team.”
Cofield is also a lockdown defender.
“She averages five points a game, but she turns the game defensively in a way I’m just so happy with,” Gallagher said. “The girls behind her know that her girl’s not going to beat her off the dribble, so they don’t have to help, which is huge for our defense.”
Responding to adversity – The Cardinals, who closed the regular season with a 21-1 record, are learning how to play without savvy point guard Megan Ngo. The sophomore floor general is on crutches with a knee injury – the extent of which will be known later this week.
“I think we need to learn to respond to adversity,” Funsten said. “On Saturday, playing our first game without Meg (a 40-34 win over Central Bucks East), we played with so much emotion.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been in this spot several times with teams, and I’ve seen them be able to do it for one game. I warned my team and challenged my team – ‘Can you be the first team that consistently plays with that emotion and consistently rises to the challenge when one of your best players go down.’
“We’re excited to have some time off before district playoffs to kind of re-establish roles. We’ve had one practice and three games in the past five days and still trying to catch our breath from the Megan injury. I think we need to learn how to respond to adversity better and make sure we stick together when things aren’t going well.”
Extra points: Zemitis led the Redskins with an impressive double-double – 18 points and 12 rebounds. She also had three blocked shots. Ibarrondo finished with 10 points, four assists and four steals.
For the Cardinals, Ngo’s nine points – all in the first half – led the way. Tamia Clark’s seven rebounds led the Cardinals under the backboards. DiMartile had six rebounds.
Looking ahead – Neshaminy heads into the District 1 6A Tournament as the ninth seed and will host #24 Ridley in an opening round game on Friday. Upper Dublin, the tournament’s third seed, has an opening round bye and will face the winner of #19 Penncrest at #14 Coatesville in a second round contest.
Neshaminy 13-4-9-9 35
Upper Dublin 6-9-5-2 22
Neshaminy (35) – Grace Weyler 1 0-0 2; Alena Cofield 0 2-4 2; Ashlyn Duffy 1 0-0 3; Lola Ibarrondo 4 1-2 10; Reese Zemitis 6 4-4 18; TOTALS 12 7-11 35.
Upper Dublin (22) – Brighid Brady 1 0-0 2; Bridget DiMartile 1 4-4 8; Tamia Clark 2 0-2 5; Amy Ngo 3 3-3 9; TOTALS 7 7-13 22.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Reese Zemitis 2, Lola Ibarrondo, Ashlyn Duffy, UD – Tamia Clark.
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