Upper Dublin advanced to the PIAA 6A State Tournament quarterfinals while Pennsbury saw its outstanding postseason run come to an end. Upper Dublin/Perk Valley photos courtesy of Greg Lindsay, and Pennsbury/Altoona photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D photography. Check back for galleries.
PIAA 6A Tournament second round
#1-1 UPPER DUBLIN 72, #1-6 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 50
On their worst days (and there are very few of those), the Cardinals are a nightmare for their opponents. On their best days – well, just ask Perk Valley what it was like the first half of Tuesday’s second round PIAA 6A State Tournament game that saw the Cardinals torch the Vikings’ defense for 43 points and took a 23-point lead into halftime.
Included in that half was a second quarter that was an offensive clinic by the Cards, who put 27 points on the board,
connecting on 10 of 14 shots (5 of 8 from beyond the arc).
“it’s an amazing feeling,” said UD senior Emilia Coleman, whose 22 points included five 3s and led the Cardinals. “I feel like not many teams get to do that, and obviously, going into the game, we’re not thinking we’re going to be up by that much. We just have to come out strong and get on them first, but it’s a cool feeling being able to do that.”
Coleman had 10 points in the explosive second quarter and finished the half with 16 points, which included a 5-for-6 effort from beyond the arc.
“Seeing one (go in) always helps, but I’m just going to continue taking the shots whether I’m missing them or making them,” Coleman said. “(Coach) Funsten always says – ‘If you’re hitting shots, just continue shooting.’ If I’m given space, I’m going to shoot it.”
While Coleman was lighting it up, teammate Bridget DiMartile was having a career day of her own. The University of Michigan lacrosse commit buried a 3-pointer to put the Cards on the board and then came up with a steal and transition basket, spotting UD a 5-0 lead before fans had settled in their seats.
“She played really well tonight,” Coleman said of DiMartile. “I feel as though we’re a team that not many other teams can match up well with. We have a bunch of people who can just do other things.
“All of us can shoot the ball, all of us can drive, all of us can defend, and you can’t really defend that.”
DiMartile scored 10 first-half points and finished with a career high 17 points, connecting on 7 of 11 shots from the floor (3 of 6 from beyond the arc).
“I didn’t shoot great the last game, and the team didn’t shoot great last game, so I just wanted to come out with energy,” DiMartile said. “It wasn’t necessarily to score but defensive energy, just doing what I could, and the shots just came with it.
“Once I made the first one, I was feeling good, so I just kept shooting.“
The Vikings edged the Cards 30-29 in the second half, but this game was over by halftime.
“It was a pretty high-scoring first half, and it was really exciting,” DiMartile said. “We just shot the ball really well, and again, that was one of the things we wanted to work on after last game since we didn’t really shoot well.
“I think that was big for us, and that will give us momentum moving on definitely.”
–Lacrosse stars: DiMartile is one of three Division 1 lacrosse players on a basketball squad that also includes reserves Maeve Hogan (Marquette) and Shannon Connaughton (Villanova) . Their absence is certainly felt on the lacrosse team.
“There is a little bit of mixed emotions because I know there are some big games coming up for lacrosse,” DiMartile said. “But I prepared myself in the beginning of the season for a deep run into March, so right now I’m all in for basketball.
“I’m obviously thinking about the lacrosse girls, but this is a special opportunity that I won’t get very often.”
UD coach Morgan Funsten understands his players’ mixed emotions.
“It’s a difficult time for our lacrosse players,” the Cardinals’ coach said. “I kind of compared it to like if Emilia, Meg and Tami couldn’t start the basketball season. How would they feel? That’s pretty much what the lacrosse team is dealing with.
“All three of the lacrosse players have been great. They’re all Division I lacrosse commits. Their team first mentality is always awesome. Bridge plays more minutes than they do, but all three of them have just been such great teammates over the years, and this year’s no exception.”
By the numbers: Emilia Coleman’s 22 points led the Cards. She also had seven rebounds. Bridget DiMartile added 17, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocked shots. Tamia Clark finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 13 rebounds in a dominant effort in the paint. She also had three assists and two blocks. Megan Ngo also had 11 points to go along with six assists. Ella Morris had seven points and
four rebounds while Lexi Ngo added three assists.
Upper Dublin coach Morgan Funsten:
–Ignoring distractions: “I just think during state playoffs with spring sports starting, there are just so many distractions, and it’s really important to stay focused, and I thought Megan (Ngo) and Emilia (Coleman) have done a really great job of keeping the team laser focused on our goals.
“Bridget making the first two shots today was awesome to see, and then you can see she just played with a ton of confidence after that.
“We didn’t defend as well as we wanted to today, but sometimes you can make up with some poor defense with shot making, and scoring 43 points in the first half, and Emilia – each 3 felt like it was further away, and it was just indefensible.”
Up next: Upper Dublin will face District 2 champion Hazleton, which knocked out of the tournament District 11’s third place team, Parkland, 79-46.
Perkiomen Valley 8-12-17-13 50
Upper Dublin 16-27-20-9 72
Perkiomen Valley (50) – Gabby Russo 1 0-0 3; Scarlett Lee 1 1-2 3; Kate Nemic 3 1-1 8; Lauren Binkowski 4 0-0 10; Hannah Evans 5 3-4 15; Megan King 4 1-2 11; TOTALS 18 6-9 50.
Upper Dublin (72) – Bridget DiMartile 7 0-0 17; Tamia Clark 3 5-5 11; Megan Ngo 4 1-2 11; Lexi Ngo 2 0-0 4; Emilia Coleman 8 1-2 22; Ella Morris 3 0-0 7; TOTAL 27 7-9 72.
3-point goals: PV – Lauren Binkowski 2, Hannah Evans 2, Megan King 2, Gabby Russo, Kate Nemic; UD – Emilia Coleman 5, Bridget DiMartile 3, Megan Ngo 2, Ella Morris
#6-1 ALTOONA 37, #1-2 PENNSBURY 34
The young Falcons have shown a remarkable ability to bounce back from deficits the seem almost insurmountable, and they did it again in Tuesday’s second round state tournament contest.
After falling behind 13-3 at the end one quarter, the Falcons battled back. Behind eight points from Joley Hohman (which included two 3s) and five from Alyssa Thomas, the Falcons scored 13 second-quarter points, trimming four points off Altoona’s lead and trailing 22-16 at the intermission.
A pair of Sammie Haws 3s highlighted a third quarter that was pretty much a draw. Altoona took a 32-27 lead into the final quarter where the Falcons pulled to within three but would get no closer.
Alyssa Thomas was the lone Falcon in double figures, finishing with 11 points. Sammie Haws added nine, and Joley Hohman had eight.
Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla:
–The first half: “Credit to Altoona for jumping out to a 13-2 start before the 5 o’clock news got to a commercial break. Amazingly, they are used to rides like this because of their league. We spent two days preparing to contain Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore up top, but it’s possible that the excitement of the game or just being off the bus had us overextending defensively, and she was able to get downhill. She made incredible passes to their standstill shooters, and to their credit, they knocked down open shots. At this level, you see good shooters, and they made them.
“We got some really good looks in the first quarter, but we were not able to knock them down, and that’s okay because that’s kind of been our MO for much of the season. We don’t hang our heads or get negative. The girls keep plugging, and it’s admirable.
“We got a big 3-pointer from Joley Hohman in the second, and midway through the second quarter, we changed defenses and we were able to go on a run and cut the lead to six points at the half.”
–The second half: “Late in the third quarter, we got a big three from Keira Socha to cut it to three, but they inbounded it quickly and hit a 30-footer at the buzzer, and it was a big momentum shift.
“Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore played as well as any point guard has against us this year. Without Milan (Reaves), we’ve had to change how we pressure, and we were really proud of how Shea Quenzer guarded her and gave us a chance to get back into the game.
“Sammie knocked down a big 3-pointer, and Alyssa got loose a few times going to the basket and we really had momentum going our way. They were extremely strong and physical, but we battled like we always do, and we wound up getting a really
good look to tie the game with about two minutes to go, but it didn’t go down.
“We were able to hang for a bit and we had a shot to tie in the final seconds, but it didn’t go. We were playing from behind all game, but obviously, we are proud of how we battled. We did a fantastic job on Brionna Hudson, who is just an absolute handful with her athleticism and will be big time in two years.
“We would’ve liked to have shot the ball better, but we’re definitely happy that we were able to get so many looks to the people that we wanted to shoot the ball and ultimately that’s the key. The girls did such a good job of that in almost every game, and even on nights when we weren’t making shots, we were able to hang because of our defense and ball security.”
–Reflections on the season: “Our girls always play extremely hard and they never quit. It’s extremely motivating, and we will be sad to see Bridget McGonigle and Emily Panaro graduate, but we are so happy to have shared such an experience with them and happy for the leadership they gave us.
“We couldn’t ask for another inch from this group. They maximized every bit of their ability. They played over their heads on most nights. They carried the Pennsbury flag with pride and we are grateful.”
Pennsbury closed out its season with a 22-6 record, which included a 9-1 record and an SOL Patriot Division title
Pennsbury 3-13-11-7 34
Altoona 13-9-10-5 37
Pennsbury (34) – Sammie Hawes 3 1-2 9; Alyssa Thomas 5 0-0 11; Joley Hohman 3 0-0 8; Shea Quenzer 0 0-2 0; Kiera Socha 2 0-0 6; TOTALS 13 1-4 34.
Altoona (37) – Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore 4 1-2 11; Brionna Hudson 4 1-1 9; Raylin Eyer 3 0-0 8; Kendall Cogan 1 1-2 3; Samantha Harpster 2 0-0 6; TOTALS 14 3-5 37.
3-point goals: P – Sammie Hawes 2, Joley Hohman 2, Kiera Socha 2, Alyssa Thomas; A – Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore 2, Raylin Eyer 2, Samantha Harpster 2.
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