Upper Dublin notched a win in non-league play Thursday.
Non-league
UPPER DUBLIN 71, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 45
New Hope-Solebury – the top-ranked team in District 1 3A – was a decided underdog against Upper Dublin, the third-ranked team in 6A with some impressive wins under its belt, but the Lions didn’t back down in Thursday’s non-league battle. The Cards just had too many weapons and earned the rare distinction of playing an entire game without committing a turnover.
The Cardinals – behind eight points from Megan Ngo – led 21-18 after one quarter. Seniors Izzy Elizondo and Emily Wilson kept the Lions close with seven points each.
Upper Dublin took a 38-30 advantage into halftime and entered the final quarter with a 50-39 lead when the Cards outscored their hosts 21-6.
Despite the outcome, coach Andy Krasna – with five players who pretty much went the distance - had no complaints about his team’s effort.
“What a super effort from our Lions teams tonight,” the Lions’ coach said. “Upper Dublin has the pieces in place to make a deep run in the district and state tournaments.
“Although we lost the game, we didn’t lose the lesson. We made some nice strides and battled with a powerhouse program which was fun to witness.”
Key players: Emilia Coleman (20 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 assist) & Tamia Clark (19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) were an effective 1-2 punch. Megan Ngo, UD’s crafty floor general, added 11 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Bridget DiMartile had nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block.
For the Lions, Izzy Elizondo led the way with 19 points, which included three 3 pointers and a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line. Emily Wilson added 13 points.
Coach Morgan Funsten on the game: “The trip to New Hope is a long one, and although we made good decisions all night offensively, we played a sloppy first half defensively and gave up 30 points. The second half defensively was much improved, so it was good that we got better as the game went on.”
--Props: “Tamia Clark played with great energy on both sides of the floor and Emilia Coleman scored in a variety of ways. Megan Ngo flirted with a triple-double and did a great job getting the ball to where it needed to go.”
--A chance for redemption: “Our season last year ended against Cardinal O’Hara in a game that we got completely dominated, so it will be fun on Sunday to be more competitive than last year. Looking forward to the next couple days of practice to get ready for a big one on Sunday.
--Protecting the rock: “For the first time in my career, we had zero turnovers on the night, which is an incredible stat. Although we scored a lot of points, we shot the same percentage as New Hope, but between taking care of the ball and offensive rebounding, we attempted 28 more field goals than them.”
New Hope-Solebury coach Andy Krasna on the game: “It is hard for us to simulate full court trapping/double teaming defenses in practice, but we try to be creative and find ways to improve in this area. Upper Dublin did a great job dictating the pace tonight, but through the first three quarters, we played with confidence and stayed in striking distance.
“I was glad that we were able to keep them out of the paint, but they made us pay by nailing eleven 3-pointers and showed why they are an elite team this year.”
Next up: Upper Dublin (12-2, 4-0 SOL) will face Cardinal O’Hara in a non-league game Sunday at Ursinus College (3 pm). New Hope-Solebury (8-3, 4-1) will host Bensalem in a non-league game Monday.
Upper Dublin 21-17-12-21 71
New Hope-Solebury 18-12-9-6 45
Upper Dublin (71) – Bridget DiMartile 4 1-3 9; Tamia Clark 8 2-2 19; Megan Ngo 4 1-1 11; Lexi Ngo 1 0-0 3; Emilia Coleman 8 1-2 20, Ella Morris 2 0-0 6; TOTALS 28 5-8 71.
New Hope-Solebury (45) – Izzy Elizondo 6 4-4 19; Emily Wilson 4 2-4 13; Ella Dudick 1 1-2 3; Kayla Fennell 3 0-0 6; Mary Tresler 2 0-0 4; TOTAL 16 7-19 45,
3-point goals: UD – Emilia Coleman 3, Megan Ngo 2. Ella Morris 2, Lexi Ngo, Kaitlyn Zacharia, Tamia Clark; NH-S – Izzy Elizondo 3, Emily Wilson 3.
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