Neshaminy and Upper Dublin both saw their successful seasons end in Monday’s PIAA 6A state semifinal round. Neshaminy/Garnet Valley photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery.
Endings – they’re never easy.
Neshaminy and Upper Dublin both found out how difficult it is to be oh so close to a trip to Hershey and the PIAA 6A final only to fall just short. Upper Dublin extended an undefeated Peters Township team to overtime where – minus two key players on the bench with five fouls – the Cardinals fell to the Indians. Neshaminy battled back from eight down with less than a minute to play against District 1 6A champion Garnet Valley and watched a three for the tie bounce harmlessly off the rim as the final horn sounded.
The SOL will not be represented in Friday’s state title game at Hershey, but the SOL squads were prominent players in the state tournament with two of the league’s teams advancing to the Final Four and four of its squads earning a spot in the Elite Eight.
#1-1 GARNET VALLEY 51, #1-2 NESHAMINY 48
Perhaps it’s just Garnet Valley’s year.
How else could you possibly explain the usually accurate Jaguars allowing an eight-point lead to disappear in short order by connecting on just 6-of-14 from the foul line down the stretch, which opened the door for a Redskin comeback. A Neshaminy three for the tie fell just short in the closing seconds.
All of this on the heels of rallying from eight down in the fourth quarter of Friday’s quarterfinal against Council Rock North and then surviving a three for the win by an Indian sharpshooter in the game’s closing seconds.
Coach Joe Lally, however, wasn’t blaming fate for Monday’s loss.
“To me, the difference in that game is still their overall size,” the Redskins’ coach said of a Jaguar squad that starts three 6-footers. “Whenever they needed (a basket), they had something more reliable to go to, which was their size.
“When you have size – a couple of their pick and rolls were not great passes, but they were great catches. They have kids that are good enough to make those plays and then score layups versus us trying to get more contested shots with all their bigs. They got easier buckets – we had to work harder.”
It was an uphill battle all night for the Redskins, who led 11-10 when Allison Harvey buried a three at the buzzer ending the first quarter. One of the Jaguars’ six-footers, Brianne Borckey, scored on a putback to open the second quarter. Two minutes later, Emily McAteer capped a 9-0 Jaguar run when she turned an offensive rebound into a basket. Emily Tantala scored on a short baseline shot, but Jillian Nagy answered with a basket at the other end. The Jaguars had their largest lead of the game, 23-13, after Liesl Dentinger found Madi McKee on the opposite side of the basket for an easy deuce midway through the second quarter.
The Redskins rallied. Allison Harvey turned a steal into a basket, and after a Garnet Valley turnover – the Jaguars had 11 in the first half, Tantala buried a baseline three. Another Jaguar turnover resulted in a Mullin basket just inside the arc. Garnet Valley went into the intermission with a 27-22 lead. Mullin’s eight points led the Redskins.
“I don’t know – we had some defensive lapses, and they got to the basket too many times,” Mullin said.
The Bucknell-bound senior found a cutting Kelli Kowalick for an easy bucket to open the second half, but the Jaguars had an answer. They still led by six late after a bucket by Emily McAteer. A three from the top of the circle by Kristin Curley pulled the Redskins to within three, 37-34, heading into the final frame.
The Jaguars appeared to be in command when they opened up a 48-40 lead with 43 seconds remaining, but Mullin – who scored 12 of her game-high 22 points in the final quarter – banked home a three. The Jaguars misfired on a pair at the foul line, and after a Neshaminy miss, the Jaguars connected on one-of-two to make it a 49-43 game.
Mullin was fouled shooting a three and buried all three foul shots to pull the ‘Skins to within three. Madi McKee sank one-of-two at the foul line to give the Jaguars a four-point edge, but a Mullin basket cut that lead to two with 13.6 seconds remaining. Another one-of-two from the foul line with 8.5 seconds left opened the door for a potential tie, but the Redskins’ three attempt fell short.
“We drew up the very last play – it worked perfectly, the ball just didn’t fall,” Mullin said. “Honestly, they were bigger than us, and we had to box out more. I don’t think we did that as well. We fought back at the end, but it just wasn’t enough.”
While Mullin led all scorers with 22 points to go along with six steals, Tantala added nine and Harvey had eight points.
“The girls were great, they were a ton of fun,” Lally said. “I’m really happy that overall everyone got to see their hard work. Everyone got to come out tonight to see it.
“Maybe it wasn’t their best game, but boy, do they play hard. Boy, do they never quit. It’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime team.”
“It’s sad,” Mullin said, biting back tears. “We love each other, and we’re going to miss playing with each other, but we’re not going away from each other. We’re going to stay together.”
The Redskins bid farewell to seniors Mullin, Harvey, McCoy and Meghan Ansel.
“They were a huge part of this team and really led us through the season,” Tantala said. “It’s going to be hard to lose them. Whenever we were down, they brought us up. They were just a huge part of the team.”
Neshaminy (12-0 SOL) closed out a successful season with a 27-5 record.
Neshaminy 11-11-12-14 48
Garnet Valley 10-17-10-14 51
Neshaminy (48) – Emily Tantala 4 0-0 9; Brooke Mullin 7 6-7 22; Kristin Curley 1 1-2 4; Kelli Kowalick 1 0-0 2; Allison Harvey 3 0-0 8; Alexis McCoy 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 17 8-11 48.
Garnet Valley (51) – Morgan Falcone 2 1-3 7; Emily McAteer 9 0-1 19; Madi McKee 2 2-6 6; Jillian Nagy 1 1-2 3; Brianne Borcky 4 6-8 14; Liesl Dentinger 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 19 10-20 51
3-pointers: Neshaminy – Brooke Mullin 2, Allison Harvey 2, Emily Tantala, Kristin Curley, Garnet Valley – Morgan Falcone 2, Emily McAteer.
#7-1 PETERS TOWNSHIP 51, UPPER DUBLIN 46 (OT)
Morgan Funsten – battling a case of the flu since Saturday night – didn’t have much of a voice left after Monday night’s thriller. The defending state champions came up just short in their bid for another trip to Hershey, but it wasn’t for lack of effort.
And for those wondering how the Cardinals have found themselves in such elite company the past two years, the veteran coach explains.
“If I could videotape the practices after we lose games, you would understand why we make the improvements that we make,” Funsten said. “It’s the mindset the girls come into those practices with.
“It is so easy to point fingers when things go wrong. If you can point them at yourself and look at yourself in the mirror and look at what you need to do to make the team better. If everybody is on the same page and has that mindset, you can continue to improve. It is such a long season. It’s so easy to look ahead, to having some time off and finally having time for yourself again, but the girls love being part of something bigger than themselves.
“That’s what I admire the most – their selflessness and their desire to improve. I think the girls spent more time preparing for this game than any other game in the season. Maybe I could say that about the last three games, each time more and more. They could taste it. They wanted that feeling they got last year, but things don’t always go your way. It certainly wasn’t for lack of effort, it wasn’t for anybody out for themselves.”
The Flying Cardinals appeared to be in command when they led by seven late in the first half.
“We were up 23-16 with 20 seconds to go in the first half and we had the ball,” Funsten said. “We turned the ball over, we tried to take a foul before the girl went in for a layup, and they called it an intentional foul. She made both foul shots, and they got possession.
“They threw a prayer up with three seconds to go, and we kind of relaxed. They got an offensive rebound and we fouled them. They made both foul shots with no time left in the first half.”
Instead of leading 23-16, the Flying Cardinals found themselves clinging to a 23-20 advantage. At the end of three quarters, they held a tenuous 28-27 lead.
“The second half was very close,” Funsten said. “We had five point-lead with under two minutes to go. We actually got multiple stops, and we just couldn’t close the game out.
“They have a lot of firepower, and they’re a great offensive rebounding team. That’s really where they hurt us most – offensive rebounding.”
The Flying Cardinals suffered a major setback when Jackie Vargas fouled out in the closing minute of regulation.
“We were up three with under a minute to go, and their best player put her head down and went to the basket,” Funsten said. “Jackie stepped up and helped like she always does.
“I watched the replay already – she went straight up. The call was made. I have a hard time understanding how you call that a foul. It was tough. She’s really important for us to help break pressure because she can handle the ball so well for a big girl. When you’re in trouble on the press, you can just look up and see her and find her.
“At the same time, we missed the front end of two one-and-ones, and we missed two other foul shots when we had a chance to really put ourselves a better spot than we were.”
With nine seconds remaining, Kara Grebe was whistled for her fifth foul, so the Flying Cardinals were without two of their bigs for the entire overtime.
“They won the opening tip and scored on their first possession,” Funsten said. “We had a decent possession – we made a nice pass, fumbled it. We made the basket, but they called a walk on it.
“With the special player they have – (Makenna) Marisa, they were going to start stalling, so we had to pressure and we gave them some shots we hadn’t given them the whole time.”
Marisa, who averages 20.8 points a game, had a game-high 14 but managed just three field goals. She was a perfect 8-for-8 at the foul line.
“Sarah Eskew did a great job on her,” Funsten said. “We made a lot of mistakes, we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds.
“You’re talking about a team that’s 28-0. I just think it speaks so much to our team that we made mistakes – we missed some shots, we gave up too many offensive rebounds, but we were still in a position to win the game. I think that speaks to the fight that my players have and had all season. They took the loss really hard. It was not a fun three-and-a-half hour bus ride home.”
Peters Township connected on just 11-of-39 shots (28.7 percent) against a stingy Cardinal defense. The Indians’ prowess under the backboards was underscored by their 21-6 advantage in offensive rebounds.
Vargas led the Cardinals with eight rebounds to go along with eight points.
Jess Polin and Dayna Balasa each scored nine points to lead a balanced attack. Polin added four rebounds and a team-high six assists. Balasa also had four rebounds. Sarah Eskew also had eight points. Anajae Smith had five rebounds.
“We were this close to winning and going to the state championship again, and nobody scored in double figures for us,” Funsten said. “That’s our team, that’s the type of balance that we have. We wish we had this one back, but we’re not going to let it ruin what was a very magical season.
“It was a special group this year. Their desire to always improve and never point fingers is something I am most proud of my team.”
Upper Dublin closed out its season with a 25-6 record and an SOL American Conference co-championship (13-1).
Peters Township 11-9-7-12-12 51
Upper Dublin 9-14-5-11-7 46
Peters Township (51) – Makenna Marisa 3 8-8 14; Isabella Mills 2 6-8 12; Jordan Bisignani 2 0-2 5; Journey Thompson 5 2-4 12; Abby Peyton 0 2-2 2; Avana Sayles 2 2-4 6; TOTALS 14 20-28 51.
Upper Dublin (46) – Bliss Brenner 1 1-1 3, Anajae Smith 1 0-0 2; Meg Barbera 1 1-2 3; Jess Polin 2 4-5 9; Kara Grebe 2 0-0 4; Sarah Eskew 3 0-1 8; Dayna Balasa 3 0-2 9; Jackie Vargas 3 2-2 8; TOTALS 16 8-13 46.
3-pointers: Peters Township – Isabella Mills 2, Jordan Bisignani; Upper Dublin – Dayna Balasa 3, Sarah Eskey 2, Jess Polin.
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