NORRISTOWN – Mercedes Harris and Natasha Matthews were all smiles as they emerged from their team’s post-game locker room meeting after Thursday night’s 48-42 win over Upper Dublin.
The Norristown duo had just combined for 23 points and 22 rebounds as they dominated the paint for the Eagles.
“This feels great, especially because they beat us by 20 points the last time,” Harris said of the Eagles’ 58-38 loss in the initial meeting between the two teams.
“Everybody played harder, and we picked the defense up,” Matthews added. “We were playing a lot harder – just the effort and intensity.”
For coach Ashlee Harrison, who has been through her share of wars against the Flying Cardinals, this win was especially sweet.
“I told them I feel like we won the championship,” Harrison said. “It goes back to Wissahickon - they were our rivals. To me as a head coach to get my first win against Upper Dublin, it’s so triumphant to beat such a rival.”
On the other side of the court, Upper Dublin coach Vince Catanzaro wasn’t nearly as upbeat.
“This is the way it’s been every game,” the veteran coach said. “The kids don’t know how to come out and be mentally ready.
“We start out the same way every game - a turnover here, a turnover there. It’s just non-stop. I try to inspire them in the locker room before the game, encourage them to come out ready to play at a good pace, and we can’t even rebound the ball. We hang tough, but it’s not good enough, and we can’t make shots.”
Three players finished the game in double figures for the Eagles. Matthews led the way with 12 points, Harris added 11, and Netta Wyse had 10. Matthews and Harris each pulled down 11 boards. Cashae Hinton added eight points and Brittney Rose seven points and eight rebounds in a balanced Eagles’ attack.
For the Flying Cardinals, Nikki Harchut led the way with 11 points while Kristen Fuery had nine and Danielle Derr eight, but in a telling stat, Fuery and Derr did not have a point in the first half.
“Our defense was a lot better this time versus the last time we played them,” Harrison said. “Just the effort and intensity – they were focused tonight. They were ready to play.
“From our one to our five, everyone stepped up and played well. Devin (Blake) came in and offered great defense. We were mainly focusing on defense. As long as we could always be aware of where Fuery is and be sure we fronted Danielle – that was what we needed to do in order to win the game, and I think we did a very good job of that.”
Early in the contest, the two teams were deadlocked 9-9 after a bucket by Harris, and the Eagles went on top after Hinton found Harris for an easy bucket. Rose connected on an outside shot to give the Eagles a 13-9 lead, but Becca Courter scored on a putback at the buzzer to make it a two-point game.
Back-to-back baskets by Matthews put the Eagles on top 19-13, but Harchut turned a steal into a bucket. When Taylor Bryant buried a pair from the foul line, it was a 20-17 game at the half. Harchut and Bryant accounted for 15 of Upper Dublin’s points.
“We had to miss at least eight layups in the first quarter,” Catanzaro said. “Every game they come out like this, and they can’t make the shots.
“We had so many opportunities to score, but we can’t make a timely pass to get a layup. It’s either too far or it’s too late, and it gets picked. The other part is not being able to make the shot.”
A bucket by Matthews to open the second half put the Eagles on top by five, but Derr sank a pair at the foul line, and a Bryant steal resulted in a Harchut bucket. A Fuery three-point basket gave the Cardinals a 24-23 lead.
That lead held up for all of 35 seconds as Rose scored at the other end off the dribble. After an Upper Dublin miss, Matthews scored on a putback. Courter answered with a basket at the other end.
It was still a one-point game after a Derr bucket, but Wyse scored back-to-back baskets for the Eagles, the second a layup after a steal on the defensive end that put the Eagles on top 33-28. A Derr bucket pulled the Flying Cardinals to within three heading into the final frame (35-32).
When Fuery scored after a Kristen Kane steal, the Cardinals trailed by just two, 37-35, but consecutive baskets by Harris, Hinton and Matthews while the Flying Cardinals endured a five-minute scoring drought all but iced the win for the Eagles.
The big win came on the heels of a 66-30 win over Kennedy-Kenrick one night earlier as the Eagles have come back strong after a 48-39 loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh last Friday.
“In the PW game, they came out hard, and we lost our focus,” Harris said. “Yesterday we played Kennedy-Kenrick, and we got back on track. That gave us a lot of momentum.”
With the win, the Eagles improved to 8-4 in league play (13-7 overall) while the Flying Cardinals are 8-5 (11-10 overall).
NORRISTOWN 48, UPPER DUBLIN 42
Upper Dublin (42) – Becca Courter 2 0-0 4, Taylor Bryant 2 2-2 6, Nikki Harchut 4 3-5 11, Kristen Kane 1 0-0 2, Kristen Fuery 3 1-1 9, Danielle Derr 3 2-2 8, Sarah Hallowell 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 8-10 42.
Norristown (48) – Cashae Hinton 2 4-5 8, Netta Wyse 4 2-7 10, Mercedes Harris 4 3-4 11, Natasha Matthews 6 0-1 12, Brittney Rose 3 1-2 7, Devin Blake 0 0-0 0, Nicole Graham 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-19 48.
Upper Dublin 11 6 15 10-42
Norristown 13 7 15 13-48
Three-point goals: Upper Dublin – Kristen Fuery.
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