Upper Dublin holds Cheltenham to 10 points

UPPER DUBLIN >> The Upper Dublin girls basketball team has played great defense since Morgan Funsten took over as head coach six years ago.

Tuesday night’s win over Cheltenham is right up there with the best performances.

The Cardinals (4-1, 1-0) held the Panthers (3-1, 0-1) to just 10 points in a 55-10 win in the Suburban One League American Conference opener for both teams.

“We were happy with how we played defensively,” Funsten said.

“We have some really nice balance on our roster. The seniors definitely lead us and they’ve been here before and they know that defense is what’s going to do it for us. We may have a little more firepower offensively than we’ve had in the past, but defense is always our number one focus. I thought that the girls executed our defense gameplan really well tonight. I thought we pushed the pace, especially early in the first half and we got the game that we wanted it to be.”

Upper Dublin held Cheltenham scoreless in the first quarter and forced 11 turnovers.

The Panthers scored their first point on a free throw midway through the second quarter and totaled two points at halftime.

After adding one point in the third quarter, Cheltenham’s first basket came on their opening possession of the fourth and finished with three made baskets.

In the first four games this season, the Cardinals haven’t allowed an opponent to reach 40 points.

They beat Central Bucks East 56-33, Bishop Shanahan 48-34 and North Penn 53-36 to go along with the 55-10 win over Cheltenham. In their only loss, Central Bucks South won 30-24.

Deep Team

Ten different Cardinals scored in the win over Cheltenham, and not just because it was a blowout, as seven different players scored in the first quarter.

Kara Grebe led the way with 10 points while Nicole Kaiser and Jackie Vargas each had eight and Jess Polin, Sarah Eskew and Dayna Balasa each had seven.

“The unselfishness of this team is really something that I admire and I’m proud of how unselfish they are,” Funsten said. “There’s nobody dropping 30 and then a couple people have a few points. It’s everybody contributing offensively and defensively. We’re really happy with how we played tonight.

“This is the deepest team I’ve ever had. I’m very comfortable playing anybody on the team. The girls worked really hard in the offseason and they’ve made my job difficult. It’s a good problem to have. Finding playing time for everyone is tough sometimes, but I’m really happy with where we are as a program and it says a lot about the work ethic of these girls and the time they’ve put in.”

Freshmen starting

Polin and Balasa are both freshmen and earned their way into the starting lineup.

“They’re very different players, which is great because they each bring their own strengths and weaknesses to the table,” Funsten said. “Dayna (Balasa) is a knockdown shooter, fearless, plays with confidence. Polin plays as if around for four years. She’s more of a point guard distributor — does it all. They’ve made an immediate impact and (I’m) really excited about having them around. They feel like they’ve been here longer than one year.”

Polin had four assists and a rebound against Cheltenham and Balasa contributed four boards.