Pennsbury roars back in 4th, pushes past Upper Dublin for District 1-6A 2nd round win

FALLS >> Wednesday night’s tense fourth quarter brought out the best in the Pennsbury girls basketball team.

“We have been in big situations before and tonight was the beginning of showing what we’re capable of doing,” the Falcons’ Ava Sciolla said after their district playoff battle with Upper Dublin. “And showing our poise in coming back from a deficit the way that we did is something that we’ve struggled with in previous years.

“That shows incredible growth by my teammates as well as myself. So this win is what we needed to see from ourselves. We knew it wasn’t gonna be easy and the way that we battled adversity kind of showed me that we’re ready to see anything.”

Sciolla buried a clutch three in the final minute, the Falcons played swarming defense that produced key takeaways, and Pennsbury earned a satisfying 36-30 victory over the Cardinals in the second round of the District 1-6A Playoffs.

“It solidifies that we’re the real deal,” Sciolla said of the win.

Pennsbury, which advances to the quarters to host Abington Saturday, secured a spot in states and Upper Dublin can still get there – the Cards enter district playbacks on Saturday with a trip to Central Bucks West.

Sadly, the Cardinals may be without their driving force, Amy Ngo. The point guard went down with a knee injury with 5 minutes and 59 seconds left in Wednesday’s contest and was taken away in an ambulance.

“(Before Amy went down), I thought the girls played so well defensively and offensively played with confidence,” Cardinals coach Morgan Funsten said. “And after she went down, we got the lead back multiple times, and that says so much about the girls and for them to be able to keep that mental focus says a lot. And it took a great shot by a great player (Sciolla) to beat us.”

“We’re absolutely praying for Amy Ngo,” said Sciolla.

In a fourth quarter that saw the lead change hands five times, Sciolla’s three pushed the fourth-seeded Falcons in front for good, 32-30, with just 53 seconds to go.

Pennsbury came up with a defensive stop and then a key offensive rebound by Layla Matthias led to a pair of free throws by Nevaeh Dash, making it 34-30 with 22 seconds left.

Another steal by Pennsbury and another defensive rebound set up Sofia Vittuci’s (12 points) clinching free throws with nine seconds remaining.

Sciolla finished with a game-high 15 points, including the pivotal three.

“I struggled shooting the ball for the majority of the game but shooters shoot,” she said. “And I knew that my team needed me and I know that I just have to have confidence to shoot the ball, and that’s exactly what I did.”

Sciolla was also at the heart of a tough Pennsbury defense, which limited the Cardinals to just 11 points in the second half.

Ngo, who powered the No. 13 Cardinals with 10 points, directed Upper Dublin to a 19-13 lead at the break and a 25-19 advantage entering the fourth. The Falcons had just trimmed the margin to 25-23 when Ngo drove to the basket and went down with the injury.

“She’s very important to us and she’s such a great kid,” Funsten said.

The Cardinals will push towards Saturday.

“We can still get in Saturday. We have to find a way,” Funsten said. “The girls are mentally tough and that’s what they have going for them.”

District 1-6A Second Round
Pennsbury 36, Upper Dublin 30
Upper Dublin 8 11 6 5 – 30
Pennsbury 8 5 6 17 – 36
Upper Dublin: Alaina Sanders 0 1-2 1, Bliss Brenner 1 0-0 3, Aditi Foster 3 1-1 7, Geena Sarnoski 3 1-2 7, Colleen Klammer 1 0-0 2, Amy Ngo 3 4-4 10. Totals 11 7-9 30.
Pennsbury: Ava Sciolla 6 2-3 15, Presley Foote 0 0-1 0, Layla Matthias 0 0-2 0, Sofia Vitucci 4 4-4 12, Nevaeh Dash 2 2-4 7, Nicole Pompili 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 8-14 36.
3-pointers: UD-Brenner; P-Sciolla, Dash.