Sharpe helps Plymouth Whitemarsh rally in 4th, top Upper Dublin in defensive battle

WHITEMARSH >> Abby Sharpe had just three points as the Plymouth Whitemarsh girls basketball headed to the fourth quarter of a defensive battle with rival Upper Dublin trailing by the same amount.

Her low output through 24 minutes, however, did little to deter the senior from continuing her efforts to put the ball into the net.

“Just having the mindset of the next one’s going to go in,” Sharpe said. “Don’t stop being aggressive, don’t stop shooting cause you just got to let the quiet quarters go and focus on the ones in front of you and just take the next shot.”

Sharpe found a spark on offense late, draining the go-ahead 3-pointer as she scored eight of PW’s final nine points while the Colonials shut down the visiting Cardinals in the fourth to rally for a 33-29 SOL Liberty Division victory Tuesday night.

“I started a little quiet, a little slow basically for the first three quarters and so going into the fourth quarter, I knew I had to pick it up,” said Sharpe, a Penn commit. “I knew we were going to need a final push to get the win. And so that’s kind of what motivated me to get the ball in my hands and do the shots that I know I can make and that I know I can practice and they fell and led us to the win.”

Sharpe finished with 11 points while Erin Daley paced the Colonials (6-1, 3-1 division) with a game-high 14 points, including all six of PW’s points in the third to keep the hosts close after Upper Dublin opened the second half with an 8-0 run to lead 25-18.

“Morgan (Funsten)’s such a good coach and his kids run such good stuff it just took a long time for our girls to get settled in,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “Obviously we were frustrated, we’re attacking the basket and it took ‘til 50 seconds in the third quarter before we shot our first free throw tonight. And we’re a team that attacks the basket and goes through contact so I thought once we got to the line and just got a little bit more settled in, it worked out.

“But to beat Upper Dublin is a good win. It’s a good win. We say this over and over again, we’re not the same team we were last year. Yes, we have three kids that played a lot of minutes back but we’re not the same team and I feel incredibly lucky to have won that game tonight.”

After going up seven in the third, the Cardinals (3-2, 2-1) collected just four more points the rest of the contest as they lost its sixth straight matchup with PW, the defending District 1 and PIAA Class 6A champion.

“There’s mixed feelings cause we’re trying to find out a lot about ourselves, we’re trying to find our identity,” Funsten said. “Thought we took a great step in the right direction in terms of trying to find our identity. I thought the girls played with an incredible amount of heart. I thought they executed the game plan really well.

Most of Upper Dublin’s offense came from the freshman duo of Colleen Besachio and Megan Ngo – Besachio totaling 11 points while Ngo had nine points.

“My assistant coach Joe Mack, his first comment immediately after the game is ‘Woah, our freshmen are gamers,’” Funsten said. “And I think when you watch that game tonight as a coach as a player as a fan I think that is exactly your take away – woah, these girls are determined athletes and we’re very fortunate to have them for the next four years.”

Both teams have SOL Liberty games at 7 p.m. Thursday, Upper Dublin hosting Hatboro-Horsham while Plymouth Whitemarsh is at Wissahickon.

Back-to-back Daley baskets had PW down 25-22 before a Nora Brady two increased the Cardinals’ lead to 27-22. A pair of Daley’s free throws with 50.2 seconds cut the Colonials’ deficit back to three.

Sharpe got PW within one, converting on a drive to open scoring in the fourth. Megan Ngo hit two at the line at 6:58 for a 29-26 advantage but those ended up being Upper Dublin’s final points of the night.

Sharpe connected on a jumper from the left side to get PW back within one then knocked down a three from the right wing to put the Colonials up 31-29 – the hosts’ first lead since 18-17 at halftime.

“They gave me a little bit of space and I knew we needed that push,” Sharpe said. “So I just kind of let it fly.”

With more than three minutes left and still leading 31-29, the Colonials worked the clock and UD needed to foul four times before sending PW’s AJ Avery to the line for a 1-and-1 with 44 seconds left. She made the first but could not get the second – Ngo grabbing the rebound and the Cards calling time out.

Upper Dublin had a chance at the tie as Ngo got off a 3-pointer from the top of the arc just before 10 seconds but her effort was off the mark and went out of bounds with eight seconds left.

Sharpe proceeded to hit the front end of a 1-and-1 to extend the margin to four at 2.1 seconds.

“We practiced three straight days of what we were going to do and it took three quarters before the kids remember, ‘Yes, this is what we’re supposed to do,’” Dougherty said. “So I thought by the fourth quarter we finally found a five out there that could remember what to do under the lights and with people yelling. And I thought Erin Daley’s defense stepped up and (Angelina) Balcer’s defense stepped up.”

Ngo scored the game’s first five points but Plymouth Whitemarsh answered with a 9-0 run – a Sharpe three giving PW a 7-5 lead with a Daley basket pushing the margin to four. A Besachio trey made it 9-8 after a quarter.

The Cardinals grabbed a 13-12 lead after a Besachio three before a Daley 3-pointer then a Balcer three-point play at 1:25 had PW leading 18-13. However, baskets by Brighid Brady then Besachio pulled UD to within 18-17 at the break.

Ngo’s two off a drive put the Cardinals ahead 19-18 while consecutive threes from Besachio and Brady had the visitors’ lead at seven, the largest for either side on the night.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 33, Upper Dublin 29
Upper Dublin 8 9 10 2 – 29
Plymouth Whitemarsh 9 9 6 9 – 33
Upper Dublin: Colleen Besachio 4 0-0 11; Megan Ngo 3 2-2 9; Brighid Brady 2 0-0 5; Nora Brady 1 0-0 2; Alaina Sanders 1 0-0 2; Totals 11 2-2 29.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Erin Daley 5 2-2 14; Abby Sharpe 4 1-2 11; Angelina Balcer 2 1-1 5; AJ Avery 1 1-2 3; Totals 12 5-7 33.
3-pointers: UD-Besachio 3, B. Brady, Ngo; PW-Daley 2, Sharpe 2.