Upper Merion gets glimpse of bright future in win over Pottstown

UPPER MERION >> With three starters out of the lineup, Upper Merion freshmen Kennedy Coles and Levayda Fuqua have a lot more weight on their shoulders than initially expected.

If Tuesday night was any indication, they’re more than capable and the future is very bright for the Lady Vikings.

Coles and Fuqua combined for 42 of Upper Merion’s 46 points in a 46-38 Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division win over Pottstown at Upper Merion Area High School’s Valhalla Gymnasium.

“It’s promising,” Upper Merion coach Jen McCarthy said. “I know I put personally a lot of pressure on them as ninth graders and when you think about it, at 14 and 15-years-old, that’s a lot to ask of someone that age, but it’s a great feeling knowing I have them in my front court and they’re amazing at defense as well. It’s something that other people coming up in this program — they have to see that and it’s more promising and it’s something that we can build on. They don’t know it at 14-years-old, but they’re making an impression on the program that could last a really long time.”

“It’s pretty exciting knowing that I’ll be able to be with somebody that I have good chemistry with,” Coles said, “because everybody else is older. I’ll be with somebody that I’m comfortable with and comfortable playing with for the rest of my years here.”

“People coming up, too,” Fuqua added. “(Coles) wasn’t here but I played eighth grade with them. It’s having that chemistry coming up, too, and a lot of youth.”

Coles finished the game with a career-high 28 points and added nine rebounds. Fuqua had 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Both ninth-graders showed the ability to score in a variety of ways. They flashed their speed going end-to-end in transition for easy layups, hit some inside jumpers and got to the free-throw line, taking 16 combined foul shots. Fuqua hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the third quarter.

“We’re the quickest ones,” Fuqua, who set her career high with 21 points earlier this season, said. “Coach depends on us to be quicker than the other team, which usually happens.”

The two had never played together before this season, but the chemistry is building quickly.

“In the beginning of the season it was new,” Fuqua said. “Just playing with her in practices really built connection.”

“As the practices kept on going and we did team-building I got to know more about her,” Coles said, “and I was able to see things that we had in common.”

In Tuesday’s game, Coles, Fuqua and the Lady Vikings (6-8, 4-4 PAC, 4-2 PAC Frontier) took control of the game whenever they needed to.

Upper Merion jumped out to a 10-1 lead on Pottstown (6-8, 4-4 PAC, 3-3 PAC Frontier). Coles had eight in the first quarter while Fuqua had four to hold a 12-5 advantage after eight minutes.

“When you don’t play defense, it’s easy to put up points,” Pottstown coach Madison Morton said. “We did not play defense the way that we were supposed to, the way that we were taught. We did not play defense the way that we have in previous games. When you just leave (Coles) – she’s talented, she can play – and you just let her go to the basket freely, I expect a player like that to score points and we just left her unguarded.”

The Trojans rattled off a 7-0 run in the first two minutes of the second quarter to tie the game, 12-12, but the Vikings responded with six straight. Upper Merion went to the half with a 20-16 lead.

Pottstown got within one, 22-21, early in the third quarter, but that’s as close as the visitors would get. Coles scored nine in the third and Fuqua had eight, including the buzzer-beating three, to cap a 15-2 run and take a 37-23 lead to the fourth.

“I always compare it to a boxing match,” McCarthy said. “We took the first punch and then they reacted. It’s just a matter of – I think our girls are starting to learn how to be more mature and react in a better situation and a more positive situation. In year’s past, mind you this is my second year, but we got into that mentality of once we started losing it was, ‘Here we go again.’ It was just a matter of teaching them it’s not that way and it never has to be that way. It’s a fight. You don’t get hit and stop fighting, you just have to keep punching and keep going with the rounds. I think they reacted very well.”

Pottstown battled to within six, 38-32, with 5:10 left, but then Upper Merion put the game away. Coles made a pair of baskets and Fuqua hit two technical free throws over the next 63 seconds and the lead was back to 12, 44-32. Olivia Smith added a free throw to make it a 7-0 run and 45-32 lead before the Vikings closed out the 46-38 win.

Tamya Jarrett led Pottstown with 10 points while Brynn McClune and Ashley Weller each added nine and Jayana Hill had eight.

“We didn’t want to put in that work to get out of the hole that we put ourselves in in the first quarter,” Morton said. “Credit to Upper Merion – they played physical, they played tough and we didn’t respond. We responded in spurts, but we were riding the roller coaster tonight. We felt like we were where we needed to be, then we took our foot off the gas and the next thing you know we’re back into a 12-point hole. I give my girls credit for battling back the way that they did, but I think when they take a step back and look at it, they gave this game away. We literally gave this game away. It was ours to have and we chose not to put in the work necessary to finish the game.”

Upper Merion 46, Pottstown 38
Pottstown 5 11 7 15 — 38
Upper Merion 12 8 17 12 — 46
Pottstown: Jayana Hill 2 4-7 8, Brynn McClune 4 1-2 9, Tamya Jarrett 3 3-5 10, Mikyla Brandon 0 2-4 2, Ashley Weller 4 0-1 9, Zariah Brown 0 0-0 0, Vivianna Diaz 0 0-0 0, Ja’Yania White 0 0-0 0. Total 13 10-19 38.
Upper Merion: Kennedy Coles 12 4-10 28, Levayda Fuqua 4 5-6 14, Julianna Callison 0 0-2 0, Gabrielle Canete 0 0-0 0, Chloe Kokenberger 0 0-2 0, Olivia Smith 1 1-3 3, Dakota Jackson 0 0-0 0, Mia Nicolai 0 1-2 1, Anaya Onwubuariri 0 0-0 0, Lorelei Bonifanti 0 0-0 0. Total 15 11-25 46.
3-point goals: PT: Tamya Jarrett, Ashley Weller. UM: Levayda Fuqua.