Ngo quit: freshman leads way as Upper Dublin rallies, stuns Plymouth Whitemarsh in District 1-6A 2nd round
WHITEMARSH >> For all the big shots Megan Ngo took and made Wednesday night, it was the one she passed off that may have been the most important.
With mere seconds left in the first quarter of No. 19 Upper Dublin’s District 1-6A second round playoff game at No. 3 Plymouth Whitemarsh, Ngo flipped the ball to Nora Brady who wasted no time hoisting it up. The buzzer sounded with the ball still in the air, the shot good and all of a sudden, a Cardinals team that looked buried at the start had new life.
Ngo would take over from there, the tiny freshman point guard playing giant with 22 points as the Cardinals knocked off the defending district champions 40-33.
“This team lately has really proven to themselves that there’s no indiviuals anymore, it’s just a total team,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “I’ve seen it with some of the other teams we’ve had and it’s always a really cool moment. It took us a little longer than I wanted it to and it really happened in our practices leading up to the CR South game (in the first round), even though that was an incredibly difficult matchup with the type of team we had become, I got the sense something special was happening.”
Special would be a good word to describe Ngo’s performance, from the finishes inside over 6-footers, the ice-cold three she made in the fourth quarter to tie the game and the general poise she displayed knocking down free throw after free throw to quell PW’s hopes of another late-game comeback. When the teams met late in the regular season, PW held Ngo scoreless, a rarity in a season where the freshman took on more than most probably expected.
It was a performance Funsten thought might come next season after year’s experience and a full offseason knowing what the high school game was like, but he wasn’t at all surprised it happened on Wednesday. For Ngo, who seemed no less tired after the game than she started it, it was simply an effort borne from what her team needed her to do.
“We learned we have to focus on the team and what we want to do as a team and all the other stuff, we have to block it all out,” Ngo said. “I know what I have to contribute to this team and what helps me a lot is having a bunch of upperclassmen to help me, keep me composed.
“It’s definitely a little easier with my sister back but we have a lot of other kids who can step up. Sometimes, you just have to do your job out there.”
PW couldn’t have asked for a much better start. The Colonials’ own future played a key role in the team’s 11-0 burst to start the game, freshmen AJ Avery and Kenna Winland each knocking down a three around five points from Erin Daley as the Cardinals fluttered to an 0-of-7 start from the floor and a timeout with 1:41 left in the first.
The outcome was almost unheard of in recent years, the Colonials having won 45 straight games on their home floor since their last loss at Gym West on Feb. 1, 2020 — fittingly enough against Upper Dublin. Colonials coach Dan Dougherty called the game a battle of execution, neither team afraid to run offense for a while or play halfcourt defense for a bit until the other side cracked.
“Kenna hit a big shot for us, AJ hit a big shot for us, you can’t ask for a better start but it’s staying calm, you expect shots to fall the other way too,” Dougherty said. “I thought them making that shot at the end of the first quarter was a huge momentum swing.”
After a Funsten-called timeout, Amy Ngo finally ended UD’s cold start with a three, then Megan Ngo managed to score inside on an incredibly difficult shot. Brady, a junior who makes her mark on the defensive end, started the tide-turning final sequence with a steal and as the play started to break down, got off a three with a hand in her face to pull the Cardinals within 11-8.
Brady, who also spent much of the game guarding Abby Sharpe, was in the middle of a robust defensive effort for Upper Dublin alongside senior Alaina Sanders — who guarded Daley — and the rest of the team staying connected as helpers. For the big plays someone like Megan Ngo or Colleen Besachio, the team’s freshman forward who scored the go-ahead hoop, makes, it’s the work players like Brady and Sanders do that add up in a playoff game.
“Nora is a really focused player, she just gets in the zone and she’s had some really tough assignments throughout the season where she’s played incredibly well,” Funsten said. “Sometimes, it’s really difficult to play offense when you’re exerting so much effort on defense and that was arguably the biggest shot of the game there at the end of the first quarter.
“I can’t say enough about how hard she works on defense and her focus is just so impressive.”
Megan Ngo had all seven of Upper Dublin’s second quarter points, her free throw with 2.4 seconds left sending the teams to the half tied 15-15. Despite the low score it had been an energetic and lively half, with a full hose at Gym West and boisterous student sections for both teams that stayed loud until the end.
The lead see-sawed in the third, Amy Ngo putting UD up one on a free throw, a Sharpe and-one getting it back, UD taking a 21-18 lead then 23-20 on a steal and layup by Amy Ngo before Avery nailed a three and Sharpe stuck a midrange jumper for a 25-23 edge. Following two Megan Ngo free throws to tie it, it was Daley’s turn to beat the horn with the senior sending PW to the fourth leading 28-25 on a three.
“Whenever we play Upper Dublin, it’s like, don’t get beat on a quick-hitter but we also have to be able to play halfcourt man defense,” Dougherty said. “Megan Ngo just made shots, she made shots where most of them were contested. Their ability to make contested threes was frustrating to say the least.”
Sharpe drew a foul and sank two at the line for a 30-25 edge with 7:07 to play, but the Colonials wouldn’t score again until Daley hit a three with eight seconds left and her team down 10 points. PW’s season isn’t over, but the defending PIAA 6A champions will have to play their way back to the state tournament, starting with a fourth meeting against No. 6 Abington after three extremely close matchups in the regular season and SOL Tournament.
There were opportunities Wednesday night but as Dougherty noted, giving up two leads is a tough way to win a game.
“We got up 30-25 and we couldn’t score,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “We went too many offensive possessions against them that just stalled out. We talked to the girls about when you’re playing against their level of defense, it’s a battle of execution and sometimes its a grind of who’s going to get tired of trying to execute first.”
Besachio only had six points, but they were all huge. She connected on a long two with 6:55 left that cut PW’s lead to three and with 3:41 left, she took a pass from Amy Ngo to the post and scored for a 32-30 lead the Cardinals wouldn’t look back from.
In between, UD had to tie the game and for that, they had Megan Ngo. The confident freshman pulled up for a three with six minutes to go, sinking it for a 30-30 deadlock and after Besachio’s bucket and a missed three by PW, a chance to put the game away.
When the Colonials began to foul, between the freshman being UD’s primary ballhandler and the 5-foot-2 guard leaping to grab every miss, they had to keep putting Ngo at the line. She hit all six of her fourth quarter free throws, her sister hitting two as well, helping Upper Dublin close out the win and secure a spot in the state playoffs.
Up next is a trip to No. 11 Pennsbury, the Falcons pulling off their own road magic with a 51-39 win over Abington. Pennsbury topped UD in the second round last year, also the same game where Amy Ngo suffered the knee injury that kept her out for 11 months and delayed her first chance to play with her younger sister.
Thanks to Megan Ngo, it’s a matchup many probably didn’t expect and a chance to help her older sister get a little redemption.
“I’ve always kept playing, even if some people told me I was too short, I always kept going,” Ngo said. “I don’t listen to that. It motivates me more to prove people wrong and it’s awesome having coaches and teammates who don’t see anything wrong with that.”
Upper Dublin 40, Plymouth Whitemarsh 33
Upper Dublin 8 7 10 15 — 40
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11 4 13 5 — 33
Upper Dublin: Megan Ngo 5 9-10 22, Amy Ngo 2 3-4 9, Colleen Besachio 3 0-0 6, Nora Brady 1 0-0 3. Totals: 11 12-14 40
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Abby Sharpe 2 5-5 11, Erin Daley 4 0-0 11, AJ Avery 2 0-0 6, Kenna Winland 1 0-0 3, Azzy Crumpton 1 0-0 2. Totals: 11 5-5 33.
3-pointers; UD – M Ngo 3, A Ngo 2, Brady; PW – Daley 3, Avery 2, Winland.
