Grebe leads Upper Dublin’s 23-point rally in 4th to top Abington in OT

ABINGTON >> Kara Grebe readily admitted she did not pass her first test as a leader.

The Upper Dublin junior, elected a team captain by her Cardinals girls’ basketball teammates, felt like she let them down when UD was soundly defeated by Archbishop Wood on Saturday. For three quarters on Thursday, the Cardinals were going the same direction and trailed Abington by 23 points one possession into the fourth quarter.

Then, with Grebe leading them, a switch flipped on, Upper Dublin rallied and everyone in the gym left not quite sure if what they just watched really happened.

Upper Dublin came all the way back and held on in overtime to defeat the Ghosts 66-61 in their first meeting as SOL American Conference rivals and their first game since last year’s state quarterfinal matchup won by UD.

“Saturday was the first big test for me and I don’t think I handled it very well,” Grebe said. “I didn’t do a good job of getting everyone hyped and together but today I was more prepared and I came with a better mindset, I think I did a good job.”

Grebe, who tied for a game-high 20 points, was perfect from the floor in the second half and scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including the tying basket, before fouling out in overtime

Cardinals coach Morgan Funsten described Saturday’s loss to Wood as “embarrassing,” which was the same word he used to describe his team’s first three quarters on Thursday. Upper Dublin (5-1, 3-0 conference), the defending  PIAA 6A champion, knew the Ghosts were going to press them and still struggled to handle it.

Abington’s aggressiveness, long arms and quick hands did plenty of damage defensively through three quarters. Despite leading by just a bucket, 14-12, after one quarter, the Ghosts (5-1, 2-1) started turning their plethora of deflections into steals and then points.

“We played tremendous and we absolutely just fell apart,” Ghosts coach Dan Marsh said. “I knew what they were going to do, we were up 20 so they were going to scramble. All we had to do was spread the floor and pass it and we just couldn’t. We couldn’t dribble, missed free throws, every bounce went their way.”

Senior Cam Lexow and freshman point guard Khalis Whiting led that effort, combining for six first half steals as Abington built a 31-21 halftime lead. Lexow, who scored 12 in the loss, finished with six steals and was almost a one-person wrecking crew in the third quarter.

Lexow had three steals in the third helping Abington to a 48-27 lead, plus one to start the fourth, converting the layup to give the Ghosts their 23-point edge with 7:28 left.

That’s when Grebe felt the switch flip.

“It came when we started pressing,” Grebe said. “The energy switched completely, we were hyped, we wanted to win a lot more. For a second, I think we felt the game was over but the bench got us hype, we were yelling at each other, patting each other on the back. We had more heart tonight.”

After struggling to score all game, Dayna Balasa and Grebe connected on back-to-back threes following Lexow’s layup.  Whiting scored, but the Cardinals responded with eight straight points, five from Jess Polin and another trey from Grebe.

Polin, the sophomore guard who came up clutch time and again last year, shook off a tough first half and put forth a game effort on both ends in the fourth quarter and overtime.

“It was the same situation as our Wood game but this time, we just had way more heart,” Polin said. “They probably thought they had it in the bag, it was a 20-point game so I think they may have slowed down their intensity, but we just picked up ours and had a lot of heart.”

After yet another Whiting hoop, the Cardinals responded with a third run, their largest of the game. Upper Dublin ripped off 12 straight points, cutting the lead down to 54-53 on Balasa’s layup with 15.1 left in the game.

“Certain people, at least in Upper Dublin, expect us to win the league, win the district and win the state and it’s not as easy as it sounds,” Funsten said. “We didn’t go through state playoffs last year beating teams by 30, we grinded games out and showed a ton of heart and had great leadership.

“We were embarrassed how we played for three quarters tonight. We’re looking for leadership on the team this year and Kara Grebe, it’s the first year I’ve had a junior as a captain, and Meg Barbera are our captains and that’s what you hope your captains do.”

Grebe canned four foul shots and assisted another basket during the 12-0 run. Abington got two fouls shots with 12.5 left, made the first but missed the second to set up Upper Dublin’s dramatic tying basket.

A rebound caromed off at least three players’ hands before Polin corralled it in the corner, then sent an outlet to Sarah Eskew. After crossing midcourt, Eskew found Balasa in the left corner for a possible go-ahead three.

Balasa missed, but Grebe trailed the shot and swooped in for an uncontested rebound and putback with less than a second on the clock to knot the score 55-55.

“She was voted a captain because of the type of teammate she was last year,” Funsten said. “She was a key bench player and didn’t always get the minutes she wanted but her positive attitude was what her teammates recognized and voted her a captain.”

Grebe noted there was nothing flashy or excessively difficult about her shot, but it was the kind of play the Cardinals hadn’t made most of the night.

“It was like a switch, our energy came back, we didn’t get down on ourselves,” Grebe said. “At halftime, it was hard, we all saw the scoreboard but we came back with so much energy and started pressing, which brought even more energy. We had more heart, I think, at the end.”

After a pretty solid start at the foul line, the Ghosts closed 1-of-11 from the stripe in the fourth quarter and overtime, costing them precious chances to clot the bleeding, or even win the game. The Ghosts didn’t make any of their eight free throws in the overtime while Upper Dublin made 4-of-5 in the fourth and 9-of-10 in the overtime.

Abington’s Kassondra Brown, who scored her 1,000^th point in the first quarter, led the Ghosts with 20 including two tough baskets in overtime that kept Abington within a point until the Cardinals pulled away over the final 39 seconds.

“Upper Dublin had a phenomenal comeback, but you’re up 23 and lose, I still can’t swallow it,” Marsh said.

Jackie Vargas had six of her 14 in overtime while Polin added to her crunch-time resume with four free throw makes in the extra period.

“After Wood, you get nervous against another big-time team like this especially after playing them last year,” Grebe said. “I just think it tells a lot about us. We didn’t give up, we trusted each other a lot and we have a lot of heart. This team really works for it.”

UPPER DUBLIN 12 9 6 28 11 – 66
ABINGTON 14 17 17 7 6 – 61
Upper Dublin: Jess Polin 3 4-4 12, Kara Grebe 7 4-4 20, Sarah Eskew 3 0-0 7, Dayna Balasa 4 0-1 10, Jackie Vargas 4 6-6 14, Meghan Barbera 0 1-2 1, Bliss Brenner 1 0-0 2, Anajae Smith 0 0-2 0. Totals: 22 15-19 66.
Abington: Tamia Wessels 4 1-3 11, Cam Lexow 6 0-2 12, Kassondra Brown 7 6-10 20, Miranda Liebtag 2 0-0 6, Khalis Whitin 4 4-8 12. Totals: 23 11-23 61.
3-pointers: UD – Balasa 2, Polin 2, Grebe 2, Eskew; A – Liebtag 2, Wessels 2.