Pennsbury takes one in overtime from Upper Dublin in District 1-6A quarterfinals

FAIRLESS HILLS >> If Pennsbury was going to make its third District 1-6A semifinal in four years, the Falcons were going to have to take it.

That’s what they have Layla Matthias for. The Pennsbury junior forward didn’t score Saturday, but she had her hands on three of the game’s biggest plays forcing three steals — one late in regulation, the others in overtime — that turned the tide against Upper Dublin.

No. 11 Pennsbury rallied late and took charge in OT, downing the No. 19 Cardinals 32-27 in a game where every possession mattered.

“We’ve been in countless games like this, we just keep our tempo and play the way we play,” Matthias, who did collect eight rebounds, three assists and four steals, said. “We practice situations all the time, 20 minutes of being down with three minutes left. Practice makes perfect.”

While turnovers hurt the Cardinals late, it was a cold spell out of the gate that had the underclassman-laden squad down early. After Amy Ngo connected on a three on UD’s second possession for a brief 3-2 lead, the Cardinals missed on their next 11 attempts — only one of them coming from inside the arc — allowing Pennsbury to go ahead 10-3.

Upper Dublin had a 7-0 run in the second quarter to tie, but trailed 12-0 on a late hoop by Sofia Vitucci — who led all scorers with 17 points — at the half. Aside from a short 15-14 lead on an Amy Ngo three assisted by Megan Ngo, the Cardinals also trailed most of the third quarter but managed to get a 21-21 tie going to the fourth thanks to a late trey by Nora Brady, who also provided excellent defense on Vitucci throughout the afternoon.

Cardinals coach Morgan Funsten felt what hurt his team most was late game decision making, but also a few mistakes lingering into following possessions.

“I thought some of the mistakes we made down the stretch carried over into the future,” Funsten said. “It’s human nature to be upset if you make a mistake, but I thought it snowballed into bigger mistakes and that’s really what the difference was.”

Having spent much of the game battling back, Upper Dublin finally got ahead when Megan Ngo drained a three with 3:47 left for a 24-21 lead. In a game where every possession had been deliberate, the Falcons were able to capitalize right away, Victucci finding Neveah Dash for a layup that sliced that lead right back to a single point.

“One thing we always preach is getting a stop after we score and with the way the game was so low-scoring, any score was a huge score,” Funsten said. “We make that three and we needed a stop afterward. They got a score right away, about (20) seconds, which was incredible in a game like this that they were able to score so quickly.”

Matthias would step in a few minutes later, her and Vitucci speeding up a Cardinals possession on the right side that eventually led to Matthis ripping the ball away for a steal and finding Vitucci, who then found Dash going to the rim for a foul and free throws. Dash made one of two, tying the game 24-24 and thanks to a late defensive stand, the Falcons forced overtime.

The Falcons had stuck to their game all day, so four extra minutes wasn’t going to change that.

“We play very similar we knew this was going to be a grind,” Matthias said.

Vitucci did not score in the second half. But if there’s one thing the junior guard has proven this season, it’s that she has a short memory.

It also helps that she’s extremely clutch and after Matthias came up with another steal on Upper Dublin’s second possession of overtime, the junior forward found the junior guard inside the arc. Brady made it tough, putting a hand in Vitucci’s airspace, but the Pennsbury guard got the shot off and got the bounce for the go-ahead bucket with 3:21 left in the extra session.

Matthias was able to force another steal in overtime and Vitucci capitalized on it, going to the rim and again finishing a well-defended shot for a four-point lead that felt even bigger given the back-to-back UD turnovers that fueled it.

“Individually, after being in a drought for so long, just making one shot it was like ‘ok, I’m back in it,”” Vitucci said. “We did it again, kind of distanced ourselves from them and they had to start to foul us and chase us, so we were in the position we wanted to be in and that’s what let us win the game.”

Pennsbury moves on to face No. 2 Haverford in Wednesday’s semifinal round.

Upper Dublin will play two seeding games, starting with a trek to No. 7 Springfield (Delco) then head into the PIAA tournament.

“The message was because of how well we played leading up to this moment, we won ourselves at least three more games,” Funsten said. “I think it’s important on Monday, every girl in the room comes in with the mindset ‘I’m going to get better individually and we’re going to get better as a team.’ If you have that mindset and keep the energy level high, I’m confident the leadership on our team is going to keep the girls positive.”

PENNSBURY 8 4 9 3 8 – 32

UPPER DUBLIN 3 7 11 3 3 – 27

P: Emily Panero 2 0-0 4, Sofia Vitucci 6 4-5 17, Neveah Dash 1 1-2 3, Danielle Sherman 2 0-0 6, Daniella MacDonald 1 0-0 2, Layla Matthias 0 0-2 0. Totals: 12 5-9 32

UD: Alaina Sanders 0 1-2 1, Megan Ngo 2 0-0 5, Amy Ngo 4 0-0 10, Colleen Besachio 3 0-0 8, Nora Brady 1 0-0 3. Totals: 10 1-2 27

3-pointers: P – Sherman 2, Vitucci; UD – A Ngo 2, Besachio 2, M Ngo, Brady