Smith’s return a needed spark for Upper Dublin
PHILADELPHIA >> It wasn’t a surprise Anajae Smith’s return lined up with Upper Dublin’s best practice of the season.
Smith, a senior forward on the Cardinals’ girls basketball team, planned to be a factor from the start until a stress fracture in preseason sidelined her for several weeks. When she was cleared, Smith actually jumped right back into a game before even practicing but hers was a much-welcomed return.
A sparkplug and energizer in every sense, Smith was at again Sunday as Upper Dublin topped Garnet Valley 36-28 in the Play-By-Play Classic at Jefferson University.
“It feels so great, I love the energy, tonight was amazing,” Smith said. “It feels really good to be back out there.
“That energy out there was a beautiful thing so if we can keep that going, we should be looking good.”
Smith isn’t back to 100 percent, but she’s pretty tough and didn’t want to wait any longer. After missing 15 games, the forward returned on Jan. 21 against Cheltenham and instantly added some depth and energy to the Cardinals (12-6, 8-2 SOL American).
After the team’s preseason scrimmage against Neshaminy, Smith started to feel pain in her leg the next day at practice and got the diagnosis soon after. Despite Smith’s willingness to try and gut it out for her team, UD coach Morgan Funsten wanted the senior to get healthy so she could be there for the end of the season.
“It was definitely tough,” Smith said. “At the same time, I always enjoy watching my teammates play, so it wasn’t too much torture. I wished I was playing, but I’m back now so I’m happy.”
The senior continued to stress patience after scoring five points with four rebounds on Sunday. Smith, who signed with Millersville to play basketball on an athletic scholarship, said she’s still working some rust off offensively and wanted a couple shots back in the fourth quarter that didn’t drop for her.
Smith didn’t practice before her first game but the next time the Cardinals hit the floor, Funsten noticed the difference.
“It was arguably our best practice of the year because of how contagious energy is and the energy she brought to that game and practice that day was really special,” Funsten said.
Funsten also lauded Smith’s team-first nature and how willingly she’s accepted a role as a reserve player her entire tenure with Upper Dublin.
Smith’s absence helped sophomore Bliss Brenner take a bigger role and now the two form a pretty solid 1-2 bench punch for the Cardinals. Both are energizers and Smith has enjoyed the dynamic the two have started to build in a short time this season.
“Bliss brings a lot of energy so we communicate on the bench, we watch and we see what needs to be done,” Smith said. “We can tell the girls on the floor what we watched and it’s just a lot of good communication on the floor.”
Sunday, Smith felt like she was able to find spaces in Garnet Valley’s 1-3-1 zone and make good decisions with the ball. A state champion as a sophomore, Smith wants to make up for lost time in her senior season with a long postseason run and is mainly looking forward to more time with her teammates.
“Just the journey, honestly,” Smith said. “This team, it’s my family, so I’m trying to enjoy the ride and have fun.”
GETTING DEFENSIVE
It’s 18 games in, but Funsten still believes his team has yet to find it’s true identity.
Offensively, UD is still in a bit of a funk but at least defensively, things seem to be trending the right way. After holding Abington to eight second half points on Friday, the Cardinals limited the Jaguars to 10 second half points Sunday and 18 total after a subpar first quarter.
“If we want to get back to where we want to be, it has to start with defense,” Funsten said. “Offensively, we’re still trying to figure out different roles and I have to do a better job getting people in better spots but defensively it has to be our focus.”
Upper Dublin was on the defensive a lot on Sunday, especially in the third quarter. For nearly four minutes, the ball seemed to be exclusively in Garnet Valley’s possession and it took half the quarter for UD to even get into a halfcourt set.
But, all the Jags got out of that was a single basket.
“We were on defense about 12 of the 16 minutes in the second half and we have to be ok with that,” Funsten said. “Our body language is that we’re not OK with that and we have to be OK with that. The girls looked like they were a little tired of playing defense and I said we can’t be that way.”
That said, Funsten went on to add he’s excited about the progress the team has made defensively. Center Jackie Vargas was an eraser on Sunday with eight blocks, several times effortlessly swatting a driving guard’s shot.
In the fourth quarter, the UD guards were very active, combining for five steals between Jess Polin, Sarah Eskew and Dayna Balasa.
“It circles back to defense, Jackie protecting the rim and the guards preventing penetration was big,” Funsten said.
Polin hit two 3-pointers, both assisted by Brenner, in the final two minutes of the third to open space for Upper Dublin offensively. Funsten said GV is a deceptively athletic team and it makes the Jaguars 1-3-1 zone tough to crack, so he was overall pleased with the shots his team got, even if some didn’t go down.
UD heads into an important week with a home game against Upper Moreland on Tuesday before visiting SOL American leader Plymouth Whitemarsh on Saturday. Both teams beat the Cardinals the first time around.
“We have a great challenge this week to try and determine what our identity will be,” Funsten said.
UPPER DUBLIN 36, GARNET VALLEY 28
UPPER DUBLIN 14 12 8 2 – 36
GARNET VALLEY 10 8 5 5 – 28
Upper Dublin: Jess Polin 4 0-0 12, Kara Grebe 1 1-2 3, Dayna Balasa 1 0-0 3, Jackie Vargas 6 0-0 12, Anajae Smith 2 2-2 6. Totals: 14 3-4 36.
Garnet Valley: Possenti 1 1-2 4, A Anderson 5 0-0 12, Dentinger 3 2-2 8, Brewer 0 2-2 2, M Anderson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 10 5-6 28.
3-pointers: UD – Polin 4, Balasa; GV – A Anderson 2, Possenti.
