Upper Dublin’s defense too much for Plymouth Whitemarsh in District 1-6A 2nd round

UPPER DUBLIN >> The Upper Dublin girls basketball squad came ready to play a day early against Plymouth Whitemarsh after the game was moved up because of likely heavy snow on Wednesday.

However, the Cardinals had no trouble with the schedule change as they dominated on defense to get a 34-18 win Tuesday night in the PIAA District One 6A second round.

Both defenses came up on fire to start the game as Upper Dublin held an 8-7 lead after the first eight minutes.

The Cardinals then got the offense rolling in the second quarter, outscoring the Colonials 10-3 to gain an 18-10 lead at halftime.

The fans at Upper Dublin High School couldn’t ask for better defense in the third quarter as the Cardinals outscored Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-0 to hold a 28-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Highlighting the game for Upper Dublin on offense was junior Jackie Vargas, who scored 13 points in the blowout victory.

“I’m just glad that me and the girls got the win,” said Vargas. “I don’t care how many points I got or if anyone gets like 25 points, all that matters is getting the win in the playoffs.”

Upper Dublin got scores from four different Cardinals including Vargas, Jess Polin with 11 points, Sarah Eskew with eight points, and Kara Grebe with two points.

The Upper Dublin defense held the Colonials to single digits in every quarter including shutting out the Colonials in the third quarter.

Upper Dublin head coach Morgan Funsten was thrilled with how his team performed in its first playoff game of the year.

“Our calling card all year was to take away the other team’s strengths and I thought the girls totally bought into the game plan tonight being very disciplined defensively,” said Funsten.

“Being the defending state champion is a tough position to be in because every other team is gunning for you,” added Funsten. “It feels good to be in the quarterfinals and qualifying for the state playoffs never gets old.”

The Upper Dublin defense held only four Colonials in single digits as Anna McTamney led the team with nine points.

Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Dan Dougherty was thrilled with his team’s defense despite losing in the second round of the district playoffs.

“I thought our defensive efforts were outstanding tonight,” said Dougherty. “It’s a double elimination situation now, so we have to regroup now and get ready for whoever we’re playing on Saturday.”

With the win, the Upper Dublin Cardinals advance to the District 1-6A quarterfinals and clinch a spot in the PIAA tournament.

The fifth-seeded Cardinals take on either No. 13 Haverford or No. 4 seed Spring-Ford on Saturday. The Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials will drop down to the consolation bracket as they will be in action on Saturday.

Upper Dublin 34, Plymouth Whitemarsh 18
Plymouth Whitemarsh 7 3 0 8 — 18
Upper Dublin 8 10 10 6 — 34
Upper Dublin (34): Vargas 13; Polin 11; Eskew 8; Grebe 2.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (18): McTamney 9; Cooper 4; Allen 3; Thomas 2.