Upper Dublin defeated District 12 champion Archbishop Carroll to earn a spot in Friday’s PIAA 6A state title game. Photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
PIAA 6A State Tournament semifinal
#1-1 UPPER DUBLIN 48, #12-1 ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 39
They’re winning a lot, a whole lot, and they’re having a whole lot of fun doing it.
On Tuesday night, in front of a packed house at Plymouth Whitemarsh, the fun continued for the 
Cardinals, who opened up an 8-0 lead after one quarter and led wire to wire in their state semifinal showdown against PCL power Archbishop Carroll.
“This was just the most fun game I think I’ve ever been part of,” said UD junior Bridget DiMartile, an elite lacrosse player committed to the University of Michigan. “We all came out, and I think we came in very confident but knowing this was going to be a tough game, and they were really good competitors.
“But I think we were just so excited. We’ve been ready. We were ready since Sunday night because it was supposed to be yesterday, but it was just an awesome feeling to get it done and to stay so composed the whole time.”
Two minutes into the game, Megan Ngo scored on a drive through the Patriots’ defense. The Cards’ diminutive point guard scored her team’s first six points, setting the tone for an 8-0 quarter for the Cards.
“I knew last game I didn’t have the best shooting game, but at the end I was like – I need to make foul shots for my team so we can move on to the next round,” said Ngo, who buried 9 of 10 down the stretch of the Cards’ win over Hazelton. “Honestly, I really think it just had to do with the fact 
that I wanted to win so badly for our team.
“That was the main thing. I wanted us to win so badly because of how much work we’ve put into the season, and I think the most impressive thing is how together we’ve become. We seriously have just become a team.”
The Cards led by as many as 13 in the second quarter, but the Patriots closed out the half with a 7-0 run and pulled to within four at halftime, 18-14.
Carroll’s chances of a comeback took a hit when the Cards scored on their first two possessions of the second half – on a turnaround in the paint and a deep 3 that hit nothing but net. Both compliments of Coleman that stretched their four-point lead to 23-14.
A three-point play by Tamia Clark made it a 26-14 game before Carroll got its first points of the half with 4:16 remaining in the quarter when Kayla Eberz sank a pair at the foul line.
UD led 33-21 after Coleman’s second 3 of the quarter.
“Those two 3s were definitely big, and I feel the energy on the court and also on the bench was really big for us as well as the crowd,” Coleman said. “We know they’re a tough team that won’t go away easily, and we just have to continue to play offensively and defensively and not let them come back.”
A three in the closing seconds of the third quarter by Bridget Grant pulled the Patriots within six, 
33-27, but that’s as close as they would get. Four straight points by Ngo were followed by a Clark drive and a 39-27 lead. The Patriots never threatened the rest of the way, and the Cards were Hershey bound.
“It amazing,” Coleman said. “It hasn’t really set in yet, but I’m really proud of this team. All of us were looking forward to this the whole season. That’s all we were in here for.”
“It’s crazy,” said DiMartile, whose 11 rebounds led the Cards. “I’m still processing it in my head that we’re going, but I think I always knew we had it in us. It’s just crazy to me that we’re actually going. It’s so exciting.”
“It feels amazing,” Ngo said. “I seriously was reflecting today and I was like, the two years ago me would be like, ‘This is crazy.’ I’m really excited, but we’re not done yet. If we’re there, we want to get this last win.”
--Card chemistry is a real thing: Winning teams invariably talk about chemistry – the good kind. Upper Dublin is no exception.
“Our team chemistry is really good,” Coleman said. “I feel like at this time in the season, a lot of teams are starting to break away and kind of just get sick of each other, honestly.
“We’re not like that. We all hang out on and off the court, and I feel like that’s definitely a big advantage for us. We all love each other, we’re all here for each other, and we all play for each other, and I think that’s what gotten us to this point.”
And this isn’t just lip service.
“Every single one us was here last year, and we were not as close and talented as we are this year, because we just put personal stuff aside and just came together, and that’s why it’s so special,” Ngo said. “In school there will so many times we come together and talk about basketball. That’s all we want to do, we just want to win.”
And they are undeniably united in that quest.
“I’ve never seen a team come together and just be as rock solid as this group is,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “And everybody who watches them play knows how together they are. They’re just so together, and they’re so fun to watch and so fun to coach that we tried to extend the season as long as possible, and here we are. Can’t get any longer than this.”
Getting defensive: There’s no denying the significance of the Cardinals’ defensive effort in Tuesday’s win. It started with an opening quarter that kept the Patriots – who shot a combined 0-for-12 from the field - off the scoreboard. From the outset, they effectively silenced the Patriots’ biggest weapons.
Sophomore Kayla Eberz topped that list and was fresh off a 37-point performance in Carroll’s 58-45 win over Red Lion. She finished with 11 in Tuesday’s semifinal – zero in the first half.
“Obviously, even if she didn’t score 37 points, it was going to be the key to our success defensively stopping her,” Funsten said. “Emilia (Coleman) was awesome. She had zero in the first half, and to be able to hold a scorer who’s as dynamic as her to zero in a half is awesome.”
Eberz did not have a 3-pointer in the game after burying six in the preceding game.
“She’s such a great shooter,” Funsten said. “The girls did a great job. It started with Emilia, and Bridget was always ready to help.”
Eberz never got into any kind of offensive flow.
“She came off a 37-point game last game, so she’s gonna have the confidence that she had in that game, but just making her do things that she wasn’t really comfortable doing or just making her take tough shots,” Coleman said. “She loves going right and just focusing on how she drives and where she catches the ball and where her release point is – that’s what I was focusing on the whole time.”
Coleman’s contributions were not lost on her teammates.
“It was awesome, and it started with Emilia’s defense on Kayla (Eberz),” Ngo said. “She’s a great player. We play with the Erberzs – they’re all awesome players. She did such a good job on Kayla.
“T’s (Tamia Clark’s) defense on their point guard, Abbie McFillen, was great. Lexi Eberz is such a great player – I defended her. I thought we just did a great job limiting them and making other players beat us.”
“Defense was our main goal,” DiMartile said. “We know how big of a threat they were offensively, and their key players – we knew we had to shut them down in order to win this game, and that was definitely the main focus.
“We were really honing in on their three best players, and I was in help most of the game. I was kind of just hanging out and waiting, but defense was definitely the biggest part of the win today.”
By the numbers: Senior Emilia Coleman’s 13 points led a balanced UD attack. She also had six rebounds and four blocked shots. Senior point guard Megan Ngo added 12 points and three assists, and junior Tamia Clark contributed 12 points four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Lexie Ngo had six points, which included a 4-for-6 effort at the foul line in the fourth quarter. Bridget DiMartile dominated under the backboards, pulling down 11 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots and three points.
Upper Dublin coach Morgan Funsten:
--Hazleton’s pressure a prep for Carroll: “Hazleton was the perfect prep for this game because the best offensive rebounding team we faced all year was Hazleton, and the second best was Carroll. You get a rebound, and you can’t breathe. They’re on you immediately. Hazleton did a lot of different things than Carroll did, but the intensity they rebounded with, and their physicality helped prepare us for this game.”
Up next: Upper Dublin will face District 3 runner-up Dallastown in Friday’s PIAA 6A State Tournament title game at the GIANT Center in Hershey (6pm). Dallastown edged District 6 champion Altoona 36-35 the other semifinal contest.
Archbishop Carroll 0-14-13-12 39
Upper Dublin 8-10-15-15 48
Archbishop Carroll (39) – Alexis Eberz 3 1-2 7; Caitlin Schumacher3 0-0 7; Abbie McFillin 3 0-0 8; Kayla Ebert 4 3-3 11; Bridget Grant 2 1-2 6; TOTALS 15 5-7 39.
Upper Dublin (48) – Bridget DiMartile 1 1-2 3; Tamia Clark 5 1-1 12; Megan Ngo 3 6-10-12; Lexie Ngo 1 4-6 6; Emilia Coleman 5 0-0 13; Ella Morris 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 16 12-19 48.
3-point goals: AC – Abbie McFillin 2, Caitlin Schumacher, Bridget Grant; UD – Emilia Coleman 3, Tamia Clark.
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