Girls B-ball: Lady Cards' Playoff Run Ended by Wilson, 26-21

COATESVILLE- Through the entire 2010-11 campaign, the Upper Dublin girls' basketball team could rely on its stingy defense to anchor it,  game in and game out. The story was no different in Tuesday night's PIAA second-round matchup with Wilson (West Lawn) High School, but unfortunately the Flying Cardinals could not find enough gusto on the offensive end, and fell 26-21 to end their season.

The back and forth game was marked by 11 ties or lead changes, with the Cardinals' Jen Myers leading all scorers with 11. However, the Bulldogs hit more clutch shots down the final stretch to pull out the victory.

“[Wilson] played very well, and I mean we played well. We just didn't knock the shots down ... we had a couple of opportunities, and they didn't go in,” said Upper Dublin head coach Vincent Catanzaro. “We just could not generate any shots that normally would go for us ... no extra shots, no real big defensive plays, you know, and we just didn't have it, that's the way it goes sometimes.”

It was evident early on that the game was not going to be a beautiful one, as the Cardinals could muster only three points in the first quarter, but found themselves down only a point at 4-3.

Upper Dublin finally found the bottom of the net for their second field goal at the 4:07 mark of the second, when forward Jen Myers hit a layup to cut Wilson's lead to 7-5.

The Lady Cards began to heat up as the quarter continued, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers, courtesy of freshman Kayla McAneney and Myers. This 8-0 run gave the Lady Cardinals the lead, 11-7, at the half.

At the start of the third, it looked like Myers would continue her dominance of the game, when she pulled down a rebound and went up for the put back on the first possession, pushing the girls' lead to 13-7. However, Wilson would charge back behind a balanced scoring attack and stingy defense of its own.

The Bulldogs' Avery Marz scored four of her team-high eight points over the next six and a half minutes, while the Cardinals were held scoreless and fell behind 15-13. However, the Cardinals' Taylor Bryant was fouled on a three-point attempt, knocking down all three free throws to give her team a one point lead heading into the final frame.

The fourth would bring more of the same to the Lady Cardinals, as they failed to knock down shots and came away with fewer and fewer rebounds against the taller Bulldogs.

Coach Vincent Catanzaro continually swapped in his forwards, pleading with them to hit the boards hard. Upper Dublin's Tori Waters seemed to respond, pulling down three offensive rebounds on one set, leading to foul shots for Myers and energizing the team. Myers would make 1 of 2 to give Upper Dublin a 17-16 lead with 4:35 to play.

However, it was Wilson's Marz that answered again, nailing a 3-pointer on the next possession that felt like a backbreaker in the low scoring contest. But Dublin's Myers, having one of her best games of the season, wasn't done yet, and hit a 3-pointer of her own to tie the game at 21 with 1:20 to play.

Wilson would slow the pace, working the ball around on a long possession until the team's Talitha Poore drew a foul underneath with 27 seconds to play, hitting both to give the Bulldogs a two-point lead.

With the game on the line, Upper Dublin would lose possession on a Taylor Bryant walk, and was then forced to foul the opposition. Twenty seconds and three converted Bulldog foul shots later, and Upper Dublin's season would come to an end, 26-21.

However, Coach Catanzaro was full of praise for his team after the game.

“[I'm] very proud of the kids. What a great year they had, for a team that really had no height, and no speed, 23-6 is not shabby,” said Catanzaro. “Every team we came against had more height than us, everywhere we went, but I'm proud of the way the kids played.”

The Lady Cardinals will return every member of the starting lineup next year, with the exception of guard Sarah Hallowell.

“I'm proud of Sarah stepping up big time this year. What a great year she had,” Catanzaro said of Hallowell, who developed a role as the team's deep threat this season. “We have (the rest of the starters) coming back, so it might be our turn next year.”

The game also marked the final contest in an Upper Dublin uniform for seniors Cara Chernow, Allie Dayno, Megan Deetscreek and Tori Waters.