Strong All Along
Frontier leader Upper Merion keeps distance from Phoenixville
KING OF PRUSSIA » Teams that are able to identify where they’re strongest and continually play to those strengths often find a lot of success follows.
Watching Upper Merion’s girls’ basketball team play, it’s not going to be a full-throttle, constant running up and down the floor type of game. Instead, the Vikings find ways to use their athletes’ skills most productively, even if it means being a bit more deliberate.
Friday night, Upper Merion controlled both ends of the floor as it topped visiting Phoenixville 42-32, led by 23 points from senior Jordan Wilson.
“We focused on defense, our
defense drives our offense,” Wilson said. “We wanted to keep communicating. We feed off each other and our defense helps us create transition and just playing together really helps us.”
The score was tied 8-8 after the first quarter, but the game didn’t have the feel of an equal matchup. Upper Merion (6-5, 5-0 PAC Frontier) missed a lot of shots and while both teams were guilty of some turnovers, the Phantoms were having some trouble navigating the Vikings’ defensive looks.
Also complicating matters was the foul trouble Phoenixville (5-4, 2-3 Frontier) battled most of the game. Forward Jasmine Hamilton picked up two fouls in the first quarter and had to sit long stretches of the first half, keeping one of Phoenixville’s offensive dynamic duo off the floor.
“We have a bit of a turnover problem as of late, we got away with it a little bit at Pottsgrove the other night, tonight Upper Merion did a good job of pressuing us,” Phoenixville coach AJ Thompson said. “We’ve gone against their staggered 2-3 that they run a bunch. We worked on it a bunch but we were unable to get the ball to the post a lot of times where want it, they turned us over and finished plays.”
Hamilton fought through the foul issues in the second half and ended up with a team-high 15 points, but Upper Merion had the clamps on her usual partner. The Vikings keyed in on senior Payton Graham and held the guard scoreless by keeping the ball out of her hands.
Upper Merion threw a few different looks at Phoenixville but it seemed like wherever Graham went on the floor, Vikings senior Kelly Burns was there as her shadow. With her teammates
communicating for her, Burns was able to play denial defense and took away some of what Phoenixville wanted to do.
“We put an emphasis on figuring out where Payton is, she’s their leading scorer,” UM coach Leah Shumoski said. “Kelly is a tremendous defender and people don’t realize that but she can verymuch frustrate somebody. That’s kind of what our goal is, make them think and once they feel they have it figured out, switch it up.”
Upper Merion imposed itself in the second quarter, outscoring the Phantoms 8-2 and forcing the Phantoms into five turnovers. Amya Anthony was a big spark for the Vikings in the first half with three of her five steals coming in the first two quarters and helping UM find some easy hoops.
Wilson had eight at the break, then continued to pile up the points in the second half. The senior, who chatted with coaches from Immaculata after the game, was the only Viking in double-figures and also added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals to her line.
“We knew we had to keep working at it,” Wilson said. “Some shots weren’t going to fall right away but we kept pushing and eventually they fell. We’ve been playing together and helping each other, if one person is down, we’re picking them up and not knocking each other down.”
Ameerah Greene was able to find some offense with Graham quieted, scoring 11 points for the game. Hamilton added eight rebounds while Graham pulled down seven missed shots, handed out two assists and blocked three Upper Merion shots.
Phoenixville, which trailed 25-17 after three quarters, got within eight points a handful of times in the second half but the Vikings kept scoring and hit- ting free throws to restore ormaintain their lead. Midway through PAC Frontier play, the Phantoms know they still have some steps to take, but feel they can still make noise in the conference.
“We do some really good things and things we’re happy with, then there are things we have to try and correct,” Thompson said. “Going into the second half, I think our half of the division is up for grabs, anybody can beat anybody. We have to clean up the turnovers, we’ll try to figure out in practice, continue to work and continue to get better.”
Wilson fouled out with 1:02 left, but continued to
support her teammates from the bench, something the entirety of the Vikings roster has emphasized this season. After games, the team votes on the most positive player who is then awarded the “Positivity Pail” for the game.
“Each player nominates one person who was the most positive and why, then we vote on it so it’s something we look forward to at the end of the games,” Wilson said. “It’s not about who put up the most numbers, but who’s the most vocal, the most positive, it’s helped us.”
UM sits undefeated in the Frontier midway through the schedule, but Shumoski knows there’s no guarantees in the second half. The second-year coach tried to bolster UM’s nonleague slate and said the idea was to have her players get tested and “a little beat up” to make them better.
“For the girls last year to win our division, they hadn’t won anything like that here in a long time, so I know what it’s like to come back and defend a title but it’s kind of new to them,” Shumoski said. “We’re learning the lessons we need to so when we get back to the league, we don’t have to learn them again.”