Lower Gwynedd >> In the fifth game of the season, Amy Ngo played perfectly off the field.
Upper Dublin’s junior guards won 11-11 and scored a career-high 31 points in a 61-32 Suburban One League Liberty Division victory over Wissahickon at Wissahickon High School on Friday night.
“I felt really good,” said Ngo, who won 3-4 from the free-throw line. “Last night I wasn’t quite ready yet, so I asked my mom to talk about preparation. You need a pep talk to get you excited.” I don’t know, but it really helped me today. “
“Her shot is a beautiful one,” said Upper Dublin coach Morgan Hunsten. “When she shoots, she’s no fluke. She’s balanced and square. She always surprises when it goes wrong.”
Ngo missed the first 13 games of the season as he recovers from a knee injury sustained in last year’s District 1 playoffs. She helped the Cardinals win all five of her games played, improving her to 13-5 overall and her 10-3 in the Liberty Division in the SOL.
Ngo did most of the damage in the second and third quarters. She was 5-for-5 with three 3-pointers in her 15-point second quarter and 4-for-4 with three 3-pointers in her 11-point third quarter. She finished with her game in hand after scoring her two in the first quarter and her three in the fourth quarter.
“The coaches were saying, ‘You have to shoot,’ even in practice yesterday,” said Ngo, who went 6-6 from three-point range. “They said keep it simple. You have to shoot when it’s open. It was like that today.”
The Cardinals fell behind 8-4 with a few early turnovers, but responded with a 24-5 run to build a 29-13 lead in the second quarter. The lead widened to 17 at 35-18 in the first half.
Ngo’s return to the floor will not only help Upper Dublin score, but also help the team defend the ball. After two early turnovers, the Cardinals only dealt the ball out the remaining two times of the game.
“We turned the ball over several times in the first quarter,” said Fansten. “I wanted to play faster tonight. I think outside of the first quarter we played fast and managed the ball. ”
Colleen Besachio joins Ngo in double figures with 11 points, while Megan Ngo and Nora Brady each scored 5 points.
Kaitlyn McGeary led Wissahickon (5-13, 3-10 SOL Liberty) with 15 points and had a double-double with 11 rebounds. Maura Jacobs added her 6 points with her pair of 3s.
Upper Dublin 61, Wissahickon 32
Upper Dublin 9 26 17 9 – 61
Wissahickon 8 10 9 5 – 32
Upper Dublin: Alaina Sanders 1 0-0 2, Megan Go 1 3-4 5, Amy Go 11 3-4 31, Colleen Besachio 5 0-0 11, Nora Brady 2 0-0 5, Brigid Brady 0 0-0 0, Catherine Skalen, Makila Keys, Kaylee Fitzky, Lily Kleiman, Sofia Machado, Maisie McGarvey, Kaitlyn Zakaria 0-0 3. Total 23 6-8 61 .
Wissahickon: Eva Schools 1 0-0 2, Caitlin McGeary 5 4-6 15, Giulia Lettieri 0 2-2 2, Claire Baldasano 1 0-0 2, Kyle Friedman 1 0-0 2, Chloe Acuna 0 0-0 0, Sky Sydney 1 1-2 3, Maura Jacob 2 0-0 6, Ava Stout 0 0-2 0. Total 11 7-12 32.
3 point goal: UD: Nora Brady, Amy Go6, Colleen Besachio, Kaitlyn Zakaria. W: Caitlin McGeary, Maura Jacob 2.