MAD LIB: Princeton High girls’ basketball player Maddie ­Cahill-Sanidas looks to create some offense in recent action. Last Friday, junior forward Cahill-Sanidas scored seven points as PHS lost 56-26 to Lawrence High to fall to 0-13. The Little Tigers will be starting action in the Mercer County Tournament on February 13 when 16th-seeded PHS plays at No. 1 Hopewell Valley in a first round contest. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Maddie Cahill-Sanidas started slowly as the Princeton High girls’ basketball team hosted WW/P-N last week.

The junior forward went scoreless in the first quarter as PHS fell behind 16-6.

In the second quarter, though, Cahill-Sanidas came alive, scoring five points as the Little Tigers played the Northern Knights to a 13-13 standoff.

For Cahill-Sanidas, taking a little time to get rolling has become her modus operandi.

“It always take me a couple of minutes to analyze the situation but I got it,” said Cahill-Sanidas. “I was feeling a lot better in the second quarter.”

PHS was feeling good in the third quarter when it cut the WW/P-N lead to eight points at 36-28. The Northern Knights, though, reeled off 13 unanswered points on the way to a 52-37 victory.

While the loss was disappointing, Cahill-Sanidas thought the Little Tigers had some positive stretches.

“I think in the second half, we really stepped it up,” said Cahill-Sanidas.

“We are capable of playing with that intensity; we just have to learn how to do that for four quarters.”

As one of the more battle-tested players on a young squad that features several freshmen and sophomores, Cahill-Sanidas is stepping up on many levels.

“I see myself as someone who needs to shoot,” said Cahill-Sanidas, a versatile athlete who also stars for the PHS girls’ tennis and softball teams.

“I think I also need to
facilitate and find other people with passes. I think that is important. Jocabed [Muflam], Emma [Wingreen], and I are captains this year, it is a new leadership role for us. We have filled those shoes as the season has progressed.”

The Little Tigers are focusing on making progress offensively. “We need to work on movement on offense,” said Cahill-Sanidas, who scored seven points last Friday as PHS lost 56-26 to Lawrence High to drop to 0-13 .

“We have been trying to work on cutting and getting to the basket. We are trying to utilize our post a little more because we have been doing a lot of outside rather than inside-outside play. We need to work on ball movement in general.”

While the team’s uneven play has been frustrating, Cahill-Sanidas is confident the work will pay off.

“It is not a question of trying hard; in practice we are really conditioning,” said Cahill-Sanidas, who will be trying hard this week as PHS competes in the Mercer County Tournament with the 16th-seeded Little Tigers playing at No. 1 Hopewell Valley on February 13 in a first round contest.

“We have done more running than I have ever done in basketball. It’s not translating on the court and that’s what we are working on. Against WW/P-S, we scored 46 points. Once we get in a rhythm, it works great.”

In Cahill-Sanidas’ view, the team is laying the foundation for developing a rhythm.

“This team has gotten a lot closer; I think the team dynamic is great,” said Cahill-Sanidas,

“We are going to do a lot of work this summer, trying to get used to each other as a team. We haven’t been playing with these girls for that long. We are going to do camps and leagues; we are going to do a lot
together.”