RAISING KANE: Princeton Day School girls’ basketball player Bridget Kane brings the ball up the court in recent action. Last week, freshman point guard Kane scored 10 points in a losing cause as PDS fell 48-42 to Moorestown Friends. The Panthers, who fell 53-28 to Morrisville (Pa.) in moving to 2-7, host Stuart Country Day on January 14 before playing at Villa Victoria on January 16. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Bridget Kane has been around basketball a long time for someone who is only a freshman in high school.

As the daughter of longtime Lawrenceville School boys’ hoops head coach Ron Kane, she took up the game at an early age.

“I started playing when I was in second grade,” said Kane, a point guard for the Princeton Day School girls’ basketball team. “I use to play CYO and for my private school team.”

Last week, Kane showed her court skill and savvy, scoring 10 points as PDS fell 48-42 to Moorestown Friends.

Kane started the game by hitting a long three-pointer and later added another basket to help the Panthers jump out to a 23-13 halftime lead.

“We really worked together and came out as a team in the first half,” said Kane, reflecting on PDS’s promising start.

Moorestown, though, outscored the Panthers 20-9 in the third quarter and scored the first five points of the fourth to go ahead 38-32. PDS kept battling with Kane hitting another three-pointer to narrow the gap to 40-39 with 3:40 remaining in regulation.

While PDS never got closer than that, Kane liked how the team never quit on itself.

“I think we all realized that the score was getting really close and we wanted to win so bad,” said Kane. “We worked really hard throughout the game and I think we pushed as hard through the end. “

In Kane’s view, that work ethic and character bodes well for the future. “I think the team can take just coming back from a tough third quarter to the fourth and saying we are not going to lose this,” said Kane. “We are going to fight.”

As Kane gets acclimated to high school ball, she has been fighting to hold her own against bigger players.

“I think it is mostly height, keeping up with all of the tall girls,” said Kane. “I manage it, so it is fun.”

Having spent her life around Lawrenceville, Kane is excited to be blazing a new trail.

“I just wanted a change and I wanted to be my own person,” said Kane. “I  have lived at Lawrenceville my whole life and I wanted my own school.”

It hasn’t taken Kane long to to find a new home with the Panther team. “I feel like we are all just good friends,” said Kane. “In the hallway, we say hi and we will eat lunch together. We all work really well together and are friends outside the game so that’s really important.”

PDS head coach Kamau Bailey credited Kane with making an important contribution to the Panthers.

“Bridget hit some big shots,” said Bailey. “She has great composure to be a freshman and hit big shots. She has been doing that throughout the year for us.”

Bailey acknowledged that his team needs to show more composure down the stretch.

“We got off to a great start but I think we ran out of gas towards the end,” said Bailey,” noting it was the team’s first game after a lengthy holiday break.

“We have had a couple of games this year where we have had some pretty decent leads. We just have to work on scoring some points late in the game when we are tired and being a little more effective late in the game.”

PDS is developing an effective inside game with the one-two punch of juniors Izzy Meyercord and Helen Healey.

“It was Izzy Meyercord’s first game back; she has been hurt for a while,” said Bailey.

“They (Meyercord and Healey) give me a nice little down low game. We have to work on it at practice. We have really just touched upon that, with her having come back.”

As PDS heads into the second half of the season, Bailey is looking for his players to more fully reach their potential.

“The challenge is bringing out the best in everybody and that’s my job as a coach,” said Bailey.

“We are working at that and I have seen a lot of progress. I think we are going to finish pretty strong here based on what I have seen. I called some plays tonight and we were able to execute a couple of back doors. I am looking forward to what the rest of the season holds.”

Kane, for her part, believes that the team’s best basketball is to come. “I think we had a little bit of a rough start,” said Kane. “It is a pretty young team but I think we are all pulling it together and we have really improved game after game. I think that is really important throughout the season.”