LOOKING TO SCORE: Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse player Bridget Kane looks for the ball in 2016 action. Last Saturday, junior star Kane tallied four goals as PDS defeated Peddie 19-8. The Panthers, now 4-1, play at Germantown Academy (Pa.) on April 13 and at Pennington School on April 17. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Bridget Kane enjoyed a big season this past winter for the Princeton Day School girls’ basketball team, leading the squad in scoring and earning All-Prep B honors.
Building on that success, Kane is applying some of her hoops skills to get off to a hot start this spring for the PDS girls’ lax team.
Last Saturday, junior standout Kane scored four goals as PDS cruised to a 19-8 win over Peddie.
In assessing her performance, Kane attributed her offensive prowess, in part, to what she has gained from playing other sports.
“Basketball helps with defensive footwork and cutting and moving,” said Kane, who has also competed for the PDS cross country program.
“I think all the sports help me to be a better all-around player.”
Kane strives to be an all-around player for the Panthers. “I can play all over the field; I play midfield and attack,” said Kane, noting that lacrosse is her favorite sport and that she has committed to attend Franklin and Marshall and will join its women’s lax program. “I can play defense when needed; I am very versatile.”
In the Peddie game, Kane scored three goals in the early stages of the contest as the Panthers jumped out to a 12-3 lead by halftime.
“One thing coach really emphasizes is to get out of the gate so we really wanted to get a good start,” said Kane.
“I think that really sets the tone for the rest of the game when we do well right off the bat.”
Another point of emphasis for PDS is offensive balance and that was on display against the Falcons as junior star Madison Mundenar tallied seven goals and two assists with senior standout Morgan Mills chipping in three goals and five assists and junior Kyra Hall adding three goals and two assists.
“We have a lot of talent on our team and we are all really great friends,” said Kane.
“There is a lot of chemistry and that makes us really hard to play against and that is great going into the rest of the season.”
Over the last year, Kane has focused on making herself more of a playmaker.
“Individually my biggest thing was being able to move without the ball and being able to see the field a lot better,” said Kane.
“I have worked on seeing the open girls and seeing the cuts that are there.”
For the Panthers, the win over Peddie marked their third straight win as they have moved on from a tough 14-9 loss to Princeton High on March 30.
“Yes it was a loss but it it was good for our team to know what that feels like and to know what to do to improve,” said Kane. “We used that in this past week.”
PDS head coach Jill Thomas was proud of how her players came up big last week in wake of that setback.
“It finishes a nice week for us, really that was our thing,” said Thomas, whose squad edged the Hun School 12-11 on April 3 and then beat Blair Academy 19-9 on Wednesday before the victory over Peddie.
“We had Hun, we went up to Blair and we had Peddie. We are starting to find our rhythm.”
Thomas credited Kane with helping to create that offensive rhythm in the win over Peddie.
“Bridget is really good, she stepped up today, so good for her,” said Thomas.
“The passes between Bridget to Madison Mundenar to Morgan Mills, however it goes, it is great. We are a very good passing team.”
The Panthers produced a good defensive effort, stepping up in the absence of senior star and co-captain Abby Atkeson.
“I was really happy with our defense because Abby was revisiting a college and you didn’t even miss her,” said Thomas.
“She is the leader out there. Emma Dries and Val Radvany were really good and we had a freshman (Maggie Madani) in goal.”
In the view of Thomas, PDS can be really good this spring if it sticks to basics.
“We are at our best when we play our game and we aren’t rattled,” said Thomas, whose team plays at Germantown Academy (Pa.) on April 13 and at Pennington School on April 17.
“The defense settles and gets a stop, you get it out, and you get it down the field. You run when you can and you settle when you have to. That is pretty much what we do. It is lot of fun.”
Kane, for her part, believes the Panthers can have a lot of fun this spring as they pursue a third straight state Prep B title.
“We are all moving uphill, we are improving game by game and practice by practice,” said Kane.
“We all see the day, May 15 (the date of the title game), coming. We all know what to expect and we want it.”