BROWN OUT: Princeton High girls’ basketball player Molly Brown looks to pass the ball in a game this season. Senior standout Brown helped PHS post a 10-11 record this winter and advance to the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

It was an up-and-down season this winter for the Princeton High girls’ basketball team but the future looks bright for the program.

“We did a pretty good job, our younger girls stepped up for us,” said PHS head coach Dave Kosa, whose squad posted a 10-11 record and advanced to the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals.

“I think we had some really good games. The games that we won, we played really, really well. We beat some teams by a lot. In the other games, it was a learning experience for us.”

For the Tigers topping crosstown rival Princeton Day School 44-23 in the last week of the season was a very positive experience.

“It was Senior Night so we came out really, really strong,” said Kosa, who got 16 points from sophomore guard Riley Devlin in the victory.

“Riley stepped up a lot during the season when she was healthy. She really improved and gave us an offensive spark. She did a good job for us.”

PHS faced some strong foes to end the winter, falling 48-40 to New Egypt in the regular season finale and then playing in the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional where the 13th-seeded Tigers lost 63-30 to fourth-seeded Middletown South in a first round contest.

“We hung tough with them, we were actually up one with a couple of minutes to go,” said Kosa, referring to the New Egypt contest.

“It was 33-32 and Nora Devine got her fourth foul and I had to sit her. They scored seven in a row. We actually came back and made it a two-point game and we had a foul and they pulled away. Middletown South is always strong, it is the Shore Conference. They were hitting shots and we didn’t play well.”

The squad’s senior group of Devine, Molly Brown, Sofia Aguayo, and Katie Chao gave the Tigers some strong play.

“Nora played well for us inside, she was a leader in blocks, points, and rebounds,” said Kosa. “She really stepped up, especially towards the end of the season. Molly was our glue. She provided leadership and just did the dirty work for us.”

PHS had a good foundation in place going forward with such returners as junior guard Rachel Luo, sophomore forward Gabby Bannett, and Devlin.

“We have a strong core coming back with Riley, Rachel, and Gabby,” asserted Kosa. “It is great experience being out on the floor but I think we put in a lot of work. Riley really improved her shot. Rachel did a great job being forced into the role of handling the ball a lot. It put a lot of pressure on her and I think she responded well. I am looking for Gabby to really take a big step next year.”

Kosa believes the team can take a big step forward collectively if the players take care of business in their preparation for next season.

“We have an offseason program ready for them and we will be doing our work in the summer,” said Kosa. “We just need to put in the work and come back stronger. If we do that, we are going to have a really successful season.”