SHARK ATTACK: Princeton High girls’ basketball player Katie Sharkey passes the ball last Wednesday as PHS hosted Notre Dame in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament semifinals. Junior Sharkey scored a team-high 16 points in the game but it wasn’t enough as second-seeded PHS fell 49-45 to third-seeded and eventual champion Notre Dame. The Tigers, now 16-7, play at South Brunswick on February 19, host Steinert on February 21, and play at Bordentown on February 24 before starting action in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) state tournament. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Katie Sharkey has shouldered more responsibility this winter in her junior season for the Princeton High girls’ basketball team.

“I have gotten used to getting my hands on the ball, I am more confident with that which has been fun,” said Sharkey. “Also being a captain I have had more of a leadership role, that obviously helps with confidence too.”

Last Wednesday as second-seeded PHS hosted third-seeded Notre Dame in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament semifinals, Sharkey displayed her confidence. With the Tigers trailing 7-1, Sharkey scored four points to help PHS go up 12-10. In the waning moments of the first half, Sharkey drained a 3-pointer to draw PHS within 26-25.

“It is always fun to make a three, those shots are the most fun shots of the game,” said Sharkey. “Those are going to get people more hyped. I am glad we could make some of those today to keep us in a game.”

Outscoring Notre Dame 13-9 in the third quarter, PHS knotted the game at 37-37 heading into the fourth.

“In a lot of games we tend to lose it in the third quarter and we didn’t come out as hard,” said Sharkey. “We emphasized at halftime to come out super hard and play really aggressive against them and that made a difference.”

With 1:45 remaining in regulation, the foes were locked in a 44-44 tie but Notre Dame came through with a 5-1 run to make the difference in a 49-45 win.

In reflecting on the homestretch of the contest, Sharkey acknowledged that the Tigers weren’t at their sharpest against the Irish, who went on to win the CVC final.

“I think it was silly mistakes to be honest,” said Sharkey, who ended up with a team-high 16 points in the loss as the Tigers moved to 16-7. “It was a lot of pressure, we need to get used to playing against that kind of pressure. Silly mistakes happen sometimes but it was just bad timing for us.”

While the setback was disappointing, Sharkey sees the run to the CVC semis as major progress for the program.

“It is definitely a big step, in the past couple of years we haven’t been able to make it this far,” said Sharkey. “It was really fun to be able to get there. Obviously we wanted to go all the way. It is disappointing, but I am proud of the team that we made it here.”

PHS head coach Joe Smiegocki was proud of how his players fought to the final buzzer against the Irish.

“We played great,” said Smiegocki. “The most important thing is that we battled. We didn’t give up. We had our chances to roll over and let them take it to us but we came back. We wanted to play on Saturday, the goal was to play on Saturday.”

Having lost 52-43 to Notre Dame in a regular season meeting in mid-January, the Tigers made some adjustments in the rematch.

“We tried to eliminate some of the threes because they shot very well last time,” said Smiegocki. “They just have a lot of weapons, inside and out. We took away their threes and they got a couple of tough drives. They made baskets late in the fourth quarter. You take away one thing and they took advantage of the second part.”

Smiegocki credited Sharkey with being a key weapon for the Tigers in the contest. “She made some tough shots,” said Smiegocki of Sharkey.

With PHS trailing 47-45 with 10 seconds left in regulation, Tiger junior star Anna Winters nearly tied the game as she took the ball to the hoop and just missed a layup attempt.

“Anna made that last drive, if that goes in, anything is possible,” said Smiegocki. “I thought about calling a time out and trying to shoot a three and don’t even go to overtime. But when she went, we decided as a coaching staff not to stop her and let her go. She got a good shot. She was a little disappointed but, guess what, at the end of the day, she will make that shot eight out of 10 times.”

Although the Tigers were stung by the loss, Smiegocki urged his players to focus on the future.

“I just told them they are disappointed they lost but we have to count this as a building block as we move forward,” said Smiegocki. “We have everybody back except Gianna [Grippo], our future looks extremely bright. I told them I am very happy. I know they are extremely disappointed but we have to put this in the back of heads to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

With PHS playing at South Brunswick on February 19, hosting Steinert on February 21, and then playing at Bordentown on February 24 before starting action in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) state tournament, Smiegocki believes the CVC run will be a confidence builder for his squad.

“This will put us in the right direction for states,” said Smiegocki. “We are going back and start working again tomorrow.”

In Sharkey’s view, the Tigers are definitely headed in the right direction.

“We were a younger team my freshman year and sophomore year, now we are all upperclassmen,” said Sharkey. “The confidence that we have as a group with all of us juniors has really grown. We have grown together, I think this is why we are doing well.”