DEVINE INTERVENTION: Princeton High girls’ basketball player Erin Devine puts up a shot in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, sophomore forward Devine scored a game-high 15 points in a losing cause as PHS fell 47-35 at Montgomery to drop to 4-11. The Little Tigers play at Hightstown on January 27. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Steve Hennessy knew his Princeton High girls’ basketball team faced a big challenge when it hosted Allentown last Friday.

The Redbirds brought a 10-1 record into the contest and PHS didn’t have the services of senior starters Jamaica Ponder and Zoe Tesone.

Undeterred, the Little Tigers got off to a good start, hitting two 3-pointers in the early going to make it a 6-6 game.

“The way it started was great; we told them that we wanted to slow the game down and take a lot of time off the clock with each possession,” said Hennessy.

“The first couple of possessions, we moved the ball. I counted eight, nine passes and we got those open shots.”

Allentown, though, turned up the defensive intensity, putting on full-court pressure that sparked a 17-0 run and the Redbirds never looked back on the way to a 59-23 triumph.

“That press broke us six out of seven times in the second quarter,” lamented Hennessy.

“Zoe and Jamaica are our press breakers. They can do it, that is their job. Zoe is strong and fast. Jamaica is a great ball handler. We knew that could be trouble. Missing those two caused us to be susceptible to that press.”

In the third quarter, PHS did a better job as it was only outscored 14-11 by Allentown.

“It was just intensity, we shut down the back door and we were keeping two guards back on the press,” said Hennessy. “It was back and forth.”

Despite the margin of defeat, Hennessy liked the play he got from a trio of sophomores, Catherine Dyevich, Erin Devine, and Anna Intartaglia, as Dyevich scored 10 points against Allentown with Devine adding seven and Intartaglia chipping in three.

“We had a lot of good things as well,” said Hennessy. “Catherine Dyevich crushed it, she is playing fantastic. We got Erin Devine on track tonight; she has been a little cold, and she hit a couple of good shots. We put a lot of pressure on our point guard Anna Intartaglia; I thought she handled it great. We have the seniors; they play well but we need to look to the future.”

Looking ahead, Hennessy wants his players to focus on being sharper offensively.

“I want to see better basketball; I want to see us moving the ball quicker and shooting better, that is how we succeed,” said Hennessy, who got a game-high 15 points from Devine as PHS fell 47-35 to Montgomery last Saturday in dropping to 4-11.

“In the third quarter, we were zipping that ball around and we got some open shots. I know we have put stretches together against good teams that are solid. We just can’t keep it going for four quarters.”

Noting that the Little Tigers are not hanging their heads, Hennessy believes things are going in the right direction.

“Everyone is feeling good about themselves, everybody expects to go in and win the games we can win,” said Hennessy, whose team plays at Hightstown on January 27.

“They are feeling good. They are coming back to practice and working hard. They know they are a young team.”