TURNING THE PAIGE: Princeton Day School girls’ basketball player Paige Gardner lofts a pass in recent action. Junior guard Gardner’s play off the bench was a spark for PDS this winter as it went 5-13. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Although the Princeton Day School girls’ basketball team ended the season on a 10-game losing streak, there were some positive moments in the last week of the season.

“The West Windsor North game was probably the most fun we had as a team,” said PDS head coach Seraphine Hamilton, referring to a 30-28 overtime loss to WW/P-North on February 24.

“We played really well; we missed a couple of shots that we should have knocked down. It was a late night game. We had a team dinner and we had a lot of fun together. That was probably the best culmination of our season. We had everybody there, everybody was healthy. It was great in that sense. West Windsor is fun competition, we are really well matched.”

The Panthers ended the season by competing in the South Jersey Non-Public A state tournament where 13th-seeded PDS fell 85-16 to fourth-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas on March 2.

“It was a different level from what we saw most of the season; it was great for them to see that level and play at that pace and be a part of that,” said Hamilton, whose team ended the winter with a 5-13 record.

“It was a great game in that. It was really obvious that we were trying to do as coaching staff was working. We talked a lot about making short-term measurable goals. In the last couple plays of the game, Ali Surace had some steals. For a few weeks we had been working on finishing lay-ups with pressure and she finished one.”

Reflecting on the season overall, Hamilton believes her players made progress in achieving goals along the way.

“I think that learning how to move off the ball was the big progress that we made this season,” said Hamilton. “When I think about our first game and our last, there is a drastic, dramatic difference in how we move off the ball with a lot more purpose. It was also learning to be a team that looks to score. A lot of the time in the first half of the season, we would sit back and not even look at the basket. We would look for the next pass. We started to think about getting more players involved in attacking the basket and to play to their strengths as individuals.”

Hamilton credited her group of seniors — which included Elle Anhut, Brooke Lauer, Maddie Nowack, Meghan Zarish-Yasunas, Caroline Ewing, and Surace — with setting a positive tone.

“I told them at the beginning of the season that in their freshman year I worked at Newark Academy and I came to watch them play because we were going to match up against them later in the season,” said Hamilton.

“I remember going back and telling my team at the time that we can’t discredit this team because they work really hard and they don’t give up. I was thinking that is a team that I really want to coach I told them that early in the year and at the end of the season, I reminded them of that and I said they didn’t disappoint me.”

The trio of sophomores Jen Lightman, Mia Hartman, and Tochi Owunna provided some good work this season for the Panthers.

“I think that that three of them coming back is going to be really helpful, this was their first regular season together because Jen wasn’t here last year and we only had seven or eight games,” said Hamilton.

“This is the first season where they were really able develop and grow as players and individuals. It is going to be exciting to see them come back having improved and worked in the offseason in ways that they haven’t had the opportunity to do before.”

In Hamilton’s view, the sophomore standouts should trigger the PDS offense going forward.

“Mia and Jen are the two players who look to score and our players look to them to do that,” said Hamilton. “I think that their fearlessness in that sense is really helpful. They are two players who are going play basketball all summer. They are going to grow and help set the bar. At the beginning of the season, Tochi was looking to pass the ball. A lot of the times when she started to get into that frame of mind, we would set up a play for her to attack the basket or, at the very least, shift her mind to attacking and scoring.”

Three other returners — junior Paige Gardner, freshman Shelby Ruf, and sophomore  Katie Zarish-Yasunas —  should see plenty of time next year.

“Paige is a such an athlete; at points in the season when we needed to focus more and we needed to push harder, she was all over that,” said Hamilton.

“She helped raise the bar for us when it came to competition and athletic focus. Shelby missed a chunk of the season and was starting to get back in the groove as we got into the final part of the season. She is going to be great on the glass and learning how to play with her back to the basket. Katie helped us in a lot of ways. She is a starter for our field hockey program so she has the state tournament and MCT experience. That pace is something she can handle and she is used to it.”

Hamilton is confident that the Panthers will be able to pick up the pace when they get back on the court for the 2022-23 campaign.

“They have all had varied experiences,” said Hamilton. “Having that in basketball is going to help them come back and know what to expect and what the bar can be.”