(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) caption: TITLE SHOT: Princeton Day School girls’ basketball star Tiffany Patterson puts up a shot last week on the way to 20 points as fifth-seeded PDS topped No. 4 Hopewell Valley 60-44 in the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals. While Patterson and the Panthers fell 40-23 to No. 1 Trenton in the MCT semis on Friday, they rebounded two days later in the state Prep B tournament. Second-seeded PDS edged No. 3 Montclair Kimberley Academy 41-34 in the Prep B semis to improve to 16-8 and advance to the title game where they will play at No. 1 Rutgers Prep on February 23.

Star Center Patterson Extends Senior Season; As PDS Girls’ Basketball Makes Prep B Final

Bill Alden

Tiffany Patterson is perfectly content with having her senior season on the Princeton Day School girls’ basketball team drag on a little bit longer.

Last Wednesday, the senior center tallied 20 points and 15 rebounds to help fifth-seeded PDS top No. 4 Hopewell Valley 60-44 in the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals.

“It is always good to play an extra week,” said Patterson after the win over HoVal which saw PDS guards Janie Smukler and Molly Rubin score 24 and 10 points, respectively.

“This is my last year so I am going to make this a good one. It is a good way to go out, win or lose.”

While Patterson couldn’t get the Panthers past top-seeded Trenton High last Friday in the MCT semis as PDS fell 40-23, she was at it two days later in the state Prep B tourney. The 6‘1 center scored eight points to help second-seeded PDS edge No. 3 Montclair Kimberley Academy 41-34 in the Prep B semis.

As a result, Patterson’s final campaign with PDS was extended to February 23 when the Panthers will play at No. 1 Rutgers Prep in the Prep B title game.

Patterson wasn’t the only Panther primed to extend the season as PDS hit the court against HoVal.

“They came in thinking we were nothing,” said Patterson. “Molly Rubin [PDS junior guard] used to go there and she was pumped up and was getting us pumped up.”

Patterson is pumped up to end her career with a title. “I just want to win something,” said Patterson.

“We came into the Christmas tournament [the Moorestown High Holiday Classic] thinking we were going to win; it was kind of disappointing to lose there. I don’t feel a sense of urgency; I just feel really excited.”

PDS head coach Mika Ryan, though, does see an increased level of urgency in her star center.

“We have talked to her numerous times; I said to her she only has four or five times to put that uniform on,” said Ryan.

“She’s getting it; I think in the past she was just kind of playing. I see a different look in her eyes and I see her more vocal in practice. I see more intensity in everything she is doing.”

Ryan liked the intensity she saw from her team against HoVal as it overcame a sluggish start to pull away to a satisfying victory.

“We were a little rough in the beginning but I think that was because we haven’t played much in the last two weeks,” said Ryan, a Hopewell resident whose daughters played for the Bulldogs and has coached some of the current HoVal players in youth programs.

“We sharpened up and got a streak going. Our mantra in the locker room is that we have accomplished a lot this year. We won our first game in the MCT and we were the lower seed. It is fun to be the underdog and play hard.”

While the Panthers couldn’t pull an upset in the MCT semis as an underdog to powerhouse Trenton, Ryan liked how hard her team competed in defeat.

“I was really proud of our girls, we played really hard,” asserted Ryan, who got nine points from Patterson and 14 from Smukler in the loss.

“We defended as well as we could. It is remarkable to hold a team like that to 40 points. We didn’t rebound well enough, they got too many second and third chance points.”

The toughness PDS showed against Trenton carried over into the win against MKA two days later.

“That game was pretty rough; we could have caved in,” said Ryan, who got 21 points from Smukler in the victory and inspired play from such role players as Lauren Johnson, Hannah Levy, and Allison Mascioli as her club improved to 16-8.

“We imposed our will on them; we knew they were going to try to get back with 3-pointers but we didn’t let them. As rough as it was, we persevered.”

The Panthers are in for a rough test against Rutgers Prep, who has already beaten PDS twice this season and features 6’11 center Marvadene Anderson.

“We don’t have a counter to a 6’11 player; she has improved so much from last year to this year,” said Ryan.

“She is not just taking up space; she can play and score even if she doesn’t run the court so well. We have to rebound and score in transition; that is where we have an advantage. We need to be far more aggressive; we have had two really tough games in a row and I think that should help us. We will throw everything at them and see what happens.”

Patterson, for her part, is proud of the transition she has seen in herself and the PDS program over the last four years.

“I can see the progress I have made since freshman year,” asserted Patterson, who is headed to Long Island University where she will play for the school’s Division 1 basketball program and study media arts.

“It just got better each year on the team; we were nowhere close to this my freshman year. I think personally through playing AAU, I have grown as a player and I can definitely see that. Coach Ryan has helped me a lot with my post game which I really appreciate.”

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