ON TRACK: Princeton Day School girls’ basketball player Ryan Robinson brings the ball up the court in a game last week. Sophomore guard Robinson scored 12 points to help sixth-seeded PDS top No. 3 Stuart Country Day 53-45 in the state Prep B quarterfinals last week. The Panthers saw their run in the Prep B tourney come to an end when they fell 74-49 to second-seeded Pennington in the semis last Sunday. PDS, now 12-12, will start play in the Mercer County Tournament this week where the 12th-seeded Panthers will play at fifth-seeded Allentown in an opening round contest on February 18. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
It started on Super Bowl Sunday and wasn’t concluded until last Thursday but the wait proved worthwhile for the Princeton Day School girls’ basketball team.
PDS traveled across Great Road on February 7 to play at Stuart Country Day School in the state Prep B quarterfinals and found itself trailing 29-19 at halftime when a leaky roof caused the game to be moved to an adjacent rubber court for the second half.
Thriving on the new surface, the Panthers bounced back and forged ahead 44-40 but the game was suspended with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter when another leak hit the second court.
The teams reconvened last Thursday afternoon and PDS sophomore guard Ryan Robinson acknowledged that it was a scenario unlike any she had ever experienced in basketball.
“It was crazy,” said Robinson. “We had the momentum in the first game and stopping it when we were getting ahead in the fourth quarter, there was nothing like it, to be honest.”
Reflecting on the second half rally, Robinson said PDS seized momentum by stepping up its intensity.
“It was basically don’t let up and come back harder than they were,” said Robinson.
“They had beaten us two times before, what we had to do to get the win was play our best. We knew that they weren’t used to playing on that court so it was to our advantage; it was an even playing field.”
PDS kept playing well when play resumed four days later, pulling away to a 53-45 win and a spot in the Prep B semis.
“We were up four and we had to keep playing our game and don’t let up,” said Robinson, who scored a team-high 12 points in the win.
With PDS having struggled over the last few seasons, getting to the Prep semis was a major step forward.
“It means a lot, we haven’t done as well in the years before,” said Robinson. “It is great to get this far.”
Benefitting from having a season of high school ball under her belt, Robinson has come far as a sophomore.
“I am definitely more confident, having played varsity as a freshman,” said Robinson.
“It was a little shaky at first getting used to it. But coming into a new season it was a fresh start and with a better relationship with the girls, it was a lot easier. I feel I am one of the leaders on the court. I am someone who helps keep everyone in the game.”
PDS head coach Kamau Bailey never doubted that his players could pull out the game against Stuart.
“We always believed that even though we had lost the two games prior that we could beat this team,” said Bailey.
Coming into the continuation of the game on Thursday, Bailey knew that his team had to stay aggressive to beat the Tartans.
“We designed a play to get an early bucket,” said Bailey. “We didn’t want to hold it out because we knew that they had the arrow so if we had it they could tie it up with a possession, We wanted to go for a bucket early and it worked out. We got a bucket so we were up 46-40 and then we just had to play great defense from there.”
Bailey credited Robinson with spearheading the defensive effort. “Ryan is good on defense and we wanted her to lock up Jalynn Spaulding, who is a great player in her own right,” said Bailey. “We wanted to force her right and play really tough defense against her and we were able to do that.”
While PDS fell 74-49 to Pennington in the Prep B semis last Sunday in dropping to 12-12, Bailey is proud of what his team has accomplished this winter.
“We have gotten a lot better as a team,” said Bailey, whose squad starts play in the Mercer County Tournament this week where the 12th-seeded Panthers will play at fifth-seeded Allentown in an opening round contest on February 18.
“I knew this year we would raise some eyebrows and turn some heads just based on what I saw in the preseason.”
In Robinson’s view, better togetherness among the players has been a key factor in PDS’ progress.
“We have got a couple of new players and having not lost any players really helped,” said Robinson. “I think our team chemistry is the biggest improvement.”