GOLD RUSH: Princeton Day School girls’ basketball player ­Emily Goldman rushes up the court in a recent game. Sophomore guard Goldman has provided athleticism and endurance for an injury-riddled PDS squad that has shrunk to six players for much of the season. PDS, now 7-11, hosts Peddie School on February 8 before starting play in both the state Prep B tourney and Mercer County Tournament. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Trying to hold together a team that has shrunk to six players for much of the season has weighed on Princeton Day School girls’ basketball head coach Mika Ryan.

“I think we are one step away from putting a quality game together but it has been Murphy’s Law; something goes wrong or someone gets hurt,” said Ryan.

“The kids’ resilience has been amazing. I leave practices and I feel 1,000 percent better about things.”

Ryan feels good about the return of senior guard Sarah Godwin, who recently got back into action after being sidelined by an ACL injury since last season.

It has been a real lift,” said Ryan, referring to having the services of Valparaiso University-bound Godwin.

“Since I have coached her, she has always been upbeat and encouraging in practice. She doesn’t have game fitness yet but she is going up and down the court well.”

Last Thursday, Godwin displayed her offensive skills, scoring 17 points as PDS lost 58-50 to Burlington Township High.

“They were a very good team and we started out slowly,” said Ryan, whose also seen the return from an ankle injury of promising freshman Kirsten Kuzmicz. “We were down 16 points at half and we cut it to eight. We made a great effort in the third and fourth quarters. We were overmatched.”

Making Herculean efforts as they have battled through a winter of mismatches has drained the Panthers.

“The problem is that the rest of us are beat up,” said Ryan, whose team lost 28-23 to Notre Dame last Monday to fall to 7-11.

“Molly Rubin is tired. She has put us on her back. We have been asking her to do everything, from playing point guard to center. She has been defending the other team’s best player. She was up and down this week.”

Ryan is hoping her team will step up as it enters postseason action later this month by playing at Rutgers Prep on February 12 in the opening round of the state Prep B tourney and then starting action in the Mercer County Tournament.

“I am excited about our prospects going in the Mercer County Tournament,” said Ryan, whose team hosts Peddie School on February 8 before the 12th-seeded Panthers play at No. 5 WW/P-S on February 13 in the first round of the MCT.

“We have beaten two of the three CVC teams we played, defeating Hamilton and Nottingham. When we played Rutgers Prep before, we were the dirty half-dozen.”

In Ryan’s view, the Panthers need to clean up things on offense if they are to make a good postseason run.

“I think we have to eliminate turnovers,” said Ryan, who guided the Panthers to the Prep B title game and the MCT semis last winter.

“We beat ourselves on offense. We don’t value the ball, I have been telling them to just complete the next pass. We defend well but you can’t defend and then not score, particularly against better competition.”