With Curran-Groome Providing Steadying Hand, PHS Girls’ Basketball Produces Solid 4-4 Start
With the Princeton High girls’ basketball team having come off a tough loss to Ewing, Catherine Curran-Groome and her teammates were looking to bounce back last Friday night when they hosted Lawrence High.
“We know Ewing is always going to be a physical team; Lawrence came out pretty ready but we were able to fight back a little more this game,” said PHS senior guard Curran-Groome.
The Little Tigers came out fighting from the opening tip against Lawrence, as Curran-Groome produced a three-point play in the first minute to help PHS jump out to an early 9-2 lead on the way to building a 20-13 cushion at halftime.
“Sometimes we start off a little slow so this game was a start in the right direction,” said Curran-Groome. “It is always nice to get that first shot.”
PHS broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Cardinals 13-6 to build a 33-19 lead heading into the fourth.
“When we started off the second half, they got that first shot and coach (Dan Van Hise) called a timeout and said you cannot let this one get away from you,” said Curran-Groome.
“I think we just really stepped it up on our press which was great to see. We usually get our confidence getting turnovers and then turning that into points.”
Curran-Groome has stepped up her offensive game this season.
“I think I am definitely more confident on the offensive end this year,” said Curran-Groome, who scored seven points and made some key assists in the victory over Lawrence.
“I am getting a lot more opportunities. We are sharing the ball really well, it is more evened out.”
For Curran-Groome, sharing the ball is one of the best things about the game and she showed that by connecting several times down low to classmate Briana Blue leading to PHS baskets.
“Even though I am more of a shooting guard, I love to pass it around a lot,” said Curran-Groome.
“The assists are my favorite part, I love making good passes. Briana and I have played together a lot out of season and I think we have gotten to work together pretty well.”
PHS is working well as a team as the win over Lawrence marked its fourth victory of the season, already exceeding its total last season when it went 3-16.
“I think we just really came together a lot more than we have in the past,” said Curran-Groome.
“We share the ball so much better. We are looking for the best shot out there, it is not just people shooting for themselves. We still have problems with rushing on offense but overall it is better this year. I think everyone is really in it this year and really dedicated.”
PHS head coach Van Hise liked the way his squad was in it from the start against Lawrence.
“We have gotten off to really good starts this year; that has become one of our calling cards,” said Van Hise.
“We are not timid any more. We come right at you, which is good. I think that gives a leg up on some of the teams. I have been really, really impressed with how we have been able to come out.”
The Little Tigers came out hard in the third quarter as they seized control of the contest.
“I think it was five at one time but then we soared,” said Van Hise. “We know Lawrence is a respectable, good program and they are going to play their hearts out. It wasn’t going to be easy and I think our full court press helped a lot. Once it got back up into the teens, we really settled down and that was it.”
Van Hise credits Curran-Groome with keeping the team settled at the offensive end.
“She has been a godsend; she is probably our most consistent player,” said Van Hise.
“She does a little bit of everything and we need her scoring, to have her consistently at six to 10 points is great.”
Curran-Groome’s ability to find Blue in the post has become a key element of the PHS attack.
“She and Blue have that — we have been playing together forever — chemistry going on so we try to do a couple of things for them, pick and roll stuff,” said Van Hise. “We know that they have that connection and Briana finished tonight, that is huge for us.”
Senior Mia Levy also finished well against Lawrence, scoring five points off the bench in the second quarter.
“She could be our best finisher down low; she is so fundamentally sound,” said Van Hise. “She is nice to have on the middle of that zone because we know that she is usually going to do the right thing.”
The PHS defense has been sound most of the season. “We have preached toughness the whole year defensively, they buy into it for sure,” asserted Van Hise. “It is all team oriented too. You can’t really pick out who is the standout defender. Mira (Shane) is a hustler and we lean on Zoe (Tesone) for that too but I think the team defense has really stepped up this year.”
Van Hise is confident that his team will keep stepping up this winter, gaining confidence from having already passed last year’s win total.
“It just shows how much they have come together this season; having five seniors couldn’t make more of a difference than it has,” said Van Hise, whose squad fell 45-29 to Steinert last Monday to move to 4-4 and will play at Nottingham on January 16 before hosting Notre Dame on January 20.
“We have won the games I think we should have won. We haven’t tripped at all this year. We are still looking for that one win where everybody goes — oh man I didn’t know they could beat them. At the same time we have to be happy that we are beating the teams that we think we should be beating right now. If we keep going along the path that we are, we have to be shooting for states. To be able to say that this season, I couldn’t be happier.”
Curran-Groome, for her part, is happy with the way her final campaign is going.
“We definitely wanted to have a different season than our past three years, we haven’t hit .500 in these past three years,” said Curran-Groome.
“We are looking to go to states this year, we moved up a division so we are playing some higher quality teams. We are looking to take on Trenton, Notre Dame, and Ewing again. We want to make those real games, not just how they have been in the past.”