Led by Stellar Group of Senior Stalwarts, PHS Girls’ Hoops Makes Jump to 8 Wins
On paper, it would appear that the Princeton High girls’ basketball team ended the winter on a down note.
Playing at second-seeded Marlboro in the opening round of the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional, 15th-seeded PHS suffered a lopsided 68-25 defeat in its last game.
But for Little Tiger head coach Dan Van Hise, the state tourney appearance was icing on the cake in a season that saw PHS post eight victories, more than doubling its win total from last winter when it went 3-16.
“You can paint a pretty picture and say that anybody can beat anybody but we looked at that game as a celebration of what we were able to accomplish,” said second-year coach Van Hise, whose team finished with an 8-16 record.
“They weren’t overly physical or that athletic but they didn’t turn the ball over and they made their shots. If they were open, it was going in. We were down by 23 at half and we said let’s go out and have a good second half and get some of the younger players in and try some things we hadn’t done.”
With PHS suffering six straight losses after it posted its sixth victory, Van Hise was happy to see his team notch wins over WW/P-S and Robbinsville in the last week of the regular season.
“It felt good to get to eight; we didn’t let it slip away,” said Van Hise. “We really wanted the senior class to get those eight wins because that was as many wins as they had combined in their first three years, (1 win-4 wins-3 wins); that put our improvement in perspective. We are going to lose our share of games but what is nice to see is that they don’t want to be a doormat any more. We don’t want to be one of those teams that everyone expects to beat; we are getting to the middle of the CVC.”
Evidence of the team’s increased competitiveness was on display in its impressive 57-47 win over Robbinsville in the regular season finale.
“Robbinsville was easily our best game of the year,” said Van Hise. “I think they took us lightly. We shut down their 1,000 point scorer. Zoe Tesone did a great job on her; I think we held her to 10 points. Brianna (Blue) was a monster inside, they didn’t have an answer for her. That is when I felt like the season was a success.”
Van Hise credits the team’s senior class with making that success possible.
“It was a good group; they all do it in a different way and with five of them that is something to say,” said Van Hise, whose group of seniors included Mary Sutton (7.0 points and 2.0 assists per games this winter), Brianna Blue (6.2 points, 6.6 rebounds), Mira Shane (2.9 points, 2.3 rebounds), Catherine Curran-Groome (5.2 points, 3.3 assists), and Mia Levy (1.7 points, 2.8 rebounds).
“There is no doubt how much they love the game even though Mira plays lacrosse and Mary is a runner. You can tell that they grew up together and they really like playing with each other. When you think of Princeton High girls’ basketball, you will think of those girls.”
Each of the seniors filled a key role for the Little Tigers this winter. “Mary would probably say she wanted to have a better season scoring but she does so much to help us,” said Van Hise.
“She makes everyone better. Brianna came on, she was really an inside presence at the end. Mira is Mira. She is always going to give you energy and hustle. Catherine was a rock, she does pretty much the same thing every game. She has some dishes and hits some shots. Mia playing off the bench was there for us all season.”
While the graduation of the Class of 2015 will leave a big void, PHS has a good foundation in the trio of sophomore Zoe Tesone (3.9 points, 5.4 rebounds), junior Julia Ryan (8.7 points, 2.1 rebounds), and freshman Devon Lis (2.0 points, 1.4 rebounds).
“Losing five seniors will be hard but I like the athleticism of the returners,” said Van Hise.
“Zoe is going to be a stud. We need Julia to develop into more than she is. She is always going to be a knock-down shooter but we want her to be good at other things and be that do-everything player for us. Lis has good vision and is already a solid on-ball defender. We will see how they step into new roles and handle more responsibility.”
In reflecting on his second year at the helm, Van Hise believes that the team developed a unity that will serve it well going forward.
“I opened up to them more this year and everyone bought in from the beginning,” said Van Hise.
“That had a lot to do with the seniors and how much everyone respects them. I like the culture and chemistry that we have now.”