ON THE RISE: Princeton Day School girls’ basketball player Nica Martin heads to the hoop in a game last winter. Senior guard Martin is primed for a big final campaign. The Panthers tip off their 2025-26 season by hosting Hillsborough on December 13. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
While his Princeton Day School girls’ basketball team features several battle-tested veterans, Pat Reddington believes an infusion of young talent should help the program raise the level of its game this winter.
“There are definitely some new faces this year so it is definitely a different dynamic,” said PDS head coach Reddington, who guided the Panthers to a 13-10 record last winter and a trip to the Prep B semis. “We have more of a young core on our team, we are going to gain a lot of experience with our younger players this year. We have a nice mix of returning seniors to go with them.”
Reddington believes that freshman point guard Alana Williams will provide some dynamic play at point guard.
“Alana is a supreme athlete, she is extremely fast,” said Reddington. “She is playing high-level basketball in the offseason, she plays for Philadelphia Rise. We are really excited about her impact, she is a hard worker. Not only is she a great athlete but she impacts the game in so many different ways that we are really excited about.”
Two of the team’s seniors, Nica Martin (186 points and 60 assists in 2024-25) and Sophia Rae Barber (164 points, 22 assists), figure to make a big impact this winter.
“Nica and Sophia are going to be our captains this year, they have been leading the charge right now,” said Reddington. “We expect some big things out of them for sure. They are looking good, we are hoping to get a lot of shooting out of them and continuing to get the other things going. Nica had a nice balanced stat sheet in a lot of games last year. Sophia was more our specific sniper. She has shown some different things this year that I didn’t see as much last year defensively and taking the ball to the basket.”
Two other returners, sophomores Ellie Lesaca (26 points, 17 assists) and Mae Braswell (14 points 3 assists), should get some minutes at guard.
“We have Ellie, we are excited about her,” said Reddington, noting that senior Mackenzie Brodel, freshman Mia Martin, and freshman Gabby Davis will also be seeing time in the backcourt. “She is a great IQ player with just another year under her belt gaining that experience last year. She is a little stronger coming in. She has been working really hard and looks good. Mae likes to shoot the ball as well. She swung on JV last year and averaged 15 points or so on JV. She has worked hard this offseason, just as an overall athlete. You can see the maturity from year one to year two. It is a flip of the switch.”
Freshman Reilly Malin brings height and athleticism to the frontcourt for the Panthers.
“The biggest addition is Reilly; she is 5’11-6 foot, and has a strong body,” said Reddington. “She is a very good player, she is going to start. I am going to be playing a lot through her and Alana.”
A pair of seniors, Juliana Hartman (72 points, 49 rebounds) and Ella McLaren (88 points, 52 rebounds), should give the Panthers some strong play in the paint.
“We have Jules and Ella come back,” said Reddington. “Jules is one of those players that we love because she impacts the game in so many ways. Every game could be different. I think last year she finished one of the games with a triple double. She brings a little bit of everything. I had her handle the ball a little bit. Defensively, she will be playing offensive players who are taller. We are definitely excited about her as well with her athleticism and what she brings. Ella has an injury that she is dealing with right now so I am not 100 percent sure when she will be back.”
Once again, Reddington sees tough defense as his team’s calling card.
“It is just cohesion, figuring out the dynamic with the team,” said Reddington. “We want to come out and do similar to what we did last year, being a defensive team. That is always our goal, to get stops. We are going to come in and give high effort on defense always and start it there. Everything else hopefully falls in line from how we have been practicing.”
Tipping off their 2025-26 season by hosting Hillsborough on December 13, PDS will facing some big challenges in the early going.
“It is a tough schedule, especially early games in December and then we will be in our normal CVC games as well,” said Reddington, noting that Hillsborough won the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 4 state title last season. “We just want to keep improving, that is always our goal. That is what we talk about about all of the time. Every day is an opportunity for us to get better. We feel like playing against tougher competition is going to help us with that. The goal this year is to go out and give as much effort as we have got and see where we line up with the better teams and go from there.”