UPSET SPECIAL: Princeton Day School girls’ basketball player Alana Williams dribbles upcourt in recent action. Last Saturday, freshman guard Willams scored 17 points and had six rebounds, six assists, and three steals to help PDS upset Ewing High 56-48 in the MCCC Holiday Showcase at Mercer County Community College. The Panthers, who fell 46-40 to Villa Walsh a day later in their final game at the event to move to 3-3, host Robbinsville on January 3 and then play at Hopewell Valley on January 6. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)

By Bill Alden

After the buzzer sounded, Alana Williams skipped up the court with her teammates on the Princeton Day School girls’ basketball team, grinning broadly and clapping her hands in joy.

Williams and the Panthers had plenty to celebrate as they had just pulled off a stunning 56-48 upset of powerhouse Ewing High last Saturday in the MCCC Holiday Showcase at Mercer County Community College.

Coming into the matchup with the Blue Devils, PDS was looking to make a statement.

“We were definitely ready for this, we came out here ready to win as a team both on offense and defense,” said freshman point guard Williams. “We just showed who we are as PDS.”

In the early stages of the contest, it looked like the Panthers were getting ready to be blown out as Ewing utilized a stifling defense to jump out to a 13-3 lead. But settling down, PDS reeled off a 13-2 run to go ahead 16-15 and seize momentum.

“What made the difference is that we don’t give up,” said Williams. “We don’t give up on any play. We just get back no matter what.”

Williams made a big difference in the rally as she repeatedly broke the Blue Devil press with her speed and deft ballhandling.

“It was definitely challenging; I have to give to them, it was definitely good pressure,” said Williams. “Once I figured it out and used my team, it just worked out.”

Trailing 25-24 at halftime, the Panthers forged ahead 39-35 heading into the fourth quarter and built their lead to 55-45 and then held off Ewing down the stretch.

“We just stayed disciplined,” said Williams, reflecting on closing the deal. “We are a disciplined team, that is what we do.”

Pulling out the victory meant a lot to the Panthers. “It is definitely a big win for us,” said Williams, who ended up with 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals in the win. “They were talking a lot of trash, it was fun beating a good team.”

Williams is having a lot of fun as she has made the jump to high school hoops.

“The biggest challenge is adjusting to the bigger girls,” said Williams, who scored 22 points and had seven assists as PDS fell 46-40 to Villa Walsh to wrap up play in the MCCC event and move to 3-3. “I am obviously a small guard as a freshman. I am driving and using my abilities.”

Orchestrating the Panther offense has come naturally for Williams.

“It has been wonderful, I am used to AAU basketball,” said Williams, who plays for the Philadelphia Rise. “I am just being a point guard and doing my role.”

PDS head coach Pat Reddington was looking for Williams to help the Panthers play a more deliberate style against the Blue Devils.

“I feel like against Ewing, you want to slow them down,” said Williams. “You want to play them in the half court and that was what we tried to do today.”

Reddington was confident that his players wouldn’t be fazed by the early deficit.

“We are young, we know they are going to come out and jump on us early,” said Reddington. “We talked about being mentally tough and fighting through adversity. That is what we do.”

Senior guard Sophia Rae Barber showed some toughness and skill as she tallied 17 points in the win with five 3-pointers, included three during the first half rally.

“It was senior leadership, she is a captain and that is what we expect her to do,” said Reddington. “She went out there and did her job. That is all we are asking from everybody today. It was don’t go and try to be a hero, just do your job.”

Reddington credited Willams with doing a very good job in her debut campaign for the program.

“I have coached Alana for a really long time, she was with me as a sixth grader and I see her progress,” said Reddington, noting that he coached her with Team Elevation before she moved on to the Philadelphia Rise. “She has grown so much. She is not only a fierce scorer but now she is also making good decisions with the basketball. She has always impacted the game in so many different ways and she is doing that at a high level now.”

The Panthers displayed some high level play down the stretch in pulling out the win.

“It was tough when we get late into games and we are trading free throws back and forth,” said Reddington. “We wanted to stay compact in our zone and hold them to one shot and we were really able to do that a lot.”

Senior Juliana Hartman, who had nine points and five rebounds in a reserve role against Ewing, helped provide PDS with critical offensive balance.

“Jules is definitely an X-factor for us coming off the bench,” said Reddington. “That is our goal, that is how I coach the game. I played for Don Hess, the Hightstown coach forever, and it was everybody finish with 10 points. It is spread around. That is what it is about because it is harder to guard.”

The Panthers guarded well in the victory. “Ewing is such a great team and they are well coached,” said Reddington. “They do a great job offensively. Our job is always defense first. We have been working on that defense since the beginning of the season. We really haven’t changed it up at all. It is really important to us that we get stops and rebounds.”

With PDS getting into the thick of their Colonial Valley Conference schedule by hosting Robbinsville on January 3 and then playing at Hopewell Valley on January 6, Reddington believes the win over Ewing will be a confidence builder for his squad.

“It is huge, we are looking to play tougher competition so we can be ready for championship play,” said Reddington. “I am sure at some point, we will see them again. Now that we have seen them, we know what that speed looks like.”

Williams, for her part, is confident that the Panthers will be tough to beat if they keep their noses to the grindstone.

“It is just keep doing what we are doing, working hard every day after school at practice,” said Williams.