HISTORIC RUN: Princeton High girls’ basketball player Sephora Romain dribbles up the court in a game this year. Senior star Romain’s all-around play helped PHS make history this winter. The Tigers won the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament to earn the first title in program history and also set a team single-season record in wins as they went 20-8. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Despite featuring a quartet of battle-tested, talented senior starters and bringing a hunger to win the first-ever title for the Princeton High girls’ basketball team, there was no guarantee that the squad would make history this winter.
“Coming in we knew we had some really talented kids what they needed was to be taught how to be a team,” sad PHS first-year head coach Mary Pat Lelinski, whose senior standouts included Anna Winters, Katie Sharkey, Lean Bornstein, and Sephora Romain. “You can teach whatever you want but if kids don’t buy in then you are not going anywhere.”
Even as PHS went on a nine-game winning streak in getting off to a 12-3 start, there were some bumps in the road as the squad looked to get on the same page.
“There were times were there was adversity and they could have gone either way,” said Lelinski, noting that she was the third coach in the last three years for the program. “They could have started to point fingers. There was some growing pains of learning how to become a good teammate and learning how everyone has to have the same goal. All of those times that they were tested, they didn’t turn and point fingers. They just came closer together. That is all them.”
The Tigers went on to pass most tests as they won the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament by defeating Notre Dame 57-52 in the final to earn the first title in program history and also set a team single-season record in wins as they went 20-8.
“On paper coming in, yes, we were very talented, but that doesn’t always get the job done,” said Lelinski. “I am so proud of these kids and the work that they put in to accomplish this. They had not been used to competing for titles so sometimes it doesn’t always turn out like this. Sometimes the kids freeze up. They raised to the level of competition to get the job done.”
After topping Old Bridge 66-39 in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 Tournament, sixth-seeded PHS faced some tough competition as faced third-seeded Hillsborough in the quarterfinal round.
Having lost 63-37 to Hillsborough in a regular season meeting on February 17, the Tigers trailed just 34-31 at halftime in the state tournament rematch.
“When we played them this time, we made some adjustments,” said Lelinski. “We watched film and got to know them. We came out at one point we had a lead in the second quarter. We were in that half the whole time. I was like wow, what a difference a week makes. We were getting crushed 22-4 in the first quarter the last time.”
PHS hit a wall in the second half, though, as it lost 66-34.
“They did change up their defense a little bit, they are a great team,” said Lelinski. “I am not taking away anything from them but we missed a lot of open layups. It looked like we came out with no gas for some reason, like we used it all up in the first half.”
The Tigers did enjoy a major highlight in the loss as senior star Katie Sharkey passed 1,000 points in her career.
“That was just very nice to see,” said Lelinski. “At our team dinner after the CVC everybody turned their focus to let’s get Katie across the line. They were putting other people in front of their own needs. We certainly know that because we could not have won the title if we weren’t playing as a team. We really connected.”
The four senior stars are leaving an indelible legacy for the program.
“I have told them over and over again this year that there will never be a team that I feel is going to top this team in school history with what they have accomplished,” said Lelinski of the group whose goal was to put a title on the team’s empty banner hanging in the PHS gym. “The four of them were on varsity as freshmen. They have never had a losing season in the four years and the last two years, it is 39-18. It was having two 1,000-point scorers (with Winters being the other). You look at the history of it, you may get other 1,000-point scorers but I don’t think you ever get a team as talented as this one.”
Star guard Winters displayed her all-around talent this winter, scoring 413 points with 116 rebounds, 130 assists, and 93 steals.
“She is the greatest girl player in school history,” said Lelinski of Winters, who ended up with 1,563 points in her career along with 590 rebounds, 412 assists, and 384 steals. “It is not just the scoring, she was leading the CVC in assists and steals. This year was more of a challenge for both her and Katie because people were gearing defenses towards them. They got a lot more one-on-one attention and face-guarded a lot.”
Sharkey, for her part, scored 315 points and grabbed 170 rebounds in her final campaign.
“This year will be noted as the year that she scored her 1,000th point but I think it can’t go without notice that it was the year that she played her best defense,” said Lelinski of Sharkey, who totaled 1,005 points in her career. “I kept encouraging her, do this on the offensive boards and get more points. She had some eight, nine rebound games and you didn’t see that last year. Even when she was struggling shooting and things were weighing on her, she was improving her defensive game and she getting on the boards.”
The peripatetic Bornstein (170 points, 97 rebounds in 2025-26) sparked the Tigers with her hustle.
“On a lot of her points, she is driving in amongst those trees and getting that ball up there,” said Lelinski. “Attitude-wise, she is amazing. The energy that she gives us certainly pushes the rest of the team to get on the floor and dive for balls and all of that.”
Romain (163 points, 165 rebounds) brought great athleticism to the mix.
“She has an incredible vertical leap,” said Lelinski. “She uses that blocking shots and she uses that going up for layups. She is going next year to FDU-Madison and she is going to play there.”
Looking ahead to next year, Lelinski is confident that PHS can stay on the winning track, led by juniors Chloe Hunt (137 points, 205 rebounds) and Greta Knierim (79 points, 137 rebounds) along with sophomore Angela Cao (50 points, 19 rebounds).
“We are not going to be able to say that we are rebuilding,” said Lelinski. “Even with as much offensive firepower as we are losing, we are returning five juniors and four sophomores who have varsity experience. Chloe has been starter all year. Greta will step right in. Angela is a shooter. We brought up a sophomore Ja’Siyah Middleton to intern at point guard getting experience in practice. Most of those other kids have played for me on JV so they have a lot of experience in how I coach.”
For Lelinski, coaching the Tigers to its historic campaign proved to be an enlightening ride.
“I really feel like through that process everybody became a lot closer,” said Lelinski. “It was a nice experience to know that you can have adversity and if you handle it, your relationship comes out stronger. What a great life message that is.”