By: Justin Feil
Katie Bliss has wowed onlookers for years with her ability to eat an apple, core, stem and all, in just three bites. Bliss, who at 5-foot-8 is no giant eating machine, used to do it every year at the Princeton University basketball camp’s talent show, and it always got one of the biggest cheers.
Last Saturday at Princeton Day School, the Princeton High senior was looking for something a little tastier, and something that’s beginning to look like just as big a feat a win for the Little Tiger girls’ basketball team, which might just bring a cheer all of Mercer County can hear.
Princeton trailed the PDS by as much as 11 points in the first half, was down, 15-8, at halftime, and trailed by 10 in the second half before tying it, 27-27, with 58 seconds left on a three-pointer from the left corner by Bliss.
"I feel like if I’m going to make a shot, that’s my spot," said Bliss, who scored six points in the fourth quarter. "If I’m there and I’m open, I’m going to hit it. I was really cold, so I was happy it went in."
After PDS’ Marla Pfenninger was fouled when she snared a rebound off a missed Panther free throw, she made one of two free throws with 42 seconds left for a 28-27 PDS lead. The Little Tigers regained the ball with 9 seconds left and a chance to win. It was a situation familiar to both teams.
"I was having flashbacks to Moorestown (Friends)," said PDS head coach Rob Halsey of a last-second December loss. "They had the ball with exactly nine seconds also. It was the same situation. I just said, ‘Let’s do this. This time, let’s succeed.’"
The Little Tigers had also seen a similar situation. They went down to the wire against Allentown, but couldn’t make the plays in the last two minutes to win it. Bliss’ jumper gave them a shot Saturday, and with 9 ticks on the clock they had their chance.
But in a microcosm of the fourth quarter, the Little Tigers missed all three shots in the final 9 seconds, including a last-second layup that rolled tantalizingly and painfully off the back of the rim for a 28-27 loss.
"It was like the Allentown game," said Bliss, who had a game-high 10 points for the Little Tigers. "It was the same situation. If we made our free throws and some shots, we would have won.
"I definitely thought we could win. We started out slow. We need a win to get our morale high. We wanted a win and it showed."
The Little Tigers did seemingly rebound almost every one of their misses, and forced double-digit turnovers for the Panthers, yet couldn’t capitalize. Princeton couldn’t overcome 3-for-14 shooting from the foul line for the game and 3-for-33 shooting from the floor in the fourth quarter alone.
"We should have had it if we didn’t start slowly and if we had made some more free throws and shots. We need to keep our morale up," Bliss said. "It’s tough when we lose games, when we lose like this."
The Tigers have not quit, and they won’t be able to against a schedule that gets no easier. PHS fell to Hamilton on Tuesday and faced Notre Dame Thursday night after press time.
"We went against Trenton and we played our hearts out," said Bliss, who along with her teammates actually outscored the defending state champion Tornadoes in the third quarter, 16-11. "We just have to play basketball the way we know how to play. Sometimes we play better against teams that are a lot better than us."
And that’s all that the Princeton staff is asking for from the players. The Little Tigers never gave up Saturday though they had difficulty making shots all game. With defense and rebounding they managed to rally.
"Their effort is tremendous," said PHS head coach Bill Visokay, who is happy to have Cranbury’s Val Davison and Jackie Dorman returning to the lineup this week after missing long periods with injuries. "Defensively, they worked their rear ends off today. And they rebounded well even though we’re smaller than every team we play.
"They have to keep working, keep battling, and the shots will fall," he added. "It’s tough when you haven’t won. It’s tough when you keep working hard and don’t get that reward. At some point, we’re going to turn it around. We just have to keep working."
Bliss, who would like to play field hockey in college next year, hopes that living up to her basketball coach’s expectations pays off soon for the Little Tigers. The senior forward doesn’t have many things on her wish list before she graduates.
"I just want a couple of wins," she said. "So far, I haven’t gotten it. We’re a small team. We have to stay together. We have a good coach and we can get it."
PHS trailed, 23-13, after Joanna Bowen connected on a jumper and Kathryn Batchelor hit a layup with 3:08 to go in the third quarter before it used an 8-1 run capped by a Bliss score with 6:48 left in the fourth quarter to inch within three points, 24-21. Bliss answered a Batchelor free throw with one of her own, and a jumper by Cranbury’s Eliza Stasi brought the Little Tigers within one, 25-24.
But Bowen, who had been inserted in the game less than a minute before, hit a 19-foot jumper to make it 27-24 with 1:44 left before Bliss tied the game.
"There was no one around me, and I just threw it up there," said Bowen, a senior, who finished with six points for the Panthers. "I knew it was going in as soon as it left my handswon. It wasn’t pretty, but I’ll take it."
Katie Bliss and the Princeton High girls’ basketball team will take any win any way right now. A one-point loss to PDS shows how close they are to that elusive first win.
"They’re doing a lot of things well," Visokay said. "It’s going to come. It’s tough not getting the rewards now. But we have to keep working and keep our heads up. If they keep doing what they have been doing, it’s going to come. They’re just experiencing some growing pains. I’ve seen it before in other sports I’ve coached. Once it starts, things will fall into place."
BUZZER BEATERS: Stasi finished with six points against PDS. She and Cranbury’s Whitney Brunner each had three points in the loss to Hamilton.

