Panthers to face top-seeded Rutgers Prep
By: Justin Feil
The Princeton Day School girls’ basketball team didn’t have the same sort of start in the Prep B state outbracket game against Purnell on Wednesday that they’ve enjoyed in recent games. After nine minutes of play, the eighth-seeded Panthers trailed ninth-seeded Purnell, 16-12.
"The past few games we’ve come out solidly in the first half," said PDS acting head coach Sue Repko. "We had been up two at halftime against Hun. It felt good the way we came out stronger in the third quarter. And everybody got in there."
PDS took a short-lived 18-17 lead on a shot by Marla Pfenninger and Purnell tied the game, 18-18, on a foul shot with 2:56 left in the second quarter. It was the last tie of the game, however, as the Panthers pulled away with a 16-0 run. They held Purnell scoreless until exactly 1:00 remained in the third quarter on their way to a convincing 47-35 win.
"This was the first time we had put a press on really," Repko said. "We had a slow start. It was good we came out stronger with it."
Repko was happier still to see the way the Panthers moved the ball to the open player and the way they handled occasional full-court pressure from Purnell.
"The kids were really seeing the open kids under the basket," Repko said. "They were hitting the passes. They’ve been seeing the court better. That’s only happened more in the past couple weeks. Generally, they’re seeing the court better whether there’s a press or they’re in the half court. They’re getting better at it."
The Panthers’ improvement faces a tough challenge when they travel to No. 1 seed Rutgers Prep Saturday at noon. Rutgers Prep suffered its first loss of the season, to Hun, two weeks ago. PDS lost, 53-9, to RP in the teams’ first meeting of the season, but the Panthers expect things to be different.
"They lost to Hun," said Repko, whose squad was 5-14 going into Thursday’s scheduled game against Pingry. "We were blown out by Hun the first game of the season. When we played them a week and a half ago, we were up two at halftime. We’re not the same team we were when we played Rutgers Prep Jan. 16."
For one, Repko, who opened the season as the assistant to first-year head coach Rob Halsey, is now the Panther head coach. PDS is making the best of its midseason change.
"Everything went smoothly," Repko said. "Coach Halsey had family and health issues that caused him to leave. He had done a great job in teaching offenses. I had learned a lot from him. I think anybody (new) puts in some of their own touch, but we’re still using a lot of things from him. The transition has been fine. It’s a very positive group of kids."
It showed most Wednesday when the Panthers got behind. All the reasons for getting down were there as PDS fell behind early.
"We had started off a lot of games with quite a lot of turnovers," Repko said. "I can still recall how we made turnovers (against Purnell) that we shouldn’t have made in the first quarter. That got us behind. We couldn’t get our offense in a rhythm. But then a couple people got settled down and we talked about not dribbling into pressure and finding whoever’s open and the girls did a good job of it. Once you break it open, we were seeing layups for a lot of kids."
It seemed as if every Panther player was involved in the PDS run to take a commanding lead. It started with a Pfenninger three-pointer that accounted for some of her nine points. Joanna Bowen quickly finished a steal with a layup and Pfenninger found Lexi Chesier streaking long for a three-point play that gave PDS a 26-18 cushion. Chesier’s two free throws with 1:32 left in the first half opened a double digit lead, 28-18.
Chesier, a freshman forward who handles the ball well, led the Panthers with 12 points. Kathryn Batchelor and Daniella Gold, who average a combined four points a game, each had eight in Wednesday’s win.
"We had a real strong showing from one of our seniors, Daniella Gold," Repko said. "She and our other center, Kathryn Batchelor, got 16 together, which is great from the inside."
Many of their points came when PDS found the open passing lane and used it. Repko is hoping that the Panthers can do the same against Rutgers Prep.
"They have great ball handlers and they put a lot of pressure on the ball," she said. "I’m hoping the kids have a lot of composure. We’ve got to go in saying that we’ll give it our best shot. It’s a challenge."
If Wednesday’s explosive response to an early deficit in the state tournament is any measure, then the Panther girls’ basketball team should be just fine against the top seed Saturday.

