PHS a work in progress

Young girls’ basketball team loses opener

By: Bob Nuse
   Nikki Inzano realizes her Princeton High girls’ basketball team still has some work to do.
   But after getting a game under their belts on Friday, the Little Tigers showed signs that they just might wind up being a pretty good team.
   Princeton faced a tall order in its opener, dropping a 47-32 decision to a Hamilton team that may turn out to be one of the better teams in the Colonial Valley Conference. Erin Cook led the offense with 17 points. And after a slow start, the Little Tigers’ defense picked up the pace and held Hamilton to just 16 second-half points.
   "We need to box out and do a better job rebounding," said Inzano, whose team will play at Trenton today and at Franklin on Thursday. "We knew they were a team that could hit their outside shots. So when they missed, we needed to do a better job of rebounding and not giving them second and third opportunities.
   "I thought we started to pick it up defensively in the second half. We just need to score more. Erin played a good game. She didn’t get a lot of calls, but I thought she fought hard. She’s driving more and not just settling for the outside shot. She’s doing a nice job with that."
   The Little Tigers are relatively young — Cook and Rebecca Shaffer are the only seniors — with three freshmen on the varsity roster. All three saw some action against Hamilton, with Rachel Baise as the first player off the bench and Casey Moran seeing significant time in the second half.
   "We have some young kids who just have to get more experience," Inzano said. "I thought Casey Moran came in and did a nice job. We have some other young players who got a chance to play. I think they just need to get more experience and we need to be more patient on offense.
   "I thought the press hurt us a little bit. We called time out and tried to do some things. We still have a lot to work on. We need to get some of the younger kids into the rotation. I thought we picked it up in the second half. That’s what we need to do from the start. I think they were all a little nervous because it was the first game of the season."
   Kelly Curtis and Lianna Dorman each scored five points for Princeton, which will be a team that emphasizes its speed and defense, since no player on the roster is taller than 5-foot-10.
   "That’s what we’ll need to do," Inzano said. "We’ve just got to get a little more experience."
   All three of the other Packet-area girls’ public school teams opened the season with wins on Friday night.
   Montgomery topped Voorhees, 49-44, as three players scored in double figures for what figures to be a balanced Cougar offense this year. Katie Wiseman led the way with 12 points, while Marsha Voigt had 11 points and Ellen Killian added 10. Montgomery built a 32-20 lead by halftime and held off a late Voorhees run. Montgomery will host Ridge tonight at 7 p.m. before travelling to Hopewell Valley for a 5:30 p.m. start on Thursday.
   West Windsor-Plainsboro North opened the season with a 52-26 win at Hopewell Valley. Kathy Ruiz led a balanced offensive effort with 16 points. Brooke Wiener and Liz Tang each added 11 points for the Knights, who led 28-12 by halftime and were never threatened. The Knights will host Hightstown tonight at 7 p.m. before taking on South Brunswick on the road 7 p.m. on Thursday.
   WW-P South got a win for new head coach Lisa Guarneri in her debut, topping Ewing, 48-38. Tory Sharpless had 12 points and Kristina Shemming added nine for the Pirates. The Pirates will host Nottingham tonight at 7 p.m. and will play at Burlington Township on Thursday at 7:15 p.m.