Panther girls’ basketball avenges loss to Stuart
By: Justin Feil
With just a single win in their first eight games, Rob Halsey wanted the Princeton Day School girls’ basketball team to keep the faith in what was being asked of them.
"They understood totally what we’re playing against," said the Panthers’ first-year head coach. "They know it’s going to be a learning experience. They say you only get better by playing against better teams."
And the Panthers’ blind faith was rewarded in the most tangible way possible a win that avenged one of their early-season losses. Wednesday, PDS pulled away from Stuart, 47-31, to improve to 2-7 heading into Thursday’s scheduled game against Villa Victoria.
"We really started hitting our stride against George," explained Halsey, whose squad recorded a 40-33 win over the Pennsylvania prep school for its first win of the season. "Then we came back against a pretty good Moorestown (Friends) team and we were winning before they beat us on a three-pointer with two seconds left. But the team is really improving. We’re one shot away from having a three-game winning streak."
With a win over Villa Victoria on Thursday, PDS could have a shot at three-game winning streak when it hosts Princeton High noon Saturday.
"We really have improved," Halsey said. "We’re a lot better than our record shows. Just look at the teams on our schedule. We played Hun, and then Blair (twice), then played Pennington and went down to Delaware to play a good St. Andrew’s team."
Yet PDS has been able to use each game as a learning tool. The Panthers beat George on Dec. 18, then dropped the narrow decision to Moorestown Friends two days later. It was another 19 days before they took on Stuart, which had topped them 46-38 in the Stuart Invitational.
"I was expecting it," Halsey said of some sluggish play due to the layoff. "But I didn’t see it. But it was only a three-point game in the third quarter and then we pulled it out."
The rust showed on the Tartans.
"It was our first game since December," said Stuart head coach Tom Harrington, whose squad fell to 1-3 going into its game at Purnell 3:45 p.m. Monday. "That hurt big time. We haven’t even had more than a few days of practice because they had exams when they came back. They were on break and we can’t have anything, not even a voluntary practice."
To be sure, the Panthers had plenty to do with turning the tables on the Tartans, who beat them by eight the first time.
"We played them man and 2-1-2 zone the first time," Halsey said, "but when we looked back at the game films, between Maya (Thompson) and Angela (Harrington), they scored 38 of their 46 points. When we played (Wednesday), here we were preparing for those two and we didn’t realize that (Katherine) Kitts was back. They had three girls today that easily could score double figures on us.
"The last time Angela and Maya had 38 combined. They only had 11 this time. We definitely locked in and said, ‘This is what we’re going to do.’ It’s all the girls. They followed through with what to do. They played a great game."
Halsey says that it is both at the offensive and defensive ends that he’s seeing the improvement, as well as among the team.
"We’re a lot better now," he said. "The girls had four weeks under their belt to get used to each other. And they had to get used to a totally new system and me. With me being new, I thought it would take time. This is the best we’ve played."
And as nice as it was for Halsey to enjoy another win as Panther head coach, he was happier that his young team saw the development for itself.
"You want them to get rewarded for their hard work," he said. "It was blind faith. They just understand what’s going on. They totally have bought into our system. They executed very well tonight. We have great coaches and they’re working really hard with our girls."
More importantly, Halsey points out, the girls continued to work hard even as the losses stacked up. The Panthers never quit, and the results are starting to change on the scoreboard, though practices look the same.
"If you walked into one of our practices," Halsey said, "you’d think we were 8-0. The girls have worked so hard. It was nice to see them rewarded. We’ve improved with each game. Tonight is one of the games where we turned the corner."
The Panther girls’ basketball team is turning the corner for one reason. It hasn’t stopped doing the things that the PDS staff has been preaching since the season began. Through several losses to tough teams, the Panthers kept the faith.
"It’s the Duke philosophy work hard and everything else takes care of itself," Halsey said. "If you do the right things on offense and defense, the score will take care of itself. We’re leading them up to the water, but they’re drinking."
More and more often now, the Panthers have been smiling with the sweet taste of success.