PDS defeats Lawrence for its third victory

PRINCETON » At this point in the season, the Princeton Day School and Lawrence High varsity girls’ basketball teams are not just looking for good showings. They want all their hard work to result in wins.

Yet, when the two met Wednesday, there was plenty of positive reinforcement for both, even though PDS was the only team able to walk away with a 48-27 victory.

Second-year head coach Seraphine Hamilton’s Panthers improved to 3-2, which is already two more wins than they had during last season’s 1-7 campaign.

Despite a lineup which continues to change as players return from injuries, PDS found a flow quickly yesterday and opened an 18-2, first-quarter lead.

One of its players who recently returned after enduring concussion protocols was sophomore Mia Hartman. The 5-foot-9 guard/forward struck for 10 of her game-high 22 points in that first quarter to help the home team score 18 unanswered points (going into the second quarter) after the game was tied a 2-2 with five minutes left in the first.

“It was great to be back out there,” said Hartman, who was in her second game back. “I’ve gotten a lot of confidence from Coach Hamilton. An individual goal of mine is to score 20 points per game or higher. Her confidence in me has helped me go after that.”

Hartman, who scored all of her points in the first three quarters, proved very capable, while also trying to keep her 11 other teammates involved, so that each could provide their own contributions. For instance, junior Paige Gardner, sophomore Jen Lightman and freshman Shelby Ruf provided six points apiece.

The Cardinals struggled to find their rhythm in the first half. But after a discussion with fifth-year head coach Antonio Stapleton at intermission, the Lawrence players came back out to match the Panthers in the third and fourth quarters.

“I think we wanted it more in the second half,” Cardinals’ 5-5 junior guard Maia Coyle said. “It took us a while to get going in the beginning. Then coach gave us an inspiring

speech at halftime, and we added a new play.”

The change was noticeable almost immediately as baskets by sophomore Savitha Aiyar, Coyle, junior Destiny Hall and sophomore Asia Wooding helped the visitors draw as close as 32-16 with five minutes left in the third quarter.

Hartman, who also stepped out to hit three 3-point field goals in the game, continued to be a problem for Lawrence defensively as she scored nine more points in the third quarter. With her continued production, the Cardinals were only able to stay as close as 20 points (38-18, 40-20) on baskets by senior Katie Ciuffreda and freshman Emma Dobkin.

Even with Coyle scoring eight and Wooding adding six points, Lawrence could only get as close as 17 points in the fourth quarter.

“The way we played in the second half gives us a little hope for the future,” Coyle said in hopes that her 0-9 team can turn its improved showing into a victory in the not-too-distant future.