PRINCETON – The solution was simple for Princeton Day School’s girls basketball team. Quit turning the ball over. “It’s funny how that works,” coach Pat Reddington said after his Panthers’ 52-36 win over an emotional Notre Dame team Monday night. “You don’t throw the ball to the othe r team and you end up getting some shots on the basket, which helps.” PDS (13-7) held just a 21-20 lead at intermission after committing 13 turnovers in a first half that featured five lead changes and four ties. After the break the Panthers gave it away just four times and the results were obvious as a 19-7 third quarter gave PDS control “In the first half it was a mixture of we were very sloppy and we were rushed by Notre Dame,” said prized freshman Alana Williams, who had another stat-stuffer night with 19 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. “They had good pressure defense, very strong. That forced us to turn the ball over but once we figured out how to beat that it was a lot easier.” When they got into a rhythm, everything just flowed. “Our chemistry, once we get it going, it explodes,” Williams continued. “We get to passing the ball around, moving, cutting. Running the plays without having to call the plays out makes everything a lot easier for us.” PDS was going against a grief-stricken Irish team, as the death of 2024 graduate Siena Marie Brachelli after a Saturday morning car crash rocked the Notre Dame campus. Brachelli was best friends with Irish coach Beth Fitzpatrick’s daughter, Brynn. “It’s been a tough day,” a tearful Fitzpatrick said. Asked if she thought about sitting this one out, she said “I felt like I couldn’t let my girls down.” And her girls hung in there for one half, despite shooting just 9-for-32 from the field. PDS had the biggest lead of the half at 12-8 as neither team could seize the play. Talia Kniffin’s layup to start the third quarter was the game’s sixth lead change and gave the Irish a 22-21 advantage, but PDS went off from that point. Eight straight gave PDS a 29-22 lead. It looked like Notre Dame would claw back in it when Caroline Foley’s three-point play cut it to 29-27. The Panthers responded with three straight 3-pointers from Sophia Rae Barber – who had four in the game – Nica Martin and Williams, followed by a bucket from Jules Hartman as PDS ended the quarter on an 11-0 run. PDS continued to grow the lead in the final eight minutes. “They had great energy and we didn’t have great energy,” Fitzpatrick said. “Shots weren’t going in and we didn’t have the energy to try and get a steal.” Williams noted that, “Once we figured out how to move the ball around without turning the ball over it was easier to score and we were able to win by 20.”. The 5-foot-6 guard was a major part of the equation with her penetration that led to layups or kick-outs for 3-pointers, not to mention her always pesky defense. A quick first step usually gave her an advantage. But that’s what one would expect from the niece of former Trenton High/NBA player Greg Grant, who said he doesn’t train her but did work her out at times when she was younger. “She’s got some Mercer County legends in her blood line and I think some of that athleticism she was born with,” Reddington said. “Alana is our girl, we go through her, she’s our point guard. When she plays well we generally play well. “She’s got a lot of speed. She works really hard, she’s non-stop, she breathes, eats and sleeps basketball.” Williams had help as Barber had 12 points, Reilly Malin tallied nine points and nine rebounds and Jules Hartman collected seven points and 10 boards as PDS held a 37-27 advantage on the glass. “Jules is our glue girl,” Reddington said. “She does everything needed to get the win. She’s never worried about the boxscore at the end. But she does what she has to do. I would love to have 10 Jules Hartmans all the time.” PDS’ put forth its usual stellar defensive effort, limiting ND to 14-for-53 shooting and holding its ninth opponent to 36 points or less. The victory kept PDS in the hunt for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming Colonial Valley Conference Tournament, as the Panthers were less than a power point behind Princeton for the top spot. “Princeton plays (West Windsor) South (Tuesday) so this was a big win for us,” Reddington said. “We want to continue momentum going into the CVCT.” Williams said a top seed won’t affect their mindset. “If we get that top seed it’s excellent for us,” she said, “But if we get it we’re not gonna just think we’re the best team.” The other reason PDS needed the win is that, as the top-seed in the NJISAA Prep B Tournament, it was coming off a stunning loss to 8th-seeded Pennington in a first-round game Saturday. The Panthers did not want that to carryover against the Irish and start a losing streak. “We definitely needed to bounce back and that’s what we did,” Williams said. “We showed our strength and didn’t get down from that game.” Reddington credited the loss to “a mix of things.” “One of our worst performances of the season came at a really poor time,” he said. “The girls were upset about that but it’s a great learning experience for our young team. All the work we put into it for the entire season to go away with one game like that. And give Pennington credit, they played a really good game. “We had no practice in between. (A further letdown) was a real thing we were worried about. They came in and answered. That’s what you need from good teams. They come back and play through adversity. We talk about it all the time.” Evidently, their words are getting through. NOTRE DAME (36) Parker 1-2-4, Foley 2-3-7, Kniffin 2-0-4, Hempsell 2-0-4, Wood 4-0-8, Scharibone 1-0-2, Bucchere 2-0-4, M. Meszaros 0-0-0, D. Meszaros 0-0-0, Hughes 0-0-0, Moog 1-1-3. Totals: 15-6-36. PDS (52) Williams 8-2-19, Rae Barber 4-0-12, Malin 4-1-9, N. Martin 1-0-3, Hartman 3-1-7, McLaren 0-0-0, LeSaca 1-0-2, Braswell 0-0-0, Grusteser 0-0-0, Davis 0-0-0, M. Martin 0-0-0. Totals: 21-4-52. Notre Dame (10-7) 8 12 7 9 – 36 Princeton Day 13-7) 10 11 19 12 – 52 3-point goals: Williams, Rae Barber 4, N. Martin (PDS). ...read more read less