Dec 21, 2024
PRINCETON — The Princeton Day School and Florence High varsity girls’ basketball teams are undergoing some change this season. For the Panthers, it is a new head coach in former Ewing High assistant Pat Reddington. For the Flashes, it is a highly regarded freshman class joining second-year head coach Zach Rinaldi’s still young squad. Both teams are in good situations when it comes to their leagues – PDS in the Valley Division of the Colonial Valley Conference, Florence in the Independence Division of the Burlington County Scholastic League. When they met in non-conference play, however, Saturday, there was a noticeable difference. The Panthers came out on their home court with an unmatched energy at both ends of the floor which led to a 71-13 win over the Flashes. Ella McLaren and Shelby Ruf may be better known for being at the back of Princeton Day School’s girls’ soccer defense, but Saturday, they were at the front and back of the attack for Panthers’ girls’ basketball. Each put up nearly identical numbers as Ruf, a 5-foot-10 senior forward, scored a team-high 13 points, while McLaren, a 5-10 junior forward, followed with 12 points. Each added six rebounds, four steals and two assists to direct a very balanced rhythm for their squad at both ends of the floor. “It’s been a lot of fun,” McLaren said. “We have a new mindset. There’s a fresh start for us this season with Coach Reddington. We want to change the future of girls’ basketball here.” Considering PDS is off to a 2-1 start after going 4-16 in 2023-24, the excitement is easy to understand, especially after racing to a 17-2 lead in the first 3:35 of the game with their athletics director Katie Fay getting a front-and-center view as clock operator. “I’m proud of how we played today,” Reddington said. “We showed a high level of defense, while our offense passed well and played under control.” The first-quarter lead grew to 21-6 with McLaren scoring six of her points, while Ruf and Robbinsville High transfer Nica Martin added five points apiece. Martin, a 5-7 junior guard, would go on to score nine points, along with 5-6 freshman guard Mae Braswell. Returning starters Nandini Kolli, a 5-10 senior forward, and Sophia Rae Barber, a 5-7 junior guard, each chipped in eight points as the margin grew to 40-8 at intermission after a 19-2 second-quarter surge. “We kept getting rebounds and steals in our press which led to baskets,” McLaren said. “That hyped us up.” Ten of the 12 players who took the court for Reddington this day scored. Points were harder to come by for Rinaldi’s Flashes, who had trouble getting into their offense, which was a far cry from Thursday when they handled Maple Shade, 42-14. “The main thing we should learn from this is that we should absolutely never give up,” Flashes’ 5-6 junior guard Amanda Cech said. “No matter what it says on the scoreboard, just keep playing basketball. Don’t let yourself get down.” Cech, a long-range shooter who averaged 15.7 points per game as a sophomore when Florence was 5-19, led the team with three points yesterday. Though things didn’t go well in this game, she can already see improvement in her 1-1 club. “It’s a completely different growth that’s showing this year,” Cech said. “We’ll be all right.” FLORENCE (13) Bakkamanthala 1-0-2, Cech 0-3-3, SArnold 1-0-2, Wainwright 1-0-2, Montigue 1-0-2, CHaas 0-0-0, Arecchi 0-0-0, Mathis 0-0-0, Long 1-0-2, NJones 0-0-0, Gravener 0-0-0. Totals — 5-3-13. PDS (71) Kolli 4-0-8, Ruf 6-1-13, Barber 3-0-8, Gruteser 0-0-0, Martin 4-1-9, McLaren 6-0-12, Brodel 0-0-0, Camp 3-0-6, Vriesendorp 1-0-2, Fairbanks 1-0-2, Lesaca 0-2-2, Braswell 3-2-9. Totals — 31-6-71. Florence (1-1)                     6      2      3      2    —    13 PDS (2-1)                          21    19    16    15    —    71 3-point goals — Barber 2, Braswell (PDS).
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