Girls basketball: Princeton takes a big bite out of Sandwich early

It was off to the races for the Princeton Tigresses Monday night at Prouty Gym.

They scored the first 15 points of the game, including three straight layups, running out to a 17-point first quarter lead over Sandwich. They used another run 10-point run in the fourth quarter to race off to a 60-34 win in nonconference play over the visiting Indians.

“I think we felt a lot of energy in the beginning of the game and our press defense was putting a lot of pressure right at the start that gave us the kick we needed to go on a run,” PHS sophomore guard Camryn Driscoll said. “It was great to get the win as a team and this game allowed us to see what we can perfect more in practice.”

Driscoll led the Tigresses with 16 points with Keighley Davis adding 15 and Miyah Fox 12.

That trio got PHS going. Driscoll scored a putback on the baseline, Keighley Davis added a hoop and Fox added two free throws and a three-point play as the Tigresses drew a 9-0 lead.

Then the real fun started.

Driscoll scored on a steal and layup and after Davis did the same, Driscoll converted another round of thievery for a layup to run the PHS lead to 15-0 halfway through the first quarter.

“I’m very happy with the way the kids came out. Obviously, they were ready to play and executed what we wanted defensively and we were able to convert that to a couple scores on the other end,” PHS coach Tiffany Gonigam said.

“It was just a fantastic start. I’d like to think there’s room for improvement. I think we saw that later on in the game. As far as coming ready to play, being prepared and just being able to execute from the beginning, it was outstanding.”

Sandwich didn’t get on the board until Hannah Trepow scored on a drive at the 3:42 mark.

Princeton kept up its assault with the first seven points of the second quarter with Driscoll taking in a left-handed layup with a steal and burying a rainbow 3-pointer followed by a layup by Fox to make it 27-3.

PHS again started the second half fast with the first seven points to open up a 38-9 lead.

Gonigam experimented with a man-to-man defense, switching over from the Tigresses’ zone press and the Indians began to have some success.

The Indians outscored the Tigresses 13-3 the rest of the third to cut their deficit to 41-22 at quarter’s end.

First-year Sandwich coach Steve Treptow was pleased to see his club play well in the second half.

“I think we were pleased with everything but the first quarter when they got up 19-2 or something like that,” he said. “I thought second half we played well. She kept her starters in most of the second half. That’s because we were competing against them.”

Treptow said the Indians just didn’t handle their press well in the first quarter.

“They’re a good team and have a great press. I don’t think they even pressed us. We just threw the ball all over the gym,” he said.

Payton Dudzik scored seven of her team-high 11 points in the third quarter and added another trey early in the fourth quarter.

Princeton responded with a 10-0 run, including runouts by Davis and another by Paige Jesse as the Tigresses raced out to a 53-25 lead.

Gonigam said it was a good night to work on another defense.

“We threw a couple new things out there tonight, especially on the defensive end. I think you saw that in a little bit of a lull in the third quarter. And I think that made us overthink a little bit on both ends of the court,” she said. “But we were able to switch back to what we’re used to in the fourth quarter and I saw them respond. To see them play through some adversity and back to their normal self in the fourth quarter was good to see.

“We just want to be the most prepared we can for the entirety of the season. This was an opportunity for us to work on something we haven’t worked on in a couple of weeks.”

* Princeton also won the sophomore game, 32-26. Freshmen Kiyrra Morris (11) and Ava Kyle (9) combined for 20 points for PHS.