Defending champ Princeton starts with win over Newman in conference opener

PRINCETON – The Princeton Tigresses are three-time defending champions in the Three Rivers East.

They got off to a good start for another championship, defeating Newman Central Catholic 41-30 in the conference opener Monday night at Prouty Gym.

“We’re hoping we can keep doing what we’ve been doing in the previous years. We’ve been working hard in practice and just hoping it keeps going,” PHS junior guard Camryn Driscoll said. “I’m excited for all of our conference games. I feel like we’re in a good place. Just got to keep practicing and getting better.”

“That’s a nice team. Very aggressive,” PHS coach Tiffany Gonigam said of Newman. “We were really happy with our effort defensively. Held them to nine in the first half. We thought that was a nice win for us. Shots probably weren’t falling for them, but they weren’t falling for us, either.”

The Tigresses (4-1) finished the second quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 17-9 halftime lead with hoops by Makayla Hecht, Keighley Davis and Reese Reviglio and a free throw by Driscoll.

Princeton carried that momentum over into the second half, scoring the first six points of the third quarter followed by another 6-0 run to open an 18-point lead.

Driscoll and Davis were up to their old tricks, with each scoring a basket before Driscoll dished to her running mate for another hoop for a 23-9 lead.

“I feel like our game is very good when we’re running the floor. Me and Keighley have been doing this together for longer than I can remember,” Driscoll said. “I love when us and the rest of the team does it because it gets our energy going.”

Newman’s Gissell Martin scored on the break at the 5:26 mark to momentarily halt the Princeton streak. Driscoll added a pair of free throws, Olivia Mattingly scored on an assist from senior Paige Jesse and Hecht hit a shot for a 29-11 PHS lead.

“We were very hot to start each of the quarters. That was really good,” Gonigam said. “I was very pleased how we started the game. Got up 6-0. Then we got stuck on 8 for a while. I just feel like offense grows a bit when you come out and right away and flip the scoreboard like that. I think that’s really important. We were trying to conserve our energy a little bit, being picky about when we turned up the pressure, and that seemed to do well for us.”

Newman, however, wouldn’t go down easy. The Comets used a 9-0 run, capped by a steal and layup by Elaina Allen, to pull within 29-20. Freshman Payton Brandt beat the buzzer inside for a 31-20 PHS lead at quarter’s end.

Princeton got baskets by Brandt, Davis and Driscoll for a 6-3 start to open the fourth quarter to put the game away with a 37-23 advantage.

The Comets scored six straight points on a basket by Allen and two by Lucy Oetting to make it 37-28 but could draw no closer.

“They didn’t go away. They made a run in the fourth, but we just had to take care of the ball,” Gonigam said.

Davis led the Tigresses with 10 points, Driscoll had nine, Brandt had eight, and Mattingly added six.

“We got some balanced scoring by committee. That’s what we needed tonight, excellent teamwork,” Gonigam said.

For Newman (3-2), Martin had nine points, while Oetting and Allen added seven each.

“I told them playing a team as good as Princeton you can’t throw jabs at them. You’ve got to come out swinging and ready to fight, especially on the road,” said Newman coach Herb Martin, a former Rock Falls player. “I think we threw jabs the first quarter and couldn’t come out of it.”

There was just one 3-point basket made between the teams, with Princeton going 0 for 8 beyond the arc, while the Comets made 1 of 24 attempts for 4%. Newman shot 19% overall (10-52) from the field with Princeton at 38% (19-51).

The Tigresses return home on Thursday for a nonconference game vs. Morris.

Princeton also the won frosh-soph game 35-32. Addy Dever had 15 points, Madie Gibson, Kiyrra Morris and Danika Burden added five each.