WEST WINDSOR — All season Thrive Charter head varsity girls’ basketball coach Darnell Alford has tried to get his players to understand the importance of playing well in the third quarter.

Sunday in the Mercer County Community College Holiday Classic, the Titans finally did.

The result was a come-from-behind, 59-46 victory over Princeton High. It was Thrive’s first official win of 2025-26 after also taking a forfeit victory over South Brunswick in what was supposed to have been its season opener.

“It feels amazing!” Titans’ 5-foot-9 junior guard Takiya Farrior said. “Coach’s message at halftime was about wanting it, and we finally executed.”

Farrior, who missed last season with a knee injury, played a crucial role. Over the final nine minutes of what had been a one-point TC lead, she scored all 12 of her points.

“I just got in there and got the job done,” Farrior said. “Coming off the bench is about being ready. It was not just a matter of me wanting to score. I want to do my part to help my teammates win the game.”

After the Titans’ top player on the day, 6-foot-2 junior forward/center Adris Oppong (14 points, 13 rebounds), put in back-to-back baskets around a 3-point field goal by Princeton 5-9 senior forward Katie Sharkey to give Thrive the lead both times, Farrior hit consecutive 18-foot jump shots in the final minute of their third quarter to increase her team’s lead to 41-36.

Farrior went on to hit four more baskets in the fourth quarter (another two in the final minute) to help the Titans pull away, thanks in part to a 26-9 surge from the third quarter down to the game’s final 2:05 when Sharkey hit another 3-pointer and was fouled (51-42).

“We controlled the pace in the first half, then they took control in the second half,” said Sharkey, who led all scorers with 19 points and four treys. “With winter break, our bench is not deep right now, so we were all kind of tired.”

In the first half, Sharkey and her classmate Anna Winters (13 points) were dominating the scoring before Thrive Charter’s defense came out and limited Winters to one basket after intermission.

“I’m glad to do what I can to help the team, but our points haven’t been matching my scoring increase,” said Sharkey, who will pursue her education at Boston College next year.

“We started off a little rough this game,” Farrior said. “In the second half, I felt like there was a momentum shift, and it was because we actually executed.”

Besides tenacious defense, the Titans had more balance to their attack with 5-9 senior guard SondJane Daudin providing 12 points and eight rebounds, while 5-8 junior guard Heziah Kinston added 10 more points to give Thrive four players in double figures and change the game from the third quarter on.

PRINCETON (46)

Winters 6-1-13, Sharkey 7-1-19, Bornstein 3-0-7, Romain 1-2-4, Genestin 0-0-0, Hunt 0-0-0, Afrifah 0-0-0, Knierim 1-1-3.

Totals — 18-5-46.

THRIVE CHARTER (59)

OMoore 3-0-6, Daudin 4-4-12, Powell 1-0-2, Oppong 5-4-14, Farrior 6-0-12, Kinston 4-0-10, Spaulding 1-0-2, Wilson 0-1-1.

Totals — 24-9-59.

Princeton (3-3)                              17    13      6    10    —    46

ThriveCharter(2-4)                        14    11    16    18    —    59

3-point goals — Sharkey 4, Bornstein (P), Kinston 2 (TC).