The last time the Franklin and Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball teams squared off, it was the final game of the 2019 Somerset County Tournament, a 63-49 win for the Lady Warriors.
The victory was one more notch on the hardwood for a team that would go on to win the Tournament of Champions with a perfect 34-0 record, led by McDonald’s All-American, New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year, and current Maryland junior Diamond Miller.
A lot has changed since then.
Rutgers Prep was widely considered the team to beat in the Somerset County this year, and it’s played out that way.
They will meet Saturday on Central Jersey Sports Radio, presented by Bellamy & Son Paving, and also sponsored locally by Pops Bike Shop in Somerville. The game can be heard by clicking here, with pregame set for approximately 11:40 am and game time at noon. Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino will call all the action. You can also watch the game on Rutgers Prep’s YouTube stream by clicking here, with commentary provided by Central Jersey Sports Radio.
The Lady Argos are 6-0 and have been dominant, scoring 75.2 points per game, and winning by an average of nearly 35 points a game. Defensively, they have held three of their opponents to under 30 points, including a low of 19 points in an 83-19 win at Montgomery.
Franklin (3-1) was ranked No. 2 heading into this week, but had only played two games at that point. After a season-opening 51-41 home win over Delaware Division foe Hillsborough, the Warriors spent two weeks on a COVID stoppage, only returning to play last Saturday.
In their second game back from quarantine, they lost the road rematch with the Raiders 64-53.
So Saturday’s game looms large for both teams in terms of seeding in the upcoming Skyland Conference postseason, where teams will be split into three eight-team pods, featuring the top eight, middle eight and bottom eight teams.
A Rutgers Prep win should solidify a No. 1 seed for the Lady Argonauts. A Franklin win would complicate things, as they’d have a loss against a 2-2 Hillsborough squad, but a win over everybody’s favorite to win it all in the Skyland.
Click below to hear both head coaches preview Saturday’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle: