Rutgers Prep’s Katie Ledden (left) goes for a rebound against Franklin’s Tiffany Pecorella in the third quarter of a 60-34 win on December 17, 2021 (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
It took top-ranked Rutgers Prep a little time to get its sea legs. The defense was there, but the shots weren’t dropping.
Once they started falling, it was over early for No. 8 Franklin, which took six minutes to sore its first points, as the Argonauts pulled away to a 33-13 halftime lead, before closing out the Warriors 60-34 on the opening night of the 2021-22 high school basketball season, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Junior Katie Ledden – who will see a bigger role this year after the departure of four starters – made it known she’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the Skyland Conference and beyond, as she dropped in 20 points and was all over the court on defense, too, blocking shots and pick-pocketing Franklin’s ball-handlers.
Three players finished in double figures for Prep (1-0), including Mikayla Blakes with 11 and Chloe Escanillas with 10. The Argos also hit seven times from beyond the arc.
Franklin was led by Christina Midgette; the senior scored 18, but none of her teammates had more than seven points in the game.
NOTE: This story was corrected to show Blakes had 11 points, not Antonia Bates.
Click below to hear postgame reaction from Rutgers Prep’s season-opening win over Franklin:
Christina Midgette is a senior. Headed to Colgate University to play for the Raiders.
Yes, that was a typo, but she was excellent last night. Bright future ahead of her!
We’ll have Franklin girls on CJSR again when they host GSB later this season.