Senior Katie Ledden holds the 2023 Somerset County Tournament trophy over hear teammates after the Rutgers Prep girls beat Gill St. Bernard’s for their third straight title at Montgomery High School on February 18, 2023. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Katie Ledden was an important part of the Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball team for the past four seasons.
A four-year varsity contributor, Ledden has taken her 1,334 points and 677 rebounds up to New England and the University of Rhode Island.
Luckily, for veteran mentor Mary Klinger, she’s the only significant piece of last year’s 25-5 team that’s gone.
Coming off yet another Somerset County Tournament Championship – its third in a row dating back to 2020 – and another NJSIAA sectional title – its second straight – Klinger has a host of significant contributors back.
One might say that the challenge is how to get them all enough playing time. But as Klinger puts it, “the players decide that.”
Big-time college recruit Mikayla Blakes – the two-time defending Central Jersey Sports Radio girls’ player of the year – is the most high profile piece back. The senior guard has narrowed her college choices down to seven, with Rutgers among the finalists, along with schools like Indiana and Tennessee.
But senior guards Zahra Alexander and Chloe Escanillas return, along with sophomores Gigi Battle and Ava LaMonica, both of whom played on the highly regarded Nike circuit this summer, with LaMonica being coached by now-former Franklin girls’ coach Audrey Taylor, a good friend of Klinger’s.
And you can also add transfer Leah Crosby to the mix – she comes in from St. Thomas Aquinas – along with a number of freshman, who Klinger won’t hesitate to throw into the fire, as long as she thinks they’re ready.
Click below to hear Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball coach Mary Klinger talk about her 2023-24 Lady Argonauts:
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