Rutgers Prep’s Mary Klinger picks up milestone 700th win as Argonauts roll past Ridge

With all due respect to the opponent, the pizza got there early.

More than a dozen boxes, all for friends, family, alumni, fellow coaches, former coaches to honor Mary Klinger after the game on her 700th win.

Of course, the game was played, and Ridge hung in tough early. But keep in mind, Rutgers Prep girls basketball hasn’t lost a game to a Skyland Conference opponent since a defeat at the hands of Franklin and her good friend Audrey Taylor in the 2019 Somerset County Tournament Final. And, of course, the Warriors went undefeated that year, winning the Tournament of Champions.

Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger (left) and her college coach, former Rutgers mentor Theresa Grentz, with whom they won the 1982 AIAW National Championship, after Klinger’s 700th win as a head coach on January 18, 2024. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

And for all the threes Mikayla Blakes sunk, or the and-ones Ava LaMonica got, or the hard trips to the foul line GiGi Battle earned, this night was about their coach, their mentor, Mary Klinger.

Whatever happened in the 85-42 win was secondary to what would happen when the final horn sounded.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE FINAL HORN, WITH POSTGAME INTERVIEWS ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

In the fourth quarter, Prep staff handed out “700” signs for the crowd to hold up. Audrey Taylor was in the house. So was former Rutgers basketball coach and color commentator Dick Lloyd. So was Mary’s college coach, Theresa Grentz, with whom they brought Rutgers the 1982 AIAW National Championship.

If you really want to know what happened in the game: Battle led Prep (12-3, 6-0 Skyland Delaware) with 16, LaMonica chipped in 16, and five-star recruit Mikayla Blakes scored 14, including four treys. The starting five came out midway through the third quarter. Sophia Georgiades led all scorers with 17 for Ridge (5-9, 3-3 Skyland Raritan).

*Rutgers Prep’s GiGi Battle drives to the basket against Ridge in the game that would give her head coach, Mary Klinger, her 700th win. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

Klinger has been at Prep since the 1984-85 season, almost right off The Banks. She was already an impressive 469-217, with a winning percentage of .683, over her first 30 seasons.

Over the next ten? Well, she’s 232-37 since the start of the 2014-15 season.

The win was the Argos’ 46th straight against Somerset County opponents, and 59th in a row against the Skyland Conference.

That’s almost as impressive.