No. 1 Rutgers Prep and No. 3 Gill St. Bernard’s play in Somerset on January 4, 2024. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Other than a flip-flop of the eight and nine teams, there were no changes to the Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 9, with Gill St. Bernard’s and Rutgers Prep remaining one and two, heading into the semifinals of the Somerset County Tournament.
Gill St. Bernard’s (16-3) holds at No. 1 after winning its only game last week, an SCT quarterfinal matchup at home over Mount St. Mary, 67-35. The top-seeded Knights will take on four-seed Franklin in Saturday’s semifinals on the Warriors’ home court, with tip-off set for 2 pm.
Rutgers Prep (16-3) stays in second after a 2-0 week, which included a 76-65 win over Hillsborough Thursday, and a 58-36 win over Bernards in the SCT quarterfinals on Saturday. The Argonauts will rematch with the Raiders – who they’ve beaten twice this season – this Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament semis at Franklin, tipping off at 11 am in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Holding in third is St. Thomas Aquinas (18-6), which got the top seed in the GMC Tournament Friday morning. The Trojans were 2-1 in the week gone by, beating North Plainfield 82-23 Tuesday, then South Brunswick on the road Thursday, 77-21, before falling 99-57 at Long Island Lutheran on Saturday.
At No. 4 is Hillsborough (16-4), which lost at Prep on Thursday, 76-65, but came back to top Somerville in the Somerset County Tournament, 66-32 on Saturday. The Raiders will play the Argonauts again Saturday in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with tip-off at 11 am.
Steady in fifth is Bernards (16-4) which went just 1-2 in the week gone by. The first loss came out of conference to Jefferson on Monday, 48-40, but then they beat College Achieve Central, 66-52 on Thursday. On Saturday, they got knocked out of the SCT by Rutgers Prep, 58-36, in quarterfinal action.
Somerville (16-5) holds in sixth after a 1-1 week. The Pioneers beat North Hunterdon Tuesday, 50-30, before getting knocked out of the SCT quarterfinals by Hillsborough Saturday, 66-32.
Pingry (15-5) remains at No. 7 after a 2-1 week. The Big Blue were 61-33 winners over Mount St. Mary at home on Tuesday, before getting ousted from the Somerset County Tournament in the quarterfinals at Franklin Saturday, 57-49.
Up a spot to eighth is Monroe (14-7). The Falcons went 2-0 this week, winning 57-43 at Piscataway on Tuesday, and 44-42 against Bound Brook on Thursday.
Down one to ninth is Middlesex (17-6), which had a 1-2 week. They opened with a 64-22 rout of Koinonia, then lost Thursday at Delaware Valley, 57-43, and at home to Hightstown in a non-conference game, 51-46.
And Spotswood (17-6) holds at No. 10 after a 2–0 week beating West Windsor-Plainsboro North Monday, 56-36, then Hamilton, 53-29, on Saturday.
Below is the complete Week 9 Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten, the last until the end of the season:
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