Always a battle, No. 1 Rutgers Prep, No. 3 Gill St. Bernard’s square off Thursday night on CJSR

With the way the Skyland Conference changed its scheduling matrix this year – going away from home-and-home division series an instead playing once through, with more crossovers – Thursday night’s big clash between Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s will be their first this season.

And while it won’t matter for the Somerset County Tournament – in which the Argonauts were voted the top seed by the coaches Monday night – it still matters. It’s a huge game between two county powers, the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title is on the line, and there are tons of power points at stake, too.

No. 1 Rutgers Prep will host No. 3 Gill St. Bernard’s Thursday at 5:30 pm, with Mike Pavlichko bringing you all the action live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Pregame starts at 5:15; click here to listen.

The overall results have been very similar this year, even though both have had very different goals. The Argonauts are 14-2, the Knights 14-3, and both are 3-0 in the Skyland Delaware. This winner gets the division crown.

Rutgers Prep’s goal heading into the years was to atone for what, for head coach Mary Klinger’s program, was a disappointing season. She often calls the regular season “the pre-season,” a time to be challenged and work out the kinks en route to a County and State championship. But Prep was ousted in the semifinals of the SCT by Hillsborough last year, and fell to Gloucester Catholic in the Non-Public Group B title game. Though they finished 20-7, they wanted more.

The good news? Every key player returned, including four-year starter Ava LaMonica – who’s nearing 1,000 career points – as well as Hannah Fraser, Sophia Georgiades, Ava Frith, and sophomore Hailey Benbow, the tea’s top scorer.

And while Gill’s won last year’s Somerset County Tournament – their first in a decade – their goal was a bit different: to replace the more than 70 percent of its scoring that graduated, a group headlined by Gandy Malou-Mamel, who’s now at UConn, along with Sindey Quinn, Cassidy Moore, Tessa Lozner and Maya Abramson.

Senior Addy Platt is the team’s top scorer now, with her sister Kaity not far behind. Others, like junior Sadie Finn and freshman Naima Morales Solivan have been among those making significant contributions.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko preview the matchup with both head coaches: