Rutgers Prep and Bound Brook play in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals at Franklin on February 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Sometimes when two top teams get together – and these two both were 20-game winners coming into Saturday’s Somerset County Tournament semifinal at Franklin High School – there’s a feeling out period. See what the other team gives you, then figure out what you can take.
There was none of that, however, for top-seed Rutgers Prep when the Argonauts took on fifth-seed Bound Brook. From the opening tip, they passed crisply, scored with ease, and swooped in for offensive rebounds – barely every giving the Crusaders anything beyond one-and-done possessions.
And yet, despite being down 18 at one point in the first half, and as many as 15 in the third quarter, the Crusaders were still in this one right down to the wire.
They had the deficit down to four at 48-44 with 1:52 left, but just couldn’t get any closer.
In the end, Rutgers Prep (21-7) was able to survive and advance, 53-49, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. They’ll play the winner of Saturday’s 2 pm semifinal between second-seed Gill St. Bernard’s and third-seed Franklin in the championship game, next Saturday at 1 pm at Montgomery High School.
Freshman sensation Peytan Pugh was the main reason The Brook (21-2) was able to get back into the game, and stay in it, down the stretch. She had multiple steals, and rather than grabbing the ball, would tip the ball away, chase it down, and score without even the threat of being fouled. She finished with a game-high 23 points.
Bound Brook’s undoing in the first half was Rutgers Prep’s offensive rebounding, forcing the Crusaders into several one-and-dones. The Argonauts also used their length on the offensive side, often getting three or four chances on a number of possessions.
Hailey Benbow – who fouled out with 43 seconds remaining – was the high-scorer for the Argonauts, finishing with 11, while Sophia Georgiades added 10, including a pair of treys.
Meanwhile, senior Ava LaMonica – a four-year starter – who unofficially finished with four rebounds, joined the 1,000-point, 500-rebound club with her effort on the glass.
It’ll be Rutgers Prep’s 15th trip to a county final, all since 2004. They are 10-4 in the title game, but missed last year, snapping a string of nine straight trips, knocked off in the semifinals here at Franklin by Hillsborough, which lost to Gill in the title game, but went on to win the state Group 4 championship.
Prep had won four straight titles before last season, in 2020, and 2022 to 2024. (There was no SCT in 2021 due to the COVID-shortened season.)
Click below for postgame reaction with Rutgers Prep sophomore Hailey Benbow and head coach Mary Klinger , presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
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