Category: Girls Basketball

by Mike Pavlichko

After hustling for four varsity seasons, Rutgers Prep’s Ava LaMonica reflects on her time as an Argonaut, and finishing on top in Somerset County

The 2024-25 girls’ basketball season hurt for Rutgers Prep, and then-junior Ava LaMonica. There was no division title – at least not outright – they got knocked out of the Somerset County Tournament by her hometown public school of Hillsborough, and lost to eventual Non-Public B group champion Gloucester Catholic in the South B finals.

That wasn’t want LaMonica was used to her first two years at the Somerset school.

But with everyone back, the team rededicated itself to its goals, and in the end, got two out of three.

Rutgers Prep finished as the No. 1 team in Central Jersey, in the Bellamy & Son Paving final rankings, as the Argonauts went 25-4, won the Skyland Conference Delaware Division with a 6-0 record, and beat Franklin in the Somerset County Tournament title game.

That makes it three county titles, three outright division titles, one shared, and two sectional championships in four years for LaMonica, who – along with Cali McCoy off the bench – is the only four-year Rutgers Prep varsity player to graduate this year.

She finishes as a member of the thousand-point, 500-rebound club, scoring 1,132 points and grabbing 527 rebounds over her career, and laid it all out there every time she was on the court, fighting for rebounds, diving after loose balls, and deflecting passes by the opposition to get the Argonauts out in transition.

And if she’s hasn’t had enough of the snow this winter, she’ll see plenty more most likely when she takes her talents to the University at Buffalo next year.

Click below to hear Rutgers Prep senior Ava LaMonica talk about the 2025-26 season, the Argonauts return as Somerset County Tournament champions, and her time spent alongside great players and head coach Mary Klinger:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep girls, back on top in Somerset County, are No. 1 team in Final Bellamy & Son Paving rankings

Sure, the Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball team won 20 games last year, but it still wasn’t up to Mary Klinger’s standards. The coach calls the regular season the “preseason.” A division title is nice, but the county and state tournaments are the goals. Win those, and it’s a good year for the Argonauts. In 2025, they won neither.

But this year, with much of the same crew back, the Argonauts returned to their familiar spot as Somerset County Tournament champions, and finish the year No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten.

Led by four-year varsity standout Ava LaMonica – the team’s top scorer, who will be playing collegiately next year at Buffalo – as well as fellow seniors Ava Frith and Sophia Georgiades, as well as super sophomore Hailey Benbow – the Argos’ second-best scorer and top rebounder – Rutgers Prep (25-4) didn’t lose a single conference game this season, its three regular season losses coming to Red Bank Catholic, Cardinal O’Hara (PA), and Blair right before the state tournament. Their fourth came to Gloucester Catholic in the Non-Public South B Final.

Prep beat Franklin – the eventual Central Jersey Group 4 champ – in the Somerset County Final, and won the Skyland Division title with a 6-0 record.

Gill St. Bernard’s checks in at No. 2. With a 22-6 mark, the Knights won the Non-Public North B title with a victory over Saddle River Day, then lout to Gloucester Catholic in the state Non-Public Group B final at Rutgers, the same Rams’ team that beat Rutgers Prep in the semifinals. Gill lost its only meeting with Rutgers Prep this season, 51-44 in late January, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Finishing third is St. Thomas Aquinas (24-7). The Trojans – with the senior trio of Jordan Barnes, Trista Whitney and Kayla Navarro – blew through the GMC this season, going 11-0 to win the Red American Division, and stormed to their seventh straight GMC Tournament championship, beating resurgent East Brunswick in the final. They would bow out to eventual state champion Red Bank Catholic in the Non-Public South A semifinals.

Checking in at four is Franklin (22-9). A Somerset County Tournament finalist under first-year head coach Jimmy Kreie, the Warriors returned to their former – and fairly recent – glory with a win in the Central Jersey Group 4 title game over neighboring Hillsborough. They were knocked out of the state tournament by Lenape in the state Group 4 finals.

Fifth is Hillsborough (21-7). The Raiders had won two sectional titles in a row – in North 2, Group 4 in 2024 and Central 4 last season – but fell at Franklin in the Central Jersey Group 4 title game.

East Brunswick checks in at No. 6 with a 23-6 record. Ava Catanho and Julianna DelosSantos-Branson led the Bears back to prominence this season, as they got to the GMC Tournament title game, where they lost to now seven-time reigning GMCT champion St. Thomas Aquinas.

Bound Brook (25-4) – re-ignited by freshman sensation Peytan Pugh – finishes at No. 7, thanks to a Mountain Division championship, going 8-0 in divisional play. They nearly knocked off Rutgers Prep in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, and reached the Central Jersey Group 1 title game, falling on the road to top-seed New Providence.

Finishing eighth is Bernards (24-5), which started the year 10-0, and was the Skyland Conference Valley Division champion at 11-1. They lost to defending champion Madison in the North 2, Group 2 semifinals.

At No. 9, it’s Colonia. After a down season, head coach Jill Bachonski has the Patriots looking solid, finishing 20-4, and going 8-0 to win the GMC Red National Division. They reached the GMC Tournament semifinals, falling to eventual champion St. Thomas Aquinas.

And No. 10 is Piscataway, making its season debut in the final rankings of the year. The Lady Chiefs finished 17-9, and went 6-0 to win the White American Division title, reaching the GMC Tournament semifinals, where they lost to East Brunswick.

Below are the complete final Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten rankings for 2025-26:

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – Non-Public B Final (Girls): Gloucester Catholic 62, Gill St. Bernard’s 39

North champion The Gill St. Bernard’s girls’ basketball team got a combined 28 points from the Platt sisters – 15 from senior Addy, and 13 from junior Kaity – in a 62-39 loss to South champ Gloucester Catholic in the Non-Public Group B state final. It was the second straight and second overall title for the Rams.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play from Jersey Mike’s Arena at Rutgers University in Piscataway on March 12, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – Group 4 Semifinals (Girls): Lenape 54, Franklin 35

Central 4 champion Franklin couldn’t find its shot, and fell to South 4 champion Lenape 54-35 in the state Group 4 semifinals. The Warriors were led by Nola Bright, who narrowly missed a double-double with ten points and nine rebounds.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play from Deptford High School on March 10, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

Gloucester Catholic’s aggressive D too much for Gill St. Bernard’s, dashes Knights’ hopes in Non-Public B final, 62-39

Lisa Gedaka, the head coach in her 37th year at Gloucester Catholic, had 760 wins coming into Thursday’s Non-Public Group B girls’ title game.

But coming into last year, the Rams had never won a sectional title.

Well, now they have two, and two state titles as well, as they beat Gill St. Bernard’s 62-39 Tuesday night in the state finals at Rutgers’ Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway – in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – led by 22 points from senior Jahzara Green, and 13 from junior Amanda Eggers, who also had four treys.

Gill had a tough time getting shots to go down early, and had a tough time finding open looks, even as they would double- and triple-team senior Addy Platt, who finished with 15 points in her final game before heading off to St. Joseph in Philadelphia.

The Knights (22-6) made a bit of a run early in the second half. The difference is they hit their first couple of shots, and were able to set up their pressure and defense. But the run was short-lived, even though they trimmed what was a ten-point halftime deficit to seven midway through the third.

Junior Kaity Platt, Addy’s younger sister, had some key threes in the third as the Knights tried to come back. She finished with 13 and three treys.

The Rams finish their season at 25-4.

Click below for postgame reaction from Gloucester Catholic head coach Lisa Gedaka, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen.

Gill St. Bernard's guard Kaity Platt (14) goes up with a layup through contact.
by Alec Crouthamel

Gill St. Bernard’s girls bring good times to Rutgers for Non-Public B final against Gloucester Catholic

Think back to March of 2012.

Adele and Flo Rida ruled the music charts, the Big East Conference was finishing up its penultimate year in its prime form before realignment destroyed it (nope, definitely not bitter), and the Gill St. Bernard’s girl’s basketball team stood at the top as Non-Public state champions, and sectional champions for the third straight year, under former head coach Aaron Gratch.

Now in 2026, the Knights (22-5) are back near the peak of the mountain in the state final, though no Tournament of Champions to follow like the 2012 team, so this is it.

Gill plays for all the marbles on Thursday at Jersey Mike’s Arena on the campus of Rutgers University, in the Non-Public B final against Gloucester Catholic. Tip-off time from Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway is at 5 pm, and we’ve got live coverage on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel calling all the action. Pregame starts at 4:45; click here to listen.

The boys’ game for the Non-Public Group B title against Holy Cross Prep of Delran against will also be broadcast live on CJSR at 7 pm.

Gill has played efficient, workmanlike basketball throughout its path to its first sectional title since the three-peat from 2010-12, but now faces one of its toughest tests yet against the Rams (25-4).

Addy and Kaity Platt once again steal the headlines, and combined for 31 points in the sectional final win over Saddle River Day, but it’s been a team-wide effort to get to this point for the Knights. With point guard Melina Miller setting the table and wing Sadie Finn doing the dirty work with tough defense and extra passes, it’s no wonder Gill has responded with a deep run after a tremendous senior class graduated.

This also won’t be the first time these two teams have seen each other this season. Way back in December — where three months ago feels like three years ago — Gloucester Catholic responded from an early deficit and put the clamps down on Gill for a 60-45 victory at the Shore Games in Colts Neck.

But both teams have evolved in the time since, and are playing at their best at the right time.

It’s a battle of similar but contrasting styles. Neither team goes particularly deep into their bench — both stick with a main six in the rotation, with a seventh usually mixed in somewhere — and both will send pressure in the backcourt. But Gill wants to get out and run, while the Rams are happy to play in a slower, grind-it-out type game.

That’s exactly how Gloucester Catholic — the second seed and champion of South Jersey Group B — won its second straight sectional title against top-seeded Rutgers Prep back on Monday night. The Rams were able to slow the game down and, combined with plenty of missed shots from the Argonauts, hold Rutgers Prep to its lowest scoring total of the year.

They also have continuity on their side, with no graduating seniors from a team that made it to this same stage last year. Senior trio Jalyn Moore, Jahzara Green, and Talia Shumate all played in that state title — a 41-30 loss to Montclair Immaculate, led by now-Franklin head coach Jimmy Kreie before the school closed at the end of the year — and all played pivotal roles in Gloucester Catholic’s December win over the Knights.

Add in a leader with over 700 career wins in 37th-year head coach, and Rams graduate herself Lisa Gedaka, and Gloucester Catholic will not be fazed by the bright lights. The Rams will battle for their first state title since 1983, Gedaka’s junior season.

But Gill is executing at some of the highest levels ninth-year head coach Mark Gnapp has seen in his time in Gladstone. With the state crown — and two long championship droughts — on the line, it may come down to who has the ball last at Rutgers.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel talk with Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mark Gnapp about the Knights’ Non-Public B title matchup against Gloucester Catholic:


by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – Non-Public North B Final (Girls): (1) Gill St. Bernard’s 57, (2) Saddle River Day 40

Senior Addy Platt scored 16 points and had eight rebounds, while four Knights scored in double figures, as top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s beat second-seed Saddle River Day, 57-40, in the Non-Public North B championship game, giving Gill its first sectional title since 2012.

Click below to listen to Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play from JFK High School in Paterson on March 9, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

Record four Central Jersey Sports Radio-area basketball teams head to Rutgers for state finals

Talk about a banner year. In our sixth season of existence, a record four high school basketball teams from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area will be playing for state championships over the next few days at Rutgers University.

There are two publics and two non-publics in the bunch, with Colonia the lone Middlesex County team to make the state finals. Gill St. Bernard’s will send its boys’ and girls’ teams to Piscataway, while Montgomery heads back for a second year in a row giving Somerset County three teams playing for titles.

Here’s the schedule for area teams, and all games can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Bookmark this link to listen all weekend!

THURSDAY, MARCH 12

Gill St. Bernard's celebrates a North Jersey Non-Public B championship on March 9th, 2026 (Photo: Alec Crouthamel).
Gill St. Bernard’s celebrates a North Jersey Non-Public B championship on March 9th, 2026 (Photo: Alec Crouthamel).
  • Non-Public Group B Girls’ Final: Gill St. Bernard’s (22-5, 1 seed, North) vs. Gloucester Catholic (25-4, 2 seed, South), 5 pm
  • Non-Public Group B Boys’ Final: Gill St. Bernard’s (27-2, 1 seed, North) vs. Holy Cross Prep, Delran (27-4, 2 seed, South), 7 pm
Gill St. Bernard's celebrates a North Jersey Non-Public B title on March 9th, 2026
Gill St. Bernard’s celebrates a North Jersey Non-Public B title on March 9th, 2026.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14

  • Group 4 Boys’ Final: Montgomery (26-4, 3 seed, Central) vs. Plainfield (25-5, 4 seed, North 2), 2 pm
Montgomery won its third straight Central Jersey Group 4 championship with a 55-47 win at Hillsborough on March 6, 2026. (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)

SUNDAY, MARCH 15

  • Group 3 Boys’ Final: Colonia (21-10, 1 seed, North 2) vs. Ocean City (25-6, 3 seed, South), 2 pm
Colonia with its 2026 North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 trophy, after beating Chatham at home on March 7, 2026. (Photo: Nick Hart)
by Mike Pavlichko

Franklin’s title season comes to an end with 54-35 loss to Lenape in state Group 4 semifinals

In baseball, sometimes you can get a good bat on the ball, but if you hit it right to a fielder, it’s an out. Sometimes you just can’t “hit it where they ain’t,” as they say.

In basketball, sometimes the shots don’t fall.

And that’s what happened to the Franklin girls’ basketball team Tuesday night in Deptford, where the Central Jersey Group 4 champions fell to South champ Lenape, 54-35, in the group semis, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

It certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying. Drives to the basket, mid-range jumpers, threes; none seemed to fall for Franklin.

They only trailed 12-6 after one quarter, and in an even lower scoring second quarter, cut it to 20-18 at the half.

But Lenape’s star, senior El-Anita Joe-Samuel, turned out to be the biggest factor in the game. Even when the Warriors switched defenses, and gave the Indians some different looks, all she did was score. Joe-Samuel finished with 39 points, one shy of a career high the junior set in mid-February.

For Franklin, the Warriors’ very successful season comes to a close at 22-9. They had signature wins at Hillsborough in the regular season, over the defending CJ4 champs in the sectional finals, and even beat Gill St. Bernard’s in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals to get to the championship for the first time since 2019.

And with a good core back – including top scorer Aleah Sunkins, junior Alivia Stewart, and sophomores Jamila McRiney and Nola Bright, all part of the starting five – the future appears to have just begun for this group.

Lenape will go on to face Westfield, a 56-52 winner over West Orange in the other semifinal, in the state Group 4 title game at noon Saturday at Rutgers.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel with Franklin head coach Jimmy Kreie, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Dylan Allen

Rutgers Prep falls to Gloucester Catholic in South Jersey Non-Public B championship for second straight season

Make it back-to-back wins for Gloucester Catholic in South Jersey Non-Public B, as the Rams beat Rutgers Prep Monday night – also for the second straight year – in the sectional final at Lenape High School in Medford Lakes, 44-31. win over Rutgers Prep.

The first half was tight all the way.  Each team continuously traded buckets underneath the basket.

Early on, it was Ava La Monica of Rutgers Prep and Jahzara Green of Gloucester Catholic doing the damage to each other’s squads. It was a classic back-and-forth game, consisting of transition buckets and highly contested defensive stops.

At the end of the first quarter, Rutgers Prep had the lead at 12-11, thanks to a six-point effort from La Monica. Gloucester Catholic came alive in the second quarter and had the lead going into halftime at 21-20.

Through the first half of play, it was apparent both teams wanted to establish an inside game — only three three-pointers were made in the game, all coming from Gloucester Catholic.

The second half is where the game started to slip away from Rutgers Prep, and Gloucester Catholic took full advantage. The Argonauts were outscored 23-11, mainly because of too many missed shots in the paint from several Argonauts and because of the Lady Rams’ stout defense.

Monet High – a name that may not stand out in the box score due to only scoring one point – certainly showed off her defensive prowess. Leading to numerous steals in the half-court that led to transition buckets for Green and Talia Shumate, who finished with six points.

Combine Green’s 14-point effort with relentless dribble drives from Jalyn Moore and outside shots from Amanda Eggers, who both finished with eleven points, and it was enough for the Lady Rams to put the game out of reach late in the fourth.

The offensive stars from Rutgers Prep simply went cold, scoring just five points in the fourth. La Monica finished with ten points, Georgiades with seven points, and no one else eclipsed more than four.

It’s the end of an era for seniors Ava La Monica, Sophia Georgiades, Ava Frith, and Cali McCoy. La Monica and McCoy are the only two of the four to win a South Jersey Non-Public B final in their time at Rutgers Prep, with Georgiades and Frith both transferring in after the 2024 season.

Gloucester Catholic will advance to the Non-Public B title game, where it will face North Jersey Non-Public B champion Gill St. Bernard’s, which beat Saddle River Day 57-40 Monday night. This will be the second time the two teams face off this year, with the Rams winning 60-45 at the Shore Games in December.

Click below to hear postgame reactions with Rutgers Prep’s head coach Mary Klinger presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen: