Tag: girls’ basketball

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 1 Rutgers Prep takes Skyland Conference Delaware Division title, tops No. 3 Gill St. Bernard’s, 51-44

Rutgers Prep may have been 20-7 a year ago, but the 2024-25 high school basketball season was disappointing for Mary Klinger’s squad. They were co-champs in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division, but failed to make the Somerset County Tournament final for the first time in a decade, and lost in the Non-Public South B title game.

This year’s team used it as fuel, though, and is already back on track.

The top-ranked Argonauts are now 15-2 after a 51-44 win Thursday night over third-ranked Gill St. Bernards heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, one which gave the the Delaware Division title outright, finishing 4-0 in division play.

That’s Goal One entering the year. Then the county, then states. Even if head coach Mary Klinger had to be reminded of her team’s claim to the title after the game.

The first half was played as tight as it could be. No one led by more than five, there were seven lead changes, and six ties, the last being 24-24 at halftime.

But after that, the Prep defense tightened. Gill senior Addy Platt – who was tied with Prep senior Ava LaMonica for game-high honors at halftime with nine points – was held scoreless in the third quarter, and had just one second-half field goal. She finished with a game-high 17, including 6-of-6 at the line in the fourth quarter, but was hampered by foul trouble.

That’s because Prep was taking it to the tin more, looking for contact. And it worked. The Argos shot 8-of-10 from the foul line in the fourth.

LaMonica finished with 14 – and is eleven away from joining the thousand-point club, while sophomore Hailey Benbow led with 15, including three from beyond the arc.

Gill is now 14-4, finishing 3-1 in their division, and had its 12-game win streak – which ran back to late December – snapped in the process.

Click below for postgame reaction from Rutgers Prep senior Ava LaMonica and head coach Mary Klinger, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

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:

Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger
Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mark Gnapp

by Mike Pavlichko

Hillsborough renames court after late boys’ and girls’ basketball coach Ian Progin

The passing of Ian Progin last May second at the age of 47 did not come as a stunner in the immediate moment, as many of his close friends knew his cancer – first diagnosed in 2011 – had returned. He was living in hospice in his final days.

Nonetheless, it was indeed a stunner in the grand scheme of things. Here was a man who dedicated his life to his family, friends and his alma mater, who continued coaching not only high school basketball in Hillsborough, but also his son’s youth league, even while undergoing treatments.

Ian Progin seemed like he could beat anything. And for years, he did.

The longtime coach – who mentored the boys’ basketball team at Hillsborough for 12 years, and the girls for another four – was honored by the school Saturday afternoon, during a court naming ceremony in his honor between a girls’/boys’ doubleheader.

The ceremony was sandwiched in between a sweep Saturday for the Raiders, coming after the girls’ 72-33 win over Union. (Current head coach Courtney Tierney, now in her fifth season, was Progin’s successor.) And it preceded the boys’ 57-44 victory over Ewing, their fourth straight W.

PA announcer and head baseball coach Matt Mosko presided over the ceremony, after which a banner along the baseline padding was removed unveiling the words “IAN PROGIN COURT” in all caps, with Ian’s wife, Courtney, and son, Jeffery, sitting off to the left.

Progin was a 1996 graduate of Hillsborough High School, played college basketball at Widener, and later transferred to Rutgers as a walk-on. After his eligibility ran out, he joined the Sports department of campus radio station, WRSU 88.7 FM, where he was an analyst on basketball broadcasts. He graduated with a degree in Journalism and Mass Media.

He went back to Rutgers to become a teacher, and earned his Master’s from Rider, then came back to Hillsborough as a guidance counselor, also becoming the school’s head boys’ basketball coach. In his dozen seasons, the big highlights included an upset of top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s to win the 2014 Somerset County Tournament, then an amazing run to the Central Jersey Group 4 title in 2015.

Just one year later, he came back and coached the girls’ basketball team from 2016 to 2020, while also coaching gymnastics for three seasons.

Click below for video from Saturday’s ceremony, and scroll down further for additional links to coverage of Progin’s passing, including our original story and a tribute including fellow coaches and former players:

Former Hillsborough coach, Rutgers basketball walk-on Ian Progin passes away at age 47

More tributes pouring in for Hillsborough alum and former basketball coach Ian Progin; plus a one-on-one with Montgomery’s Kris Grundy, and a postgame chat after Raiders’ 2015 CJ4 title

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – GIRLS: No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas 61, Saddle River Day 51

Second-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas got 14 points from Trista Whitney and another 13 from Jordan Barnes in a 61-51 non-conference win over Saddle River Day, giving the Trojans their ninth straight win.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko And Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Edison on January 19, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas is tested, but pulls away late for 61-51 win over Saddle River Day

Having dominated the Greater Middlesex Conference for a while now – winning 78 straight against league competition going back to January 2022 – St. Thomas Aquinas has challenged itself with a strong non-league schedule.

And while Saddle River Day doesn’t have the kind of record they’ve had in the past, they’re a traditionally strong program that had won five of their last six games after getting a key transfer in the lineup after an injury, and proved to be a more than worthy opponent for the Trojans Monday afternoon in North Edison.

In a game that was tight all the way and went back-and-forth in the second and third quarters, the Trojans eventually built up to a 12-point fourth quarter lead and beat the visiting Rebels 61-51, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Senior Trista Whitney finished with 14 points – nine in the second half – with two treys, while fellow senior Jordan Barnes added 11, and senior Leah Kearney chipped in 13 for St. Thomas Aquinas (14-3), which is now on a nine-game win streak.

With STA known for its intense defense, seemingly getting in the way of nearly every pass, Saddle River Day (8-6) clearly watched some tape and was prepared, using crisp, quick passing to break the Aquinas pressure in the back court. But it was still just a six point STA lead at the break.

And while Rebel sophomore Grace Darling, the team’s leading scorer, finished with 26 points and three treys – seven points above her average – Aquinas made Harper Cohn, in just her seventh game back recovering from and ACL injury, nearly invisible in the scoring column, holding her to five points, and just two in the second half.

St. Thomas led just 46-43 at the end of three, but pulled away on the strength of a 15-8 final eight minutes.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with St. Thomas Aquinas senior Trista Whitney and head coach Tim Corrigan, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Stability is the name of the game in Bellamy & Son Paving Week 6 Girls’ Basketball Top Ten

The boys have been all over the place.

The girls? Not so much.

It’s another week of few changes in the Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten, starting at the top. Just two teams moved this week, as most teams just keep on winning. In fact, the top five teams are on a combined 38-game win streak.

That starts with Rutgers Prep (11-4) at No. 1, on a five-game winning streak. The Argonauts won a Skyland Conference game Monday, beating Phillipsburg at home, 62-13. Then, they won two at the Rose Super Jam at Nazareth High School in Brooklyn, beating a pair of teams from Massachusetts. On Friday, they were 65-50 winners over Dexter, then beat Newman 59-47 on Sunday.

St. Thomas Aquinas (14-3) remains No. 2, winners of eight straight. The Trojans beat North Plainfield 104-49 on Tuesday, then Monroe 80-31 on Thursday – both at home – before picking up a 76-54 road win at No. 5 East Brunswick on Saturday.

Still in third is Gill St. Bernard’s (10-3). The Knights pummeled Mount St. Mary on Tuesday, 52-10, then were 58-33 home winners over Phillipsburg on Thursday, their eighth straight victory.

Hillsborough (11-2) is holding steady at No. 4, having won five straight. Tuesday, they beat Hunterdon Central at home, 58-42. Then they won at Mount St. Mary, 49-30, on Thursday, and Saturday at Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 45-38.

Colonia (12-0) moved up to No. 5 this week, winning all three of its games: Tuesday, 46-37 at Middlesex – as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – Thursday at home against South Plainfield, 60-28, and Saturday at Spotswood, 67-44.

Switching places with the Patriots is East Brunswick (11-3) – now at No. 6 – after a 2-1 week. The Bears beat South Brunswick, 63-27, on Tuesday, then won 56-54 at Piscataway on Thursday. But they had a four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday at home by No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas, 76-54.

Holding in seventh is Bernards (10-1), which took its first loss of the season on Saturday at home to Roselle Park, 67-52. Earlier in the week, they won 48-46 at No. 8 Somerville, then beat Immaculata at home on Thursday, 62-41.

Somerville (10-4) is still at No. 8, despite an 0-2 week. They lost Tuesday to Bernards, 48-46, then went on the road Thursday and took a 43-38 loss at Voorhees.

Bound Brook (12-2) is on an eight-game win streak after going 2-0 this past week. Tuesday, they beat South Plainfield, 62-33. Then on Friday, they beat Manville at home, 56-33.

And No. 10 Woodbridge (8-3) also held its place, losing the one game they played this week, Saturday at Elizabeth, 57-56, their second straight loss.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten for Week Six:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas to meet Saddle River Day Monday in MLK Day matinee

Believe it or not, the regular season in high school basketball is well past the halfway point, seemingly speeding its way to the county tournaments, and after that, it’ll be the states.

The St. Thomas Aquinas girls basketball team is playing some really good basketball right now, and will continue to challenge itself Monday morning when the second-ranked Trojans welcome Saddle River Day to their brand-new court in North Edison.

The two will square off in an 11 am game on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, and you can listen to it all here on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel will bring you all the play-by-play, with pregame set for 10:45. Click here to listen.

After starting the season 6-1, then dropping two games in the Coaches Choice Holiday Classic up at FDU in Madison over the break, Aquinas (14-3, 10-0 GMC Red National) has won eight straight. And their point production in the latter part of that span has been tremendous, averaging a hair under 81 points per game in their last five, winning by an average of 37.6 points per game.

And while some really good seniors graduated – top scorer Leah Crosby and three-point specialists Gianna Chuffo and Adrianna Summerset – there’s a ton of experience back.

Senior forward Jordan Barnes has taken over the main scoring load, averaging 17.6 points per game, while junior Leah Kearney is cleaning up on the boards, and Lauryn Downing is lighting it up from three. Trista Whitney and Kayla Navarro round out a group of five who are all averaging at least 10 points per game.

The matchup also is an intriguing one as it features two former Greater Middlesex Conference standouts. While St. Thomas Aquinas coach Tim Corrigan is a St. Joseph-Metuchen grad (who later played at Kean), Saddle River Day is led by first-year head coach Corey Taite.

His name would be familiar to GMC fans in the early and mid-2010s. Taite was a point guard at Sayreville, playing under current head coach John Wojcik, and scored 1,176 points in his career, making him the first 1,000-point scorer at the time in 15 years. (Three more have joined the club since, including current players Sam Jones and Chidi Chukwuri.)

Taite played collegiately ate Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, Delaware before heading overseas to play pro ball in Ireland. When he came back to the States, he got into coaching and liked it so much he decided his playing days were over.

Three years ago, he joined the Saddle River Day staff as an assistant, and now leads the program.

The Rebels are one of the top girls’ basketball programs in the state, and have won nine straight Bergen County Tournament titles. This year, they’ve struggled to an 8-5 start (4-1 in the NJIC) due to injuries.

Sophomore Olivia DiGiovanni – a projected starter – won’t play this year due to an ACL injury, freshman Jackie Sarkar is out with a bone bruise, and senior Madison Minicucci is out the rest of the year, too.

Even Harper Cohn – a transfer in from Mahwah with 752 career points – sat out the first three weeks or so of the season, finishing her recovery from her own ACL injury. But she’s a key part of the operation now, third on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game. Another junior, Emily Mattson – who comes in from Union Catholic – is scoring at 12.6 per game, and also is close to joining the thousand-point club, with 813.

Sophomore Grace Darling leads the team with 19.5 points per game, 35 treys and 36 steals.

Click below to hear previews of Monday’s game with both head coaches:

St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tim Corrigan
Saddle River Day head coach Corey Taite

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 7 Bernards girls take first loss of season, falling 67-52 to Roselle Park

The task was a tall one. Bernards knew that coming in.

The 7th-ranked Mountaineer girls basketball team was a perfect 10-for-10 in 2025-26 heading into Saturday afternoon’s non-conference home game with Roselle Park and the state’s top scorer, Sidney Smith.

And it would be a good test against a solid squad not from their league, a chance to see how they stacked up.

Bernards hung in there, never leading in the game, but keeping it close. They trailed by ten at the half, 35-25, and got it to single digits on a couple of occasions, even as close as six late in the first half.

But the Elon-committed Smith was too much for the Mountaineers, either scoring from what would be the college three-point line, or getting to the basket, drawing contact and going to the line, where she picked up even more points.

It all resulted in a 67-52 win for Roselle Park (8-2), and Bernards’ first loss of the year (10-1).

She finished with a game-high 35, scoring 17 in a third quarter that proved to be the difference, and had five triples in the game. With Bernards keeping it close, she took over the game in the third.

Aletha Reynolds was high scorer for Bernards, scoring 26, including five treys.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Bernards head coach Brett Bisconti
Roselle Park senior Sidney Smith
by Mike Pavlichko

No. 6 Colonia remains perfect as Patriots top Middlesex on the road, 46-37

After a seven-win season a year ago with some key injuries, the Colonia girls’ basketball team has gone from the wounded hunter to the hunted. And so far this season, they’ve been able to avoid everyone’s best shot.

The sixth-ranked Patriots picked up a 46-37 win at Middlesex in GMC Red National Division action Tuesday evening, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, a game that was a little tougher this time around.

Back on December 20th, Colonia had jumped out to a 15-8 lead after one quarter, and led by eleven at the half. This time? They were up 14-8 after one, but Middlesex led 23-22 at the break.

That was thanks in large point to some good three-point shooting in the first half. Alyssa Young had a pair of treys and had eight points at halftime, while Avery Iskra and Bella Durkin each had a three as well. But in the second half, Colonia focused more on defending the perimeter, and the Blue Jays didn’t hit from downtown again.

Samantha Howell had a big second half – eight of her ten points coming after the break, and she had a big three in the fourth to help give Colonia some distance after they entered the fourth up just by one, 30-29.

Howell and senior Nashaleah Hooker each had ten while Ivana Gidado and Ariana Sosa each had nine, and Hailey Conklin had eight. That’s the kind of balanced scoring Colonia has had all season long.

Alyssa Young led Middlesex with 10, while Kaylee Devine – the sophomore and younger sister of all-time leading scorer Jess Devine, who graduated in June after scoring 2,135 points – added eight, including six in the second half.

Click below for postgame reaction from Colonia senior Nashaleah Hooker and head coach Jill Bachonski, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: