Tag: Mary Klinger

by Mike Pavlichko

A year after joining Klinger’s staff at Rutgers Prep, Audrey Taylor takes the reigns following her friend’s retirement

“I can barely believe I’m writing this, but it’s true: I’m joining the Legendary Coach Mary Klinger’s (Rutgers Preparatory School) staff this season.”

That was the first line from a blog post on Audrey Taylor’s website on November 10th of last year. After 13 years coaching at Franklin – with some amazing teams, and players like Diamond Miller and others, who helped the Warriors win not one, but two Tournament of Champions titles and much more hardware in the process – and a year away from the high school game, Taylor was ready to get back into it, and did so by joining her friend and former rival on the bench.

Klinger had been a big influence on Taylor, who said the legendary coach “extended her hand” early in her career, something she’s never forgotten. Klinger did it again after Taylor stepped down from Franklin, but says Taylor wasn’t ready at the time.

Audrey Taylor, left, will be taking over the Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball program after Mary Klinger – right, after winning her 700th career game – announced her retirement following 42 years at the Somerset school. (Source: coachaudreytaylor.com)

A year later when they met at an event, she asked Taylor again to join her staff, and this time she accepted. And it helped lead the Argonauts to yet another Somerset County Tournament title, their 11th as a program, all under Klinger.

Now, with Klinger’s retirement after 42 years at Rutgers Prep, the school moved to immediately elevate Taylor to be the program’s next head coach.

“No one can follow in the precise footsteps that coach Klinger has left us, but we are fortunate that Audrey Taylor had accepted our invitation to be the next Varsity Coach of the Rutgers Prep Women’s Basketball Team, and she is ready for the challenge,” said Rutgers Prep Head of School Dr. Steven Loy, in an email to the school community late Wednesday afternoon.

Audrey Taylor’s Coaching Accolades at Franklin:

  • USA Today National Coach of the Year, 2019 (33-0)
  • National No. 1 Ranking, 2019 (33-0)
  • Back-to-Back Somerset County Tournament Champions: 2018 and 2019
  • Six NJSIAA North 2, Group 4 Championships: 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
  • Four NJSIAA Group 4 State Championships: 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019
  • Three Tournament of Champions berths: 2017, 2018, 2019
  • Tournament of Champions winners: 2017, 2019 (one of just 5 schools to win multiple titles)
  • Overall Record at Franklin: 138-91
by Mike Pavlichko

Looking back: Mary Klinger reflects on 42 years at Rutgers Prep, as legendary coach announces her retirement

Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball coach Mary Klinger has announced her retirement after 42 years leading the Argonauts, and her assistant last season – former Franklin coach Audrey Taylor – has been named as her successor.

READ OUR FULL STORY HERE: Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball coach, AD Mary Klinger retiring after more than four decades; Audrey Taylor to lead program

We’ll have a full, one-on-one interview with Taylor later on this morning. In the meantime, Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko got to have an extensive conversation with Klinger. Click below to listen to the interview:

Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko
by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball coach, AD Mary Klinger retiring after more than four decades; Audrey Taylor to lead program

Longtime Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball coach Mary Klinger is retiring after 42 years at the Easton Avenue school.

The Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball team broke the news Wednesday night on Instagram.

Assistant and friend Audrey Taylor – the former Franklin coach who won two Tournament of Champions titles there – has been named the program’s new head coach, Klinger confirmed to Central Jersey Sports Radio on Thursday morning.

INTERVIEW: Looking back: Mary Klinger reflects on 42 years at Rutgers Prep, as legendary coach announces her retirement

Klinger – then Mary Coyle – was a member of the 1982 Rutgers women’s basketball team that won the final AIAW National Championship, along with her twin sister Patty and future UConn asssistant Chris Dailey.

Soon after college, she landed at Rutgers Prep, where she amassed a 757-267 record in 42 years leading the girls’ program. She earned her 700th win in January of 2024, in an 85-42 victory over Ridge.

A large part of that success came in the last decade or so. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Rutgers Prep was 289-50. They have won eight of the last 11 Somerset County Tournament titles, and has had eleven straight full seasons with 20 or more wins.

Klinger also sent numerous players on to play high-level college basketball, most recently and most notably Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes, who also was a McDonald’s All-American.

Then-Franklin coach Audrey Taylor and now-retired Rutgers Prep coach Mary Klinger before a December 15, 2022 game in Somerset. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Klinger’s retirement never seemed imminent, and yet it wasn’t much of a surprise either.  And her successor, it turns out, was not too far away.

It will be former rival coach and good friend Audrey Taylor, whom Klinger brought on as her top assistant this past season after the departure of Michelle Sharp, who runs Team Sharp for seven- to 17-year-olds in the New Balance, UA Rise and Elite 40 Leagues.

The two showed a very good rapport last season, as the Argonauts won yet another Somerset County Tournament championship, their 12th as a program, all under Klinger.

Her programs won six NJSIAA Non-Public South B sectional titles, three state championships in Non-Public B.  They made the now-defunct Tournament of Champions three times, most recently in the last TOC before the NJSIAA scrapped it in 2022.  They lost in the finals that year to St. John Vianney.

More Mary Klinger accolades…

  • 15 NJISAA (New Jersey Independent Schools Athletic Association) Prep Championchips
  • 11 Skyland Conference Divisional titles
  • 11 Somerset County Tournament titles
  • Skyland Conference top pod winner, 2021 (COVID season, no SCT)
  • 6 NJSIAA Non-Public South B championships
  • 3 NJSIAA Non-Public Group B state championships
  • John Wooden Legacy Award Winner, 2023
  • NFHS National Coach of the Year, 2021-22
  • Member NJSCA Hall of Fame
  • Member New Jersey Sports Writers Hall of Fame
  • Member West Catholic (PA) High School Hall of Fame
  • Member Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame (part of 1982 AIAW National Championship team, inducted 1993
  • Selection Committee Member WBCA & McDonald’s All-American Team
  • McDonald’s All-American Team Head Coach, 2011
  • Assistant Coach USA Women’s Basketball U17 World Championship Team, 2014
  • Served on staff of USA Junior National Basketball Team

In an email to the Rutgers Prep community, the school said it will share plans in the coming months on how it will recognize and honor Mary Klinger’s legacy at the school.

“I know you join all of us on campus in wishing Mary, along with her husband Jimmy and son mike, the very best as she embarks on the next stages of her amazing journey,” the statement added.

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:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep girls clinch 6th straight trip to sectional finals, win 79-46 over Stuart Day, to set up championship rematch with Gloucester Catholic

No matter how many finals they make, or championships they win, it never gets old for Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger.

The top-seeded Argonauts easily won their Non-Public South B semifinal game Thursday night in Somerset, defeating fifth-seed Stuart Day, 79-46.

Another laugher from the start, Prep led 24-9 after one quarter and 42-16 at the half, with many outstanding performances throughout.

Natalia Valdez was on fire from downtown, hitting six times from beyond the arc, and finishing with a 20-point night. Ava LaMonica added 13 points and eight rebounds, Cali McCoy finished with 14 – and was 4-of-4 from the foul line, while Ava Frith added eight, and 11 rebounds.

Next up for the Argonauts (25-3), a trip down to Jackson Twp. High School (formerly Jackson Liberty) for the Non-Public South B championship against a familiar foe: Gloucester Catholic.

The second-seeded Rams pummeled third-seed Wildwood Catholic, 72-29, at home Thursday night to improve to 24-4.

Last year, Gloucester Catholic beat Prep 46-33 in the sectional final, before losing to Montclair-Immaculate – in the school’s final game before it closed last summer – in the Non-Public B Final at Rutgers.

Click below for postgame reaction from Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Bound Brook, Pugh nearly “steal” one from Rutgers Prep late, but Argonaut girls hang on, advance to 15th SCT title tilt

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:

by Mike Pavlichko

Somerset County’s two 20-win teams to square off in Saturday’s SCT semifinals, as resurgent Bound Brook girls face powerhouse Rutgers Prep

By no stretch of the imagination did the Rutgers Prep and Bound Brook girls’ basketball teams have “bad” years, or even so-so seasons, at least not by most people’s standards.

The Argonauts finished 20-7, while the Crusaders went 19-7.

But Rutgers Prep didn’t make the county finals for the first time in ten seasons, and they got beat by Gloucester Catholic in the Non-Public South B Final. And The Brook won five titles in a row from 2016-2020.

This season, they are the only two 20-win teams in the Skyland Conference (so far), their county, and Saturday at noon they’ll face off at Franklin High School in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will call all the action, with pregame set for 11:45 am. Click here to listen.

Rutgers Prep (20-2, 5-0 Skyland Delaware Division Champs) is the well-deserved No. 1 seed, their only two losses have come to Red Bank Catholic and Cardinal O’Hara (PA) in showcase games. Bound Brook (21-1, 8-0 Skyland Mountain Division Champs) took its only loss at the hands of Union Catholic, in their own Crusader Classic over the holidays. And yet, Bound Brook, the five-seed is a decided underdog.

Not that that’s ever stopped the Crusaders before. And it helps that hey have a freshman sensation in Peytan Pugh. Averaging 18.1 points per game, 7.7 rebounds, she’s also the team leader in assists (149, 6.8 per game) and steals (191, 8.7 per game), along with a team-best 20 blocks.

But she’s not the only one who can score. Senior Ti’asjah Ferguson is averaging 12.6 per game, and has 75 steals on the year for a defense that has logged more than Rutgers Prep, by a wide margin: 372-217.

That’s the kind of defense Bound Brook will need.

But while they have played a challenging schedule when they can, Rutgers Prep is another story. While Bound Brook coach Jen Derevjanik has been through the wars (go back to those five straight sectional titles) and has WNBA playing experience, her players have not – at least not yet – and with the Argonauts, they will see a veteran group.

Prep was fully expecting a bounce-back year coming into 2025-26, bringing back every starter and every single key bench player as well. Sophomore Hailey Benbow is the team’s top scorer (13.5 per game) and rebounder (7 per game), while also logging a team-best 52 steals, but the senior leader is Ava LaMonica.

Talk about someone who’s been through the wars, the four-year starter is averaging 12.7 points per game. Fellow senior Sophia Georgiades – in her second year at Prep after a transfer in from Ridge last season – is the team’s top three-point shooter, with 23 on the year.

Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches:

Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger
Bound Brook head coach Jen Derevjanik
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 Alec Crouthamel

Georgiades’ milestone night helps lead No. 1 Rutgers Prep past No. 7 Franklin after slow start

For the second time in two games (and two days), No. 1 Rutgers Prep girls basketball fell behind early against a fast-paced opponent.

And for the second time, the Argonauts (2-0) rebounded almost immmediately and took control.

Rutgers Prep took control at the end of the first quarter and never looked back, defeating No. 7 Franklin 82-62 in the Warriors’ (0-1) season opener, and first game under new head coach Jimmy Kreie.

It wasn’t all easy, though.

Franklin stormed ahead to an 8-0 lead in the early minutes, helped by multiple Argonauts turnovers, and looked to be firing on all cylinders in the early goings.

That’s when senior guard Sophia Georgiades got going.

Coming into the night with 994 career points and a 3-for-12 shooting night against Morris Catholic on Sunday, Georgiades was itching to get going 24 hours later. She did, and then some. She scored 12 points in the opening quarter — including a pull-up three-pointer to give her 1,001 for her career, leading to a timeout and recognition from her teammates and crowd — and helped keep Rutgers Prep afloat, finishing the frame with a 28-23 lead. The Boston University signee finished with a game-high 24 points on the night.

The Argonauts’ vaunted 1-3-1 zone helped contain Franklin’s offense, though the Warriors were still able to get going and finished the first half with 37 points. Junior Aleah Sunkins led the team with 22 points, while sophomore Nola Bright scored 12. Kreie’s team came out firing, and appear to have a style and system in place, as well as standout veterans to keep the team going.

And then, after halftime, some of Rutgers Prep’s other top pieces got going.

Sophomore wing Hailey Benbow dealt with foul trouble in a frustrating first half for her, but caught fire in the third quarter. She scored 12 points of her own in the frame, and finished a point shy of Georgiades with 23 on the night, getting countless transition opportunities in a much-improved defensive effort in the second half.

Each time Franklin would cut into the lead — including instances in the third and fourth quarters where it got within 12 — the Argonauts would force a turnover or hit a three-pointer to keep the lead at a comfortable level for the rest of the game. Junior Natalia Valdez also finished with 10 points to aid the scoring, and sophomore Bri Duque set a career-high for the second straight game with eight points.

Through two games, Rutgers Prep has defeated two quality opponents, with the team’s chemistry and continuity playing a big-time role in both, as the Argonauts did not lose a player to graduation or transferring at all.

As the team gets fully healthy — seniors Ava Frith and Ava LaMonica are both playing through injuries — Rutgers Prep appears primed to contend for a Somerset County title once again, after missing out on the championship game for the first time since 2014 last year. The track record speaks for itself.

Click below for postgame reaction with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Rutgers Prep guards Hailey Benbow and Sophia Georgiades, and head coach Mary Klinger