Tag: Mary Klinger

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep girls headed to fourth straight SCT final with 57-24 home win over Franklin; Gill advances with home win over Hillsborough

Make it 9 straight finals appearances in the Somerset County Tournament for the Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball team.

The top-seeded Lady Argonauts – 20 years after head coach Mary Klinger won her first-ever county title – will now have a chance to win their fourth straight, and seventh in nine seasons, thanks to a 57-24 win over fifth-seed Franklin.

Saturday’s final will have Prep against 2nd-seed Gill St. Bernard’s, which beat 4th-seed Hillsborough 76-47 in Peapack-Gladstone Thursday evening. (Scroll down for more on that game.)

From the very first basket of the game – scored by Chloe Escanillas, who bolted like a lighting strike to the basket off the opening tip – the Argonauts were off and rolling.

It was a sign of things to come as the junior led her team with 14 points including a pair of three-pointers.

Vanderbilt commit and senior Mikayla Blakes showcased her incredible speed on the floor off a fast break to lay in a basket with just under five minutes to play in the first.

Overall, it was aggressive offense, stingy-defense, and stellar communication in the first half that had the No. 1 seed up 30-11 at the break with sophomore GiGi Battle leading the team with eight points

Franklin senior Iyanna Cotten led the Warriors (14-12) in points with 6 at the break while the team committed that many fouls in the first half and had an additional 8 fouls in the 2nd half.

Cotten finished the game with 10 points in the loss.

Sophomore guard Ava La Monica left the game midway through the first half for Rutgers Prep (20-4) after appearing to twist her left ankle. 

She didn’t put any weight on her leg and had to be helped off the floor and didn’t return. Coach Klinger said Ava will be going for x-rays and her status for Saturday is unknown at this point.

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

Rutgers Prep junior guard Chloe Escanillas
Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger

(2) Gill St. Bernard’s 76, (4) Rutgers Prep 47: The Knights led virtually wire-to-wire, ahead 24-12 on the visiting Raiders after one quarter. Gill held a 40-19 lead at the half. Four players scored in double figures for the Knights, who got 18 from Sydney Quinn, 17 from Gandy Malou-Mamel, and 10 each from Maya Abrmson and Brooke Baisley. Hillsborough (16-8) was led by Francesco Schiro’s 23 points, a game high. It’ll be the third straight trip to the finals for Gill St. Bernard’s (23-3), which made it the last two years, losing both times to Rutgers Prep, 64-35 in 2022 and 64-39 last season. Both regular season meetings went to Rutgers Prep this year, 71-46 (as heard on CJSR) on January 4th, and 68-45 on February 6th.

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep’s Mary Klinger picks up milestone 700th win as Argonauts roll past Ridge

With all due respect to the opponent, the pizza got there early.

More than a dozen boxes, all for friends, family, alumni, fellow coaches, former coaches to honor Mary Klinger after the game on her 700th win.

Of course, the game was played, and Ridge hung in tough early. But keep in mind, Rutgers Prep girls basketball hasn’t lost a game to a Skyland Conference opponent since a defeat at the hands of Franklin and her good friend Audrey Taylor in the 2019 Somerset County Tournament Final. And, of course, the Warriors went undefeated that year, winning the Tournament of Champions.

Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger (left) and her college coach, former Rutgers mentor Theresa Grentz, with whom they won the 1982 AIAW National Championship, after Klinger’s 700th win as a head coach on January 18, 2024. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

And for all the threes Mikayla Blakes sunk, or the and-ones Ava LaMonica got, or the hard trips to the foul line GiGi Battle earned, this night was about their coach, their mentor, Mary Klinger.

Whatever happened in the 85-42 win was secondary to what would happen when the final horn sounded.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE FINAL HORN, WITH POSTGAME INTERVIEWS ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

In the fourth quarter, Prep staff handed out “700” signs for the crowd to hold up. Audrey Taylor was in the house. So was former Rutgers basketball coach and color commentator Dick Lloyd. So was Mary’s college coach, Theresa Grentz, with whom they brought Rutgers the 1982 AIAW National Championship.

If you really want to know what happened in the game: Battle led Prep (12-3, 6-0 Skyland Delaware) with 16, LaMonica chipped in 16, and five-star recruit Mikayla Blakes scored 14, including four treys. The starting five came out midway through the third quarter. Sophia Georgiades led all scorers with 17 for Ridge (5-9, 3-3 Skyland Raritan).

Rutgers Prep’s GiGi Battle drives to the basket against Ridge in the game that would give her head coach, Mary Klinger, her 700th win. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Klinger has been at Prep since the 1984-85 season, almost right off The Banks. She was already an impressive 469-217, with a winning percentage of .683, over her first 30 seasons. 

Over the next ten? Well, she’s 232-37 since the start of the 2014-15 season.

The win was the Argos’ 46th straight against Somerset County opponents, and 59th in a row against the Skyland Conference. 

That’s almost as impressive.

Click below for postgame reaction after Rutgers Prep coach Mary Klinger’s 700th win, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Rutgers Prep coach Mary Klinger
Chloe Escanillas and Mikayla Blakes
by Mike Pavlichko

No. 1 Rutgers prep girls return home for a big battle with No. 3 Gill St. Bernards

Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball coach Mary Klinger may call the regular season the preseason, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t like her team facing challenges.

After all, they played some of the toughest teams in the country down at the John Wall Invitational in North Carolina over the holiday break.

Coming back home, they’ll face another stiff challenge when they open the 2024 portion of the campaign against Gill St. Bernard’s.

The Lady Argonauts (5-2) are ranked No. 1 in the latest Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, with the Knights (8-0) ranked third behind St. Thomas Aquinas. And it’ll be their only meeting this season, meaning the top seed in the Somerset County Tournament could very well be on the line Thursday evening in Somerset.

It’s a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio at 5:30 pm, with pregame at 5:15. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas have the call; click here to listen.

The biggest challenger for Klinger’s squad in the first seven games was playing four of them without Mikayla Blakes, a highly sought after major Division 1 recruit, with Rutgers, Indiana, Wisconsin, Tennesee, UCLA, Vanderbilt and Stanford among her final seven. Many consider her a future pro, but she’s been banged up, and her status for Thursday’s game is uncertain.

Still, there is a ton of talent on the court regardless. Blakes still has a higher points per game average (18.3) through three games, than anyone else through seven, but the Argos are still averaging 68.4 points a game, and their top scorer otherwise is senior Chloe Escanillas, who has hit a team-best 24 threes already on the young season. She also is tops in assists (22) and steals (18).

Junior Leah Crosby – who transferred in from St. Thomas Aquinas – is leading the team with eight rebounds.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep girls are loaded, reloaded heading into 2023 season

Katie Ledden was an important part of the Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball team for the past four seasons.

A four-year varsity contributor, Ledden has taken her 1,334 points and 677 rebounds up to New England and the University of Rhode Island.

Luckily, for veteran mentor Mary Klinger, she’s the only significant piece of last year’s 25-5 team that’s gone.

Coming off yet another Somerset County Tournament Championship – its third in a row dating back to 2020 – and another NJSIAA sectional title – its second straight – Klinger has a host of significant contributors back.

One might say that the challenge is how to get them all enough playing time. But as Klinger puts it, “the players decide that.”

Big-time college recruit Mikayla Blakes – the two-time defending Central Jersey Sports Radio girls’ player of the year – is the most high profile piece back. The senior guard has narrowed her college choices down to seven, with Rutgers among the finalists, along with schools like Indiana and Tennessee.

But senior guards Zahra Alexander and Chloe Escanillas return, along with sophomores Gigi Battle and Ava LaMonica, both of whom played on the highly regarded Nike circuit this summer, with LaMonica being coached by now-former Franklin girls’ coach Audrey Taylor, a good friend of Klinger’s.

And you can also add transfer Leah Crosby to the mix – she comes in from St. Thomas Aquinas – along with a number of freshman, who Klinger won’t hesitate to throw into the fire, as long as she thinks they’re ready.

Click below to hear Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball coach Mary Klinger talk about her 2023-24 Lady Argonauts:

by Mike Pavlichko

With another two titles, Mary Klinger named CJSR Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year

One might say it’s easy to win when you have the talent Mary Klinger has at Rutgers Prep. Mikayla Blakes, Katie Ledden, Gigi Battle, and on and on.

But harnessing that talent, getting more and more out of it every day, is the task she really has, and once again, in 2022-23, Klinger was a success.

This is a coach who considers the regular season the preseason, the warm-up, the long stretch to constantly improve. She can be heard bemoaning a defensive effort in a game where her team might win by 30.

That comes from growing up in hardscrabble Philly, along with her twin sister Patty, where during their run to the 1982 AIAW Championship with the Rutgers Lady Knights’ the Coyle twins could be found playing pick-up ball on the city’s courts the night before the title game at the Palestra against vaunted and heavily-favored Texas – who, of course, they wound up beating – just to let off some nervous steam.

That spirit and quest for excellence fuels her to push her team to its limits, and maybe even a little more.

It’s why her Lady Argonauts have won two straight sectional titles, three straight Somerset County Tournament titles, and five of the last seven SCTs.

It’s why Central Jersey Sports Radio once again has named Mary Klinger Coach of the Year, her second such honor from CJSR. She also was so honored in 2021, when her team went undefeated, 13-0, in the COVID-shortened season, our debut year.

Rutgers Prep’s Mary Klinger runs practice on the even of New Jersey’s final Tournament of Champions on March 15, 2022. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Dom Savino talk with Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger, our 2022-23 Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year:

One more thing: this won’t be the biggest award the Rutgers Prep coach picks up this month.

Klinger, who earlier this season was named by NFHS as New Jersey Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year for 2021-22, will pick up another coaching honor this weekend when the New Jersey Basketball Coaches’ Association All-State Game is played at Rutgers Prep. This Sunday, she’ll be recognized as a John Wooden Legacy Award Winner by the National High School Basketball Coaches’ Association.

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep girls ride defense, Blakes and Ledden to back-to-back Non-Public South B titles with 70-40 win over Wildwood Catholic

Press. Score. Defense. Rebound. Transition.

Repeat.

The same tried and true formula that has worked her entire life at Rutgers Prep worked again on Wednesday night for head coach Mary Klinger’s squad, as the third-seeded Argonauts “knocked off” top seed Wildwood Catholic in the Non-Public South B championship game at Seneca High School, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

And so, it’s back-to-back sectional titles for Klinger, Mikayla Blakes, Katie Ledden and Co. with one more game to play, the Non-Public Group B final, to be played Saturday at the RWJBarnabas Health Arena in Toms River, at a time to be determined.

Rutgers Prep (25-6) will face 2nd-seed Morris Catholic (26-3), a team they lost to in December, after giving up what was a 13-point third-quarter lead to lose by three. Morris Catholic beat 4th-seed Montclair-Immaculate 55-49 Wednesday night in the Non-Public North B final.

For Rutgers Prep, it was the usual: Blakes leading on offense with 22 points, Ledden adding 20. Zahra Alexander finished with ninr.

Prep never trailed in the game, jumping out to a 9-2 lead they would never relinquish, and holding Wildwood Catholic without a field goal for most of the second quarter. The Argonauts built the lead to as many as 36 in the fourth quarter before the starters came out.

Follow Sportsplex at Metuchen on Instagram for the latest on open gym sessions on their courts and turf!

Click below to hear for postgame reaction brought to you by SportsPlex at Metuchen:

Rutgers Prep junior Mikayla Blakes
Rutgers Prep senior Katie Ledden
Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger
by Mike Pavlichko

Lady Argonauts, looking for repeat, travel south for Non-Public South B final against Wildwood Catholic

This is the real season. The second one.

Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger considers the regular season the preseason. Not to demean it, but other than a division championship, which is nice, there’s no trophy for the regular season.

There is for the Somerset County Tournament. Check.

There is for the Non-Public South B section of the state tournament. 32 minutes remain.

The defending champion and third-seeded Lady Argonauts (24-4) will play for back-to-back titles this evening when they take on top-seed Wildwood Catholic (24-4) down at Seneca High School in Medford Lakes, NJ. You can hear the game broadcast live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, beginning with pregame at approximately 4:45 pm; tip-off is scheduled for 5:00.

Click here to listen to the live broadcast tonight, starting at 4:45 pm.

Rutgers Prep has been the dominant girls’ basketball team in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area for several years now. In the last seven seasons, they have only lost seven games to four different New Jersey schools: Paul VI, Morris Catholic and St. Rose once each, and Trenton Catholic and St. John Vianney twice.

They haven’t lost to a public school since falling to Franklin in the Somerset County Tournament final in 2019, a year the Warriors finished just 34-0, winning the Tournament of Champions.

Prep is led by junior Mikayla Blakes and senior Katie Ledden, but has plenty beyond that. Blakes, though, leads in most statistical categories: 21.9 points per game, 72 threes, 126 made free throws, 92 assists, 87 steals. The Rhode Island-bound Ledden – the only senior in the starting lineup and who sees significant playing time, meaning don’t expect much to change in Prep’s dominance next season – averages 14.6 points per game, second on the team, and is the top rebounder at 6.6 per game.

Scroll down to hear Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko, and for prior coverage of the Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball team.

Then there’s a freshman who’s made serious contributions as a starter: GiGi Battle. She’s scoring a shade under 10 points per game, and is second on the team in rebounds (5.5 per) and third in steals with 47.

Zahra Alexander (7.8 ppg) and Chloe Escanillas (7.3 ppg) round out the starting lineup.

As for Wildwood Catholic, junior Kaci Mikulski is the leading scorer at 14.9 points per game. The point guard also has a team-leading 81 assists and can shoot the three-ball, hitting 70 times from downtown. As a team, they’ve hit just a handful fewer threes than Prep (175, compared to 184 for the Argonauts) but they are content to play a lower scoring game, averaging just 48.2 points on offense. Prep scores about 72 per game on offense.

Rutgers Prep was able to beat St. Rose of Belmar on the road in the semifinals despite ending the first quarter without a lead, something they had not done since January 8th, when they trailed 16-12 after one against McDonough of Maryland, and lost 53-43. They also trailed after one in losses to Montverde (FL) and Morris Catholic in the She Got Game Classic on December 17, as well as in wins over Pickering Central (OH) and South Shore (NY).

But mostly, Prep likes to start games hot. Besides the sectional semis, when they trailed St. Rose 10-9 after one quarter but wound up winning by 23, they shutout Moorestown Friends 27-0 in the opening quarter of their first round game, and had a 29-8 lead in the first 8 minutes over Trenton Catholic. Still, those leads will be harder to come by in the later rounds.

A win would put Rutgers Prep in the Non-Public Group B Final for the second year in a row, down at Toms River North’s RWJBarnabaas Arena, Sunday at a time to be determined. They won there last year, beating Saddle River Day 62-51 to move on to the Tournament of Champions, which was eliminated last season by the NJSIAA in order to give student-athletes more down time between seasons.

Click below to hear Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger talk about the Lady Argonauts, and the matchup with Wildwood Catholic:

PREVIOUS COVERAGE OF RUTGERS PREP

by Mike Pavlichko

Alexander’s career game powers Rutgers Prep girls over Gill St. Bernard’s to complete Lady Argo three-peat

For a second straight game, the Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball team didn’t get off to the start it wanted.

But there’s no comment section the 2023 Somerset County Tournament Trophy, so the Lady Argonauts will just put it in their trophy case, along with the seven others they own.

The top-seeded lady Argonauts (20-4) won their third straight SCT title, with a 64-39 victory over second-seeded Gill St. Bernard’s (17-7) Saturday afternoon at Montgomery High School, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Top scoring honors in the game went to Prep junior swing Zahra Alexander, who had 21 points, including a pair of threes, to not only set a new career high, but also lead the Argos in scoring for the first time in her career.

The win gives Rutgers Prep and head coach Mary Klinger their eighth Somerset County Tournament title all-time.

Click below for postgame reaction sponsored by SportsPlex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep seeking third straight SCT girls’ title is a huge mountain to climb for Gill St. Bernard’s

The Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball team has been dominating the Skyland Conference for years, but for the last few, the Lady Argonauts have stood alone. They’ve won two straight Somerset County Championships by an average of almost 28 points, sandwiched around a one-off Skyland Blue Pod Championship in the COVID-shortened season by another 28 points.

In their last 108 wins – dating back to the start of the start of the 2017-18 season – only eight of them have come by fewer than ten points.

That’s the challenge Gill St. Bernard’s will face when they bring they’re very good basketball team to Montgomery High School Saturday afternoon for the Somerset County Tournament Championship Game. Sure, they have some scorers, and some balance, and some depth, too. But can they crack Rutgers Prep, which has beaten them by more than 31 points a game – none closer than 28 – in their last four meetings

You can hear Saturday’s entire SCT Championship Doubleheader presented on Central Jersey Sports Radio, as Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas call all the action. The girls game starts at 1:00 with pregame at 12:45; the boys’ final starts at 3 pm with the same teams. Click here to listen to the live broadcast for free.

Here’s a complete preview of the championship game, with audio from both coaches, analysis, stats, notes, nuggets and more.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT GIRLS’ FINAL:
#1 Rutgers Prep (19-4) vs. #2 Gill St. Bernard’s (17-6)
When: Saturday, February 18 at 1 pm
Where: Montgomery High School
Listen Live: Central Jersey Sports Radio, pregame begins at 12:45 pm

The Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball team hosts Gill St. Bernard’s on January 24, 2023 in Somerset. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

#1 Rutgers Prep
Head Coach: Mary Klinger – 39th season, 652-247)
2021-22 NFHS Coach of the Year

Though her team wound up winning big yet again, 67-38 in the semifinals of the SCT Thursday night against Franklin, Klinger was less than satisfied with the defensive effort, particularly in the half-court. It didn’t help that the shots weren’t falling early on either for the Argonauts. But defense is what you can control, it’s what Klinger preaches, and what they will have been working on to straighten up for Saturday’s SCT final against Gill. That said, they’ve had an excellent season, challenging themselves with stiff out-of-conference competition, only taking two losses to New Jersey opponents this year: Paul VI and Morris Catholic.

Junior phenom Mikayla Blakes runs the show; she’s the team’s top scorer and leads in assists and steals, as well as three-pointers made, with 55 on the year for a team that has hit 148 in just 23 games. Katie Ledden is a veteran steadying presence, the only senior in the starting lineup, a scary proposition down the road once she heads off to Rhode Island next year. Freshman GiGi Battle has been a starter since she set foot on the Rutgers Prep campus, and fellow freshman Ava LaMonica is contributing, too. Zahra Alexander and Chloe Escanillas are key parts as well. This team is so deep and talented, they’re the team to beat until someone does. No one in Somerset County has really come that close in quite some time.

Follow Sportsplex at Metuchen on Instagram for the latest on open gym sessions on their courts and turf!

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG Mikayla Blakes (5-8, Jr): 22.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 55 treys, 81 assists, 73 steals
  • G/F Katie Ledden (6-1, Sr): 14.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 26 treys, 43 blocks, 45 steals
  • G/F Gigi Battle (6-0, Fr): 9.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 13 treys, 30 steals
  • G/F Zahra Alexander (5-8, Jr): 7.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 52 assists
  • F/C Alex DeIasi (6-0, Jr): 2.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg

Coach’s Interview:

Rutgers Prep Head Coach Mary Klinger

SCT History (7-5):

2005 – #1 Hillsborough 40, #3 Rutgers Prep 29
2006 – #5 Hillsborough 51, #2 Rutgers Prep 45
2008 – #1 Rutgers Prep 38, #2 Watchung Hills 34
2011 – #1 Rutgers Prep 62, #6 Bridgewater-Raritan 56
2012 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s 57, #6 Rutgers Prep 45
2015 – Rutgers Prep 52, Franklin 46
2016 – Rutgers Prep 41, Gill St. Bernard’s 28
2017 – Rutgers Prep 62, Gill St. Bernard’s 35
2018 – Franklin 68, Rutgers Prep 49
2019 – Franklin 63, Rutgers Prep 45
2020 – Rutgers Prep 60, Watchung Hills 34
2022 – #1 Rutgers Prep 64, #2 Gill St. Bernard’s 35

How they win: They can still win easily otherwise, and they often do, but getting out of the gate hot will make life a whole lot easier for Rutgers Prep. Don’t let Gill hang around. Get out early with the full-court press, force turnovers, and turn them into buckets.

Past Coverage:

Gill st Bernard’s takes on Watchung Hills in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals in Gladstone on February 16, 2023. (Photo: Chris Tsakonas)

#2 Gill St. Bernard’s
Head Coach: Mark Gnapp – 5th season, 80-36

There’s no secret who the star is for Gill St. Bernard’s: Brooke Baisley makes the offense go. The junior had a fantastic sophomore campaign and hasn’t disappointed in her junior season, leading the team in scoring, rebounding, three point shooting and steals, so she can play offense and defense. There is some balance, though on the rest of the team, from second-leading scorer and sophomore Maya Abramson – who contributed on a young team as a freshman last year – and fellow sophomore Sydney Quinn, the top scorer in the Knights’ semifinal win over Watchung Hills.

From Abranmson down to the third player off the bench, they range in scoring from 9 to 5.1 points per game. That’s good ball distribution, and good sharing. They’ll just need to take care of the ball against Rutgers Prep, something that’s easier said than done. They have some height, with 6-5 Gandy Malou-Mamel – another sophomore – in the middle and on the blocks, a matchup problem for Rutgers Prep, which has no one in the starting lineup taller than Katie Ledden, at 6-1.

Projected Starting Five:

  • G Brooke Baisley (5-10, Jr): 13.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 30 treys, 57 assists, 64 steals
  • G Tessa Lozner (5-3, Soph): 5.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 80 assists, 11 treys
  • G Jennah Johnson (5-9, Jr): 7.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 10 treys
  • F Sidney Quinn (Soph, 6-1): 8.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 6 treys
  • F/C Gandy Malou-Mamel (6-5, Soph): 6.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 48 blocks

Coach’s Interview:

Gill St. Bernard’s Head Coach Mark Gnapp

SCT History (5-3):

2009 – #2 Gill St. Bernard’s 57, #4 Somerville 55
2010 – #2 Gill St. Bernard’s 64, #1 Bridgewater-Raritan 44
2012 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s 57, #6 Rutgers Prep 45
2013 – Gill St. Bernard’s 63, Franklin 57
2014 – Gill St. Bernard’s 55, Franklin 51
2016 – Rutgers Prep 41, Gill St. Bernard’s 28
2017 – Rutgers Prep 62, Gill St. Bernard’s 35
2022 – Rutgers Prep 64, Gill St. Bernard’s 35

How they win: Gill will have to bring it’s A++ game. Take care of the basketball, and if you can get Rutgers Prep miscues, take advantage. Don’t fall behind early; it’s extremely tough to come back against the Argos, especially when they run that relentless full-court pressure that can swing the score or build a lead in the blink of an eye. Using their size advantage with Malou-Mamel would be a plus, too.

by Mike Pavlichko

Make it an eighth straight trip to the SCT Finals for Rutgers Prep, 67-38 winners over Franklin

It wasn’t quite the fast start the Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball has been used to in its last four meetings with Franklin, which the Argonauts have won by an average of almost 33 points.

But slowly, and surely, that trademark full-court pressure and stifling half-court defense wasa too much for the 5th-seeded Warriors, as top-seeded Rutgers Prep pulled away a little at a time for a 67-38 win in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals Thursday night in Somerset, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Junior point guard Mikayla Blakes led all scorers, putting on a scoring clinic, with 26 points, including four treys. Freshman GiGi Battle added 15, while Rhode Island-bound senior Katie Ledden added 11.

Sophomore Precious Wheeler led Franklin with 14, the only Warrior in double figures.

The victory puts the Argonauts (19-4) in their eighth straight SCT title game, having not missed since 2015, and they will go for their third straight title, having won last year and in 2020. They’ll be seeking their seventh overall.

Prep will take on second-seed Gill St. Bernard’s in the finals Saturday at 1 pm on Central Jersey Sports Radio

Franklin fell to 12-12 with the loss.

Click below for postgame reaction sponsored by SportsPlex at Metuchen:

Rutgers Prep junior Mikayla Blakes
Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger