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.
It’s a Gill St. Bernard’s sweep in Paterson!
Hours after the boys won a sectional title of their own, the top-seeded Knights (23-5) on the girls side finished the job at JFK High School, with a 57-40 win over second-seeded Saddle River Day in the North Jersey Non-Public B final.
Gill took control early on, executing at a high level on both ends of the floor. The Knights took a double-digit lead early in the second quarter and never looked back, comfortably taking the sectional title with a workmanlike effort on offense and defense.
Addy and Kaity Platt led the way for Gill, with 16 and 15 points, respectively. They both got to the basket, shot the ball, and defended at a high level, especially given the Rebels’ (19-10) ability to shoot the ball at a high level.
Point guard Melina Miller also scored in double figures with 10 points, with much of her scoring and passing production coming off drives. Junior Sadie Finn added eight points.
Emily Mattson and Grace Darling each scored 13 points to pace Saddle River Day in the loss, as Giada Celetti and Harper Cohn each scored six.
The Rebels were able to stay within arm’s reach throughout much of the first with some tough shotmaking, led by seven points in the opening frame from Darling.
The elder Platt matched that with seven of her own to open the game, as the Knights took a five-point lead.
That advantage grew incrementally throughout the second quarter, as Gill tightened up its defense and passing to operate like the well-oiled machine it’s turned into in March. It took its first double-digit lead of the night, and eventually took an eight-point lead at the half. Both Platts combined for 19 of the Knights’ 27 points, and matched the Rebels’ team total.
Gill kept its foot on the gas in the third quarter, fully taking control and pulling away with some more ball movement and drives to the rim. Miller converted on three baskets in the paint in the frame, the younger Platt added seven more points. Finn proved to be a major piece to the puzzle as well, as a switchable defender and connecting passer in both the Knights’ transition offense and half-court sets.
That all led to a 17-point lead after three quarters, and Gill cruised to the finish to win by that same number. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, as Saddle River Day kept up the energy and cut into the lead with its pressure and pace. The Knights never faltered, though, and eventually forced some turnovers in the back half of the fourth quarter to fully bury the Rebels.
Gill St. Bernard’s will advance to the Non-Public B title game, where it will face South Jersey Non-Public B champion Gloucester Catholic, which beat Rutgers Prep 44-31 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 Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mark Gnapp and guards Addy and Kaity Platt, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:
Gill St. Bernard’s had plenty of re-tooling to do.
That’s to be expected when losing a senior class with as much talent and accolades as that previous class. But the Knights (21-5) trusted the development of their younger players ready to shine, and the trust was reciprocated as those same players stuck around, even in a reduced role, with the hope of starring on the floor in the near future.
The future has arrived.
Top-seeded Gill St. Bernard’s heads into the Non-Public North B final against second-seeded Saddle River Day with a versatile and dangerous group that’s also finding its stride right when it needs to. You can hear the game on Monday at 7 pm, with pregame coverage starting at roughly 6:45, as Alec Crouthamel will call the action. Click here to listen.
Addy and Kaity Platt get the primary attention — as they should, as two of the team’s top options on both ends of the floor — but it’s been a full team effort for the Knights all year long.
Other contributors, such as junior point guard Melina Miller — who paces the team with nearly six assists per game — and junior wing Sadie Finn had to wait their turn and work behind the scenes. What the rest of the public didn’t see, Gill St. Bernard’s coaching staff did. They knew they had depth waiting in the wings and it has paid off at the right time.
The Knights are playing some of their best basketball of late, working through their first two games of the sectional tournament with ease in dominant wins over Pioneer Academy and Villa Walsh.
The Rebels (19-9) present a new challenge in the sectional title. While not the deepest team, Saddle River Day does have the top-end talent to compete. 88 percent of the Rebels’ scoring comes from their top four options, and they all have stepped up to the task as a dangerous team rebounding the ball and shooting it from the perimeter.
This won’t be the first time they’re featured on Central Jersey Sports Radio, as they fell to St. Thomas Aquinas on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January, but their go-to stars have only gotten more dangerous. Point guard Harper Cohn has fully re-acclimated to action after missing the early weeks of the season due to injury, and sophomore guard Grace Darling has turned up the heat scoring the basketball.
Both teams come into the matchup with plenty of tradition and history — Saddle River Day as one of Bergen County’s top programs, and Gill St. Bernard’s the same in Somerset County recently — but only one will come out victorious.
The Knights look for their first sectional title in 12 years, without now-closed Montclair Immaculate in the fold, who had defeated Gill in three of the last four years.
The bracket’s top two seeds have met the task all year long, and each have one more with a sectional title on the line.
Click below to hear a preview interview with Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mark Gnapp and Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:
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.
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:
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:
The Rutgers Prep girls basketball team won its third group title in program history, beating Saddle River Day 62-51 to earn a trip to the NJSIAA’s final Tournament of Champions. Sophomore Mikayla Bakes led all scorers with 27 – including 15 in a monster first quarter, while Katie Ledden had 16, and senior Leyla Castro’s seven fourth quarter points – including a trey – were key.
Click below to listen to the game in its entirety from RWJBarnabas Health Arena at Toms River North High School, with Mike Pavlichko calling all the action:
Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger knew her team would face adversity, somehow, at some point, against Saddle River Day in the Non-Public Group B title game. It was just a matter of what form it would take.
In the end, the Lady Argonauts were winners, 62-51, down at the RWJBarnabas Health Arena at Toms river North High School, clinching their third berth in the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions, which is in its last season.
But it was not easy, not by a long shot.
To the fans in the stands, it looked like it might be over early. Prep sophomore Mikayla Blakes scored 17 points in a monster first quarter – going 8-of-8 from the foul line – to get her team out to a 31-21 lead. But Saddle River Day got back in the game with a slow and steady 15-2 run to close the half.
And yet, Rutgers Prep still led at halftime by seven, at 33-26. The momentum continued for the Rebels in the second half. UNC-bound Paulina Paris – who had 12 first-half points, and was the only one scoring for a while, along with Blakes for Prep – had an eight point third quarter, and her team took the lead by three late in the period. Rutgers Prep got it back quickly, and ended the third with a 41-40 advantage.
In the final eight minutes, when Klinger reminded her team that she told them they would face adversity in this morning’s game, they overcame that adversity.
And it was another sophomore who had a huge contribution. Chloe Escanillas had seven fourth quarter points, including a trey, to help build a double digit lead, and give Prep an 11-point win in the end.
The only question remaining for Rutgers Prep (27-2) this weekend is whether the Argonauts will get a first-round bye in the Tournament of Champions, which begins back down in Toms River on Wednesday. St. John Vianney – playing in the second game against Immaculate Heart Academy at RWJ, should they advance, will get the top seed. It’s up for debate whether Rutgers prep or Manasquan – should ‘Squan move on Sunday in Toms River in the public finals – would get the second seed and the other bye.
If Rutgers Prep gets it, they would open Friday in the TOC semis. Otherwise they open Wednesday.
And next, the Rutgers Prep boys will try and win the Non-Public A title this afternoon at Jersey Mike’s Arena at Rutgers University. If they take the title, Rutgers Prep will be the first school in Middlesex or Somerset County to have both its boys’ and girls’ teams make the Tournament of Champions in the same year.
Click below for postgame reaction from Rutgers Prep’s win in the girls’ Non-Public B Championship Game:
The Hoffman girls’ basketball teammade the very first Tournament of Champions in 1989, and won it all. St. Peter’s-New Brunswick won it two years later. In 2017, half the six teams in the TOC were from Somerset County, with Franklin, Bound Brook and Rutgers Prep in the mix. Franklin has won it twice, in 2017 and 2019.
This year, it’s the final Tournament of Champions – as the NJSIAA has decided to do away with it to lengthen the season for the other hundreds of teams that don’t make it every year – and Rutgers Prep is seeking its third overall trip in 12 years of NJSIAA postseason play, the only representative from Somerset County this year.
The Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball team just needs to win one more game to get there – the Non-Public Group B finals. They Argonauts (26-2) face North B champion Saddle River Day (25-1) down at the RWJBarnabas Arena at Toms River North High School at 10 am Saturday.
You can hear the game on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with pregame set for approximately 9:40 am, as Mike Pavlichko calls all the action. Click here to listen.
The two games being played at Toms River North on Saturday originally were scheduled for 2 and 4 pm. With the Rutgers’ Prep boys also in the group finals – and set to play at one of those times up at Rutgers University’s Jersey Mike’s Arena, the NJSIAA this week decided to move up the girls’ games to allow prep fans to travel back and forth and make both games. That put Prep-Saddle River Day at noon.
Around 1:00 Friday afternoon, the NJSIAA moved the two girls’ games two more hours earlier, to 10 am and noon, with the Argonauts playing first, due to high winds and snow/flash-freezing rain exected to make things messy and dangerous Saturday afternoon.
All that settled, Mary Klinger’s squad will face its toughest challenge in Saddle River Day since getting “embarrassed” – as Klinger put it – by the state’s No. 1 team, St. John Vianney – up at Kean University on Super Bowl Sunday.
Klinger also has called it a wake-up call, and her team has responded sever since. In seven postseason games – Somerset County Tournament and the NJSIAAs – they are winning by an average 38 points a game.
Saddle River Day is a little similar to the Argonauts; the defense fuels the offense. (They were also both the top seeds in their respective playoff sections.) The Rebels have been without two key players all year, Penn-bound senior Saniah Caldwell, and junior Mia Walsh, both of whom suffered ACL injuries, but Paulina Paris has more than made up for it; the senior guard is headed to North Carolina next year.
Click below to hear from both head coaches, previewing tomorrow’s girls’ basketball Non-Public Group B title game: