Tag: Somerset County Tournament

by Mike Pavlichko

Somerset County Tournament Girls’ Final Preview: Rutgers Prep and Franklin to tussle Saturday in first title clash since 2019

Was the 2024-25 season a blip for Rutgers Prep girls basketball? Merely a speed bump in what has been a brilliant run for Mary Klinger’s program over the last 20-plus years?

It sure looks like it.

The Argonauts had won four straight titles before bowing out in last year’s semifinals to Hillsborough. And while the Raiders eventually won the state Group 4 championship, that didn’t take away the pain and heartache. And it’s probably good it didn’t, as it appears to have fueled them in 2025-26, because here they are back in the championship game.

For Franklin, it’s been a little while, They also had a great run a few years back, winning the Tournament of Champions in 2019 and 2019, and the Somerset County Tournament in 2018 and ’19, going 34-0 in that double-title season.

The two will face off Saturday afternoon at 1 pm – top-seed Rutgers Prep and third-seed Franklin – in the Somerset County Tournament Girls’ Championship Game at Montgomery High School in Skillman. Pregame is set for at 12:45, with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas calling all the action; click here to listen. That game will be followed by the boys’ title tilt at 3 pm between top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s and second-seed Rutgers Prep.

Adding to the intrigue here is that the Warriors are on their third coach in four years, now led by Jimmy Kreie, who had a successful six-year run at Montclair-Immaculate, going 116-42 before the school shut down, and that their longtime coach before Darryl Robinson (the two seasons prior to Kreie), Audrey Taylor, is now an assistant for Rutgers Prep.

Taylor and Argos’ coach Mary Klinger – now in her 42nd season at the Somerset school on Easton Ave. – have been friends for years. After a couple of seasons taking a break and stepping away from coaching high school, Taylor has joined the bench, and has been an invaluable part of Klinger’s staff.

Either way, Saturday should be a great matchup between two top Somerset County programs, even if Franklin had been a bit down the past couple of seasons. Those results should be irrelevant when you consider that they had to knock off the two-seed to get here: defending champion Gill St. Bernard’s. Despite losing a slew of talent, the Knights have been solid again this year, got a top-seed in their playoff section, and even beat GMC juggernaut St. Thomas Aquinas on their home floor.

Franklin is no joke. Rutgers Prep learned the hard way last season against Hillsborough. Whether they learned from their painful lesson in 2025 will be on display over at least 32 minutes Saturday afternoon.

MORE ON THE SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT GIRLS’ FINAL:

(1) Rutgers Prep (22-3) vs. (3) Franklin (18-7)
When: Saturday, 1 pm
Where: Montgomery Township High School
Broadcast Team: Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas (LISTEN HERE)

COACHES:

Rutgers Prep: Mary Klinger (42nd season, 754-266)
Franklin: Jimmy Kreie (1st season, went 116-42 in six seasons at Montclair-Immaculate)

PREVIEW INTERVIEWS:

Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger with Mike Pavlichko
Franklin head coach Jimmy Kreie with Chris Tsakonas

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Rutgers Prep: Getting a double bye in the tournament beans the Argonauts officially began play in the round of eight quarterfinals. There, they smoked ninth-seed Watchung Hills, 73-30, getting 22 points and six rebounds from senior Ava LaMonica, with another 13 each from Natalia Valdez and Hailey Benbow. But the Argonauts got much more of a challenge from fifth-seed Bound Brook in last Saturday’s semifinals. They escaped with a 55-49 win in a game this very same team, a year ago, might have lost. Crusader freshman phenom Peytan Pugh was a big reason why the game was competitive, with 23 points and seven rebounds, but more importantly eight steals, many of which came in the second half as Bound Brook made it quite the game. But the Argonauts were balanced that afternoon, with Benbow scoring 11, Valdez and Sophia Goergiades adding ten each, and LaMonica scoring nine points in the game.

Franklin: Jamila McRiney was the top scorer in the Warriors’ quarterfinal win over sixth-seed Pingry, 45-33, also grabbing eight rebounds and going 7-of-10 at the foul line, but the semifinals belonged to Franklin’s best player, Aleah Sunkins. The junior had a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds, with a trey, and going 5-of-7 at the foul line in a 53-49 upset win over No. 2 seed Gill St. Bernard’s the tournament’s defending champion, snapping their four-year streak of finals’ appearances, and clinching their first trip to the SCT title game since they beat Rutgers Prep in 2019.

TOP SCORERS:

Rutgers Prep: Hailey Benbow (sophomore, 13.4 ppg, 21 treys), Ava LaMonica (senior, 12.2 ppg, 10 treys), Sophia Georgiades (senior, 9.1 ppg, team-best 30 treys)
Franklin: Aleah Sunkins (junior, 17.8 ppg, 27 treys), Aliva Stewart (8.6 ppg), Alissa Myers (8.5 ppg, 46 treys)

TOP REBOUNDERS:

Rutgers Prep: Hailey Benbow (6.4), Ava LaMonica (3.6)
Franklin: Aleah Sunkins (10.6), Aliva Stewart (6.5)

MISCELLANEOUS:

Rutgers Prep: Hailey Benbow (60 assists, 59 steals), Ava LaMonica (56 assists, 41 steals), Hannah Fraser (25 blocks)
Franklin: Aleah Sunkins (85 assists, 49 blocks, 53 steals) Jamila McRiney, Kayla Duncan (58 assists), Nola Bright (27 blocks), Alissa Myers (47 steals)

RECENT MEETINGS: Rutgers Prep has won the last 11 in this series, with its last loss against Franklin coming in the 2019 Somerset County Tournament title game. That eleven-game stretch includes Argo wins in the 2023 and 2024 SCT semifinals, and a regular season meeting in the Metro Classic at Franklin in 2024. The Warriors won three in a row before that stretch, and two were in the county finals. Franklin beat Prep in the 2018 title game, before reaching the Tournament of Champions final a year after its first TOC crown. They beat Prep the next year in the regular season, and again in the SCT title tilt, 63-49, en route to one of the greatest public school seasons of all-time, a 34-0 record and a second TOC championship.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

Rutgers Prep (10-4):

  • 2004:     (2) Rutgers Prep beat (1) Immaculata 34-32
  • 2005:     (1) Hillsborough beat (3) Rutgers Prep 40-29
  • 2006:     (5) Hillsborough beat (2) Rutgers Prep 51-45
  • 2008:     (1) Rutgers Prep beat (2) Watchung Hills 38-34
  • 2011:     (1) Rutgers Prep beat (6) Bridgewater-Raritan 62-56
  • 2012:     (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (6) Rutgers Prep 57-45
  • 2015:     Rutgers Prep beat Franklin 52-46
  • 2016:     Rutgers Prep beat Gill St. Bernard’s 41-28
  • 2017:     Rutgers Prep beat Gill St. Bernard’s 62-35
  • 2018:     Franklin beat Rutgers Prep 68-49
  • 2019:     Franklin beat Rutgers Prep 63-49
  • 2020:     (1) Rutgers Prep beat (3) Watchung Hills 60-34
  • 2022:     (1) Rutgers Prep beat (2) Gill St. Bernard’s 64-35
  • 2023:     (1) Rutgers Prep beat (2) Gill St. Bernard’s 64-39
  • 2024:     (1) Rutgers Prep beat (2) Gill St. Bernard’s 58-55

Franklin (2-3):

  • 2013:     Gill St. Bernard’s beat Franklin 63-57
  • 2014:     Gill St. Bernard’s beat Franklin 55-51
  • 2015:     Rutgers Prep beat Franklin 52-46
  • 2018:     Franklin beat Rutgers Prep 68-49
  • 2019:     Franklin beat Rutgers Prep 63-49

OTHER NOTES:

Looking for more: Since the merger of the Somerset County Tournament from an A and B Tournament to one event in 1988, Immaculata has won the most titles with 12, followed by Rutgers Prep with ten. The Spartans won four straight from 1991-1994, then had a five-year run from 1999 to 2003.

Another for the publics: Last year, Hillsborough became the first public school to make the Somerset County girls’ final since Watchung Hills did it in 2020, falling to Rutgers Prep, 60-34. Now, Franklin is the second public school to gain a finals berth in as many years. The last time it happened was when they won those titles in 2018 and 2019 over Rutgers Prep. They also made three-in-a-row from 2013 through 2015, losing all three. The last besides them was Bridgewater-Raritan, which lost in 2010 to Gill St. Bernard’s and Rutgers Prep in 2011.

Two new teams: With Rutgers Prep facing Franklin in the title game, it’s the first time in a while the SCT championship will not feature a defending champion and a returning finalist, as neither 2025 champion Gill St. Bernard’s nor runner-up Franklin are in it. So, when was the last time that happened? It was 17 years ago, in 2009. Rutgers Prep beat Watchung Hills in the 2008 final, and it was Gill over Somerville the next year in the 2009 title tilt.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – SCT Girls’ Semifinals: (1) Rutgers Prep 55, (5) Bound Brook 49

Top-seed Rutgers Prep got 11 points from Hailey Benbow and 10 from Natalia Valdez in a 55-49 win over fifth-seed Bound Brook in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, sending them back to the title game.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas call all the play-by-play from Franklin High School in Somerset, NJ on February 14, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – SCT Boys’ Semifinals: (2) Rutgers Prep 66, (3) Montgomery 57

Second-seed Rutgers Prep held off a late push from third-seed Montgomery for a 66-57 win in the semifinal round of the Somerset County Tournament behind 20 points from Will Brunson and 15 from Nicholas Nsenkyrie.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas call all the play-by-play from Franklin High School in Somerset, NJ on February 14, 2026.

by Alec Crouthamel

Gill St. Bernard’s pulls away in second half over Immaculata, wins 19th straight to advance to second consecutive Somerset County Tournament final

It feels like a broken record at this point.

Gill St, Bernard’s boys basketball wins, powered by a frenetic and physical second half.

The top-seeded Knights (23-2, 7-0) won their 19th straight game with a 67-53 victory over fifth-seeded Immaculata in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, to advance to their second straight championship appearance.

The Spartans (17-6, 4-1) held their own and then some for the first 16 minutes of action, taking a 28-25 halftime lead after slowing down the game on both ends of the floor for much of the half, coupled with some impressive shotmaking.

Gill St. Bernard’s senior guard Dorsett Mulcahy set the tone with 26 points and seven rebounds, including 14 of the Knights’ 22 third-quarter points as they powered ahead. Fellow senior Prosper Highlander added 16 points and six rebounds, including ten in the second half.

The first quarter was a clash of styles, as Immaculata tried to slow it down while Gill St. Bernard’s wanted to keep on running. The Spartans hit shots in the opening stretch but the Knights ended the first quarter with a 10-8 lead.

Immaculata turned up the heat on both ends in the second quarter, as the balanced shotmaking continued and the Spartans went into halftime with a three-point lead. Senior guard Riley Gorman finished the half tied for the game lead with eight points, while junior Tyler Burns added seven.

Four Immaculata scorers finished in double figures, led by Burns’ 14 — including seven third-quarter points all at the foul line — while Gorman added 12. Junior Bryce Higgins scored 12 points of his own and senior Noah Doss scored ten.

Gill St. Bernard’s came out of the locker room ready to run — as the Knights always are — and eventually took a lead back that they would not relinquish.

Mulcahy got to the basket time and time again, while also knocking down a three-pointer and hitting all three of his free throw attempts. Highlander drew the assignment of Gorman on defense, and came into his own as well in the third quarter with four points. By the time the quarter came to a close, Gill St. Bernard’s had built a 48-39 lead, as both teams found themselves in foul trouble in the frame.

The Knights ran some more in the fourth quarter and put the game out of reach fairly early on. Highlander scored six points while sophomore guard Connor Junker hit a three-pointer of his own as part of a seven-point final stretch.

By the time the dust settled, Gill St. Bernard’s outscored Immaculata 42-25 in the second half and was able to finish the job multiple minutes before the final buzzer sounded.

The Knights advance to their second straight Somerset County Tournament finals appearance, and tenth all-time, tying Bridgewater-Raritan for the county record. They will play in a rematch of last year’s championship bout against second-seeded Rutgers Prep, which defeated Montgomery 66-57 earlier on Saturday for the Argonauts’ fifth straight championship appearance. Gill St. Bernard’s won last year’s tournament matchup 52-46.

They’ll do it all over again next Saturday at Montgomery High School, with tip-off at 3 pm.

Click below for postgame reaction with Gill St. Bernard’s senior Dorsett Mulcahy and head coach Mergin Sina, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:


by Alec Crouthamel

Franklin rallies from early deficit, survives in Somerset County Tournament semifinal win over Gill St. Bernard’s

Franklin girls basketball saw a turning point on its home floor in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals.

The third-seeded Warriors (17-7, 2-2) trailedsecond-seeded Gill St. Bernard’s 14-3 in the game’s opening minutes. The Knights (18-5, 3-1) were racing up and down the floor, and got whatever they wanted with their full-court trapping pressure.

But all it took was seeing one shot fall.

Franklin rallied from the early deficit and used a strong second quarter to keep the game in contention, before controlling the possession late to come away with a 53-49 victory.

Junior forward Aleah Sunkins personified the comeback as well as anyone, finishing with a game-high 20 points and 15 rebounds after scoring just one point in the first quarter.

Senior guard Addy Platt did much of the scoring and playmaking early on, as Gill St. Bernard’s continued to up the pace and sped up its opposition. The Warriors managed to slow things down a bit towards the end of the opening quarter, and cut the 11-point deficit to eight.

That’s when Franklin took over.

Sunkins scored 11 of the Warriors’ 18 points in the quarter, while senior guard Alissa Myers knocked down two three-pointers. They worked a quick 8-0 run to tie the game back up midway through, and kept close to go into the locker room ahead by two points.

The third quarter was much of the same on both sides, albeit a higher-scoring frame. The Knights retook the lead by a point after 24 minutes, led by seven points from junior guard Melina Miller and six from fellow junior Kaity Platt.

Neither team was able to pull ahead as they each traded blows, but five points from sophomore guard Jamila McRiney proved to be a much-needed scoring boost when the offense started to slow.

McRiney finished with seven points — all in the second half — and nine rebounds as one of Franklin’s more important contributors next to Sunkins.

The back-and-forth affair continued into the fourth quarter, and the Warriors attempted to slow the game down, clinging to a one-score lead. They knocked down a trio of three-pointers to help keep control of the lead, with one from Sunkins and two from Myers.

Franklin made its free throws late — with McRiney and senior Nola Bright each hitting a pair late — to come away with the hard-fought victory.

Addy Platt led Gill St. Bernard’s with 20 points, tying Sunkins for the game lead, while Kaity Platt added 12, and Miller scored 11 in the loss.

The Warriors have now won six straight games, and ten of 11 after a slow start to the year.

They also move on to their fifth Somerset County Tournament final, looking for their second title. They won their most recent appearance over Rutegrs Prep in 2019.

Franklin will face off against the top-seeded Argonauts in the final next weekend, on Saturday at Montgomery High School at 1 pm.

Click below for postgame reaction with Franklin junior Aleah Sunkins and head coach Jimmy Kreie, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

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

Brunson, Nsenkyrie lead Rutgers Prep over Montgomery, 66-57, to reach 5th straight Somerset County Tournament final

The Skyland Conference Delaware Division is a beast. Three teams are ranked in the statewide Top 20, all from ten up to three.

So, whenever they meet in the postseason, whoever they meet, they are always well-prepared.

So it was Saturday morning in the first Somerset County Tournament semifinal game. Second-seed Rutgers Prep and third-seed Montgomery both came in with excellent resumes. But someone had to win.

That was Rutgers Prep, as the Argonauts (16-8) clinched a berth in their fifth straight SCT title game, dating back to the 2020 season, with a 66-57 win over the Cougars (20-4) at Franklin High School, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Montgomery led by as many as six int he first quarter, but by the end of it, Prep had taken a three-point lead, 16-13. In the second half, they started to pull away, in part because they extended their defense on the Cougars to limit their thee-point ability, after sophomore Mike Simborski hit a couple big threes in the first.

The Argonauts had a 12 point lead late in the first, and Monty closed with a mini 5-0 run to get the deficit to a manageable seven.

But the third quarter belonged to Prep, as they built out to a 13 point lead, getting some big threes from Rocco Loomis, Bryce Williams and Nicholas Nsenkyrie.

And in the fourth, it left Montgomery playing catch-up, but they just couldn’t get much closer. It was an eight-point game with three minutes to go, but every time Monty punched, Rutgers Prep came right back.

Sophomore Will Brunson led Rutgers Prep with 20 points, including two threes, while Nsenkyrie added 15. Logan Franz chipped in 11 and Rocco Loomis had 10.

Montgomery was led by Simborski with 29, a new career high. Senior point guard Ethan Lin finished with 20, including 13 in the fourth quarter, on four treys and a foul shot. He’s now 20 shy of tying the all-time Montgomery scoring record of 1,593 by girls’ standout Cameryn Benz (2016). He passed the boys’ record formerly held by Maurice Bahr (1976) earlier this season.

Click below for postgame reaction with Rutgers Prep sophomore Will Brunson, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Your Saturday Playoff Tour Guide: Here’s the full slate of Somerset County, GMC Tournament games for boys’ and girls’ basketball

We’re officially in the thick of county tournament season in high school basketball!

Here in Central Jersey, Franklin High School will play host for the second year in a row to the Somerset County Tournament semifinals. Two boys’ and two girls’ games highlight a four-game extravangaza with the first tipping at 10 am, and the last at 4 pm. Winners will move on to next Saturday’s finals down at Montgomery High School in Skillman, with the girls’ final at 1 pm, and the boys’ title game at 3 pm, both of which can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Meanwhile, the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament is in the quarterfinal stage, with all eight games – four on the boys’ side, four on the girls’ being played at the higher seeded school for the first time in ages. All will be played Saturday, with several doubleheaders.

Winners move on to next week’s semifinals, all at Monroe Township High School. The girls’ semis are at 5 and 7 pm Tuesday, and the boys’ semis are at the same times on Wednesday. The half of the bracket with the top seed will play the late game, regardless of who advances. The finals are on Friday night back at Monroe, with the girls’ title tilt at 6 pm and the boys’ championship at 8. Central Jersey Sports Radio will air all six of those games.

Here’s the chronological schedule of games for Saturday, along with coverage plans:

10 am
SCT Boys’ Semifinals: (2) Rutgers Prep vs (3) Montgomery (at Franklin H.S.) (LIVE on CJSR)

11:30 am
GMCT Girls’ Quarterfinals: (6) Woodbridge at (3) Piscataway

Noon
SCT Girls’ Semifinals: (1) Rutgers Prep vs. (4) Bound Brook (at Franklin H.S.) (LIVE on CJSR)
GMCT Girls’ Quarterfinals: (5) Spotswood at (4) Colonia
GMCT Girls’ Quarterfinals: (8) Middlesex at (1) St. Thomas Aquinas
GMCT Boys’ Quarterfinals: (5) St. Thomas Aquinas at (4) East Brunswick

1 pm
GMCT Boys’ Quarterfinals: (9) Metuchen at (1) St. Joseph-Metuchen
GMCT Boys’ Quarterfinals: (7) Sayreville at (2) Piscataway

2 pm
SCT Girls’ Semifinals: (2) Gill St. Bernard’s vs. (3) Franklin (at Franklin H.S.) (Follow Alec Crouthamel for updates)
GMCT Girls’ Quarterfinals: (7) Monroe at (2) East Brunswick

3 pm
GMCT Boys’ Quarterfinals: (6) South Plainfield at (3) Colonia

4 pm
SCT Boys’ Semifinals: (1) Gill St. Bernards vs. (5) Immaculata (at Franklin H.S.) (Follow Alec Crouthamel for updates)

by Mike Pavlichko

Defending champ Gill St. Bernard’s, Immaculata get set to tussle in Saturday’s final Somerset County Tournament semi

With four Somerset County Tournament semifinal games on tap at Franklin High School this Saturday, it’ll be defending champion and top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s taking on fifth-seed Immaculata for a trip to the championship game next week at Montgomery in the last of the hoops extravaganza’s four games.

There was little doubt who the top-seed would be. The Knights are 22-2, their only losses coming to St. Peter’s Prep and Linden. They’ve beaten everyone they’ve played in the Skyland Conference and Somerset County, and are ranked No. 3 in New Jersey (one of three Somerset schools in the top ten, with Rutgers Prep nine and Montgomery at ten).

They are the team everyone is chasing.

The Spartans (17-5) are one of those doing the chasing. And they have their share of quality wins in the county this year. They handed Bridgewater-Raritan its first loss of the season when the Panthers were 8-0, and – if you believe in the transitive property of sports – beat a Pingry team in the quarterfinals last week on the road, one which they had lost to earlier in the season, but also which had knocked off Rutgers Prep.

Gill and ‘Lata will face off at 4 pm, and Alec Crouthamel will have coverage on Twitter, with a game story and postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen later at cjsportsradio.com.

Make no doubt about it, it’s a huge challenge for Immaculata. Gill is stacked, and that’s a fact. Senior point guard Dorsett Mulcahy is averaging 19.8 points per game with 57 treys, second only to sophomore Connor Junker, who has 58 and is scoring nearly 13 per contest; he was the hero of last year’s county final, with a game-high 15 points and four treys in the win over Rutgers Prep.

They fly up and down the floor, run half-court sets well, and play strong defense, all the ingredients needed.

Likewise, Immaculata plays with particular intensity as well. Their challenge will be having the depth, physicality, length and speed to match. The focal point of the offense is Riley Gorman and Tyler Burns.

Gorman, who scored his 1,000th point in the first round against Bernards, is averaging a whopping 22 points per game, and has hit 71 treys on the year for a team that has hit 183. (Gill has 219, third best in the state.) Burns is averaging a cool 15 points per game, with another 42 triples.

Immaculata is seeking its first trip to the finals since 2009, when they were the top seed and beat Ridge for the trophy. Gill is looking for its second straight trip, but has made 13 of the last 14 title games going back to their very first appearance in 2010.

by Mike Pavlichko

New-look Gill St. Bernard’s back in a familiar spot, while Franklin looks to take next step in Saturday’s SCT semis

Both of the teams who will meet in Saturday’s second girls’ basketball Somerset County Tournament semifinal game have some newness to them.

Jimmy Kreie is in his first year as Franklin head coach, and he has he third-seeded Warriors a win away from getting back to county championship for the first time since 2019, when Audrey Taylor’s squad went 34-0 and won the Tournament of Champions for the second time in three years.

Mark Gnapp at second-seed Gill St. Bernard’s graduated a slew of talent, but has persevered this season with less height, but more speed to get up and down the floor, and is poised to make its fifth straight appearance in the county final.

Tip-time as the two square off this Saturday in the SCT semifinals at Franklin High School is 2 pm. Follow Alec Crouthamel on Twitter for coverage, and he’ll have a game story and postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen later at cjsportsradio.com.

The Warriors (16-7) had a rough start, partially due to the schedule. They lost their opening three games to Rutgers Prep, Gill, and Demarest, three teams that now are a combined 57-8. Since then, they are 16-4.

Junior Aleah Sunkins has been impressive, averaging a double-double – 18.9 points per game and 10.8 rebounds – while hitting 26 treys. Senior Alyssa Meyers has been bombs away from downtown, connecting on 40 triples. And the rest of the team’s scoring has been quite balanced, making defenses have to pick their poison: let Sunkins get her points, our double-down and risk leaving someone else who can score open.

It’s been a similar scenario for the Knights (18-4), who are led in scoring by senior Addy Platt, who’s averaging 19.8 points per game, with her youngest sister Kaity, a junior at 12.8, with everyone else fairly even after that. With an emphasis this year on defense and getting out in transition, they’ve hit just 89 treys on the year, and don’t rely as much on the long ball as Franklin – with 127 – does.