Girls basketball rankings, notes: Skyland Conference, area UCC Top 10, notebook, for Jan. 8

The holidays are behind us, as is the first week of January, giving us plenty to look back on and even more to look forward to.

CN/SKYLAND CONFERENCE AND AREA UCC GIRLS BASKETBALL RANKINGS, THROUGH JAN. 8

1. Rutgers Prep (8-1)– preseason No. 1 -- The Argonauts are undefeated in New Jersey, with both losses coming during their three-game holiday trip to North Carolina by a combined seven points, where they played without superstar guard Mikayla Blakes. The senior returned for last Tuesday’s Delaware Division showdown with Gill St. Bernard’s, noticing 27 points in the 71-46 win, before Rutgers Prep handled the state’s then -No. 1 team in Ewing, 73-48. Senior Chloe Escanillas is off to a big start, notching 12.4 point per game, so far, including burying 32 3-pointers. The Argos take on Franklin, Watchung Hills and Nazareth (PA) this week.

2. New Providence (9-2) -- preseason No. 2 -- The Pioneers have hardly skipped a beat as they defend their state Group 2 title, with the lone blemishes coming to Ewing and Bayonne — both ranked Top 10 in the state. Senior four-year starter Grace Kinum has led the way, as expected, tallying 13.8 points per game, with junior Brenna Slattery stepping up by averaging 12.8 points and 6 rebounds entering Monday’s action. New Providence, which swept through the Pascack Valley Holiday Tournament, has also logged big wins over Roselle Catholic (twice), Elizabeth and Westfield, with Hillsborough and Union City on tap this week.

More: Girls basketball ranking, notes: Greater Middlesex Conf. Top 10 and notebook, for Jan. 8

3. Gill St. Bernard’s (8-2) -- preseason No. 3 -- The Knights rolled out to an 8-0 start, including sweeping a three-game holiday slate in Orlando, FL, but have dropped two in a row in the new year, falling to Rutgers Prep last Thursday and Manasquan 41-38 Sunday. Gill St. Bernard’s has been led by junior Gandy Malou-Mamel, who has netted 15.6 points and grabbed 10.7 rebounds per game. The Knights will face Union City, Franklin and St. Joseph by the Sea in what should be a challenging week.

4. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (7-1) – preseason No. 4 -- The Raiders have picked up where they left off after going to the sectional finals last season, with the only setback coming to Roselle Catholic last weekend. Scotch Plains-Fanwood, which hosted and won its holiday tournament, has already scored UCC Watchung Division wins over Elizabeth, Westfield and Cranford, has been led by first-team All-Area pick Amanda Baylock, who has notched 18.8 points per game. Head coach Ryuan McKenna also grabbed win No. 100 during the start. Scotch Plains-Fanwood will play host to Oak Knoll and Elizabeth this week, before a Saturday test at Skyland power Hillsborough on Saturday.

5. Hillsborough (5-3) – preseason No. 6 -- The Raiders, who won the holiday tournament at Hopewell Valley, suffered Delaware Division losses to Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s before Christmas, returning in the new year with a big division win over Franklin before dropping a two-point decision at Madison on Saturday. Big week on tap for Boro, which has been led by junior Cesci Schiro (19.6 PPG) and classmate Mya Loniewski (15.6 PPG). The Raiders face Watchung Hills on Tuesday before taking on Union County powers New Providence and Scotch Plains-Fanwood.

6. Voorhees (9-0) – preseason unranked -- The Vikings have come storming out of the gate, reeling off nine straight to start the year, including winning their hosted tournament, and posting impressive non-division wins over Sparta, Phillipsburg and Watchung Hills. Voorhees, which is off to a 4-0 start in the Valley Division with wins over Bernards, North Hunterdon, Warren Hills and Pingry, have been fueled by a team-wide effort, led by junior Christina Sullivan (12.4 PPG/7.8 RPG), junior Ali Leibensperger (9.9 PPG), senior Maansi Patel (9.6 PPG), senior Sarah Pettegrove (6.5 PPG.6.3 RPG), and sophomore Madie Petak (11 PPG). The Vikes take on Montgomery, Bernards and Morris Knolls this week.

7. Pingry (6-2) – preseason No. 10 -- The Big Blue carried a lot of expectations into the season with a loaded group of returning talent, and, so far, they haven’t disappointed, with the latest impressive result coming in Saturday’s 64-51 win over Franklin. Pingry, which has suffered losses to Voorhees – by four points – and to New York power Ketcham at the holiday showcase in Orlando, Florida, have gotten big starts from juniors Debra Hill (15.5 PPG/10 RPG) and Taylor Francis (16 PPG), as well as senior Ngozi Nnaeto (10.4 PPG/8.1 RPG). The Big Blue will battle North Hunterdon and Montgomery this week.

8. Westfield (2-7) – preseason No. 8 -- The Blue Devils’ 2-7 start might look ugly on paper, but when you consider who they’ve had to face so far in the early season, and the fact Westfield graduated three superstar players, and it’s less of a shock. The club did pick up wins over two good teams in Oak Knoll and Franklin, but it also had to endure losses to some powerhouse programs, including Roselle Catholic, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Hillsborough and New Providence. The Blue Devils will look to get on track this week with a rematch against Cranford, as well as road games at Montville and Highland Park.

9. Franklin (4-5) – preseason No. 5 -- The Warriors have been a victim of their schedule in the early going, as the new head coach Darryl Robinson II looks to shape the team after the departure of longtime coach Audrey Taylor, who took the team to five state group titles and two TOC crowns during the past decade. Franklin’s losses have some to ranked teams – Gill St. Bernard’s, Westfield, Hillsborough and Pingry -- as well as to Maryland power St. Francis. Senior Iyanna Cotton (12.2 PPG) and freshman Aleah Sunkins 11.1 PPG/6.7 RPG) have led the way. The Warriors have a brutally tough week ahead, including Delaware Division meetings with Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s

10. Somerville (7-1) – preseason unranked -- The Pioneers’ drop down to the Mountain Division has made life a lot easier, of course, but Somerville has also looked good against some tough non-conference foes, as well. While last week’s 52-26 lopsided loss to reigning Group 2 state champ New Providence wasn’t much of a surprise, the Ville has otherwise thrived, including notching wins over Watchung Hills, Matawan, Princeton and Neptune, the latter three in sweeping the holiday tournament at West Windsor-Plainsboro North. Sophomore Kaylee Lauber (13.5 PPG) and junior Charlotte Taylor (12.5 PPG) have paced the Pioneers. Big division game on tap Tuesday at Bound Brook, before a Thursday trek to South Hunterdon.

DROPPED OUT: Mount St. Mary (4-4), Watchung Hills (1-8)

ON THE MOVE

Our Top 10 teams aren’t the only ones who have had noteworthy results over the past three weeks.

The Raritan Division is looking wide open, with Ridge, Phillipsburg and Immaculata shaping up as the early contenders, although Hunterdon Central and Mount St. Mary certainly can’t be counted out. Even Bridgewater-Raritan, which has just one win, is perfectly capable of finding a stride. Ridge heads into the week in first place, with wins over Phillipsburg, Hunterdon Central and Bridgewater-Raritan, and a loss to Mount St. Mary, but it’s Immaculata that’s been the biggest surprise.

The Spartans, who finished 11-15 last year, are off to a 6-2 start, although they’re 1-2 in the Raritan Division, with losses to Hunterdon Central and Bridgewater-Raritan -- the latter being the Panthers’ only win, so far. The most impressive win came last Thursday, 56-50 over Mount St. Mary, a team expected to be among the top contenders, and still might be. Junior Maddie Babula and senior Giovanna Drajin have led the way for Immaculata.

The Mountain Division race is an interesting one with Somerville in the mix for the first time and perennial power Bound Brook returning to the division after a year in the Valley. The Crusaders won the Mountain Division six straight times before last year, and had won 57 straight in divisional play before Delaware Valley beat them 42-25 last Thursday. Big test for both clubs coming up Tuesday when Bound Brook plays host to Somerville.

While our local Union County powers do their thing, a new entry has impressed early on, as tiny Plainfield Catholic school Koinonia Academy fields a varsity girls basketball team for the first time.

The school, which has played boys hoops for the better part of the past decade-plus, has its girls team off to a solid 6-4 start, which included four straight wins before Christmas. The slate has also included a couple wins over public school teams in Roselle Park and Keyport.

The Seraphs, led by head coach Joe Hofmann, a longtime New Jersey sportswriter-turned educator, have gotten some big early season performances by sophomores Gwen and Roni Niemeyer, along with classmate Milani Feliz against in independent schedule.

3 STARS

The first three-plus weeks of action featured plenty of big-time performances and player emergence to tip off the new season. Here are some of the top performances so far:

Chloe Escanillas, Rutgers Prep: The Argonauts are loaded, as usual, but when their top player in Mikayla Blakes went down with an injury and missed four games last month, Escanillas stepped up. The Marist commit, who is averaging 12.4 points per game, with 32 coming via 3-pointer, led Rutgers Prep in scoring during all three games of the John Wall Invitational in North Carolina during the Christmas break, notching a pair of 18-point performances and a 20-point game.

Brenna Slattery, New Providence: The Pioneers needed someone to emerge to help pick up the scoring slack from graduated CN Player of the Year Meghan Lamanna, and the junior forward has certainly done that. Teaming with senior superstar Grace Kinum, Slattery has emerged as another legit offensive threat for New Providence, averaging 12.8 points and 6 rebounds per game, including a pair of 20-point outings, after averaging just over 5 points per game a year ago.

Christina Sullivan, Voorhees: The two-year starting junior and three-year letterwinner has led an effort by the Vikings’ entire starting lineup in helping the team to an undefeated start, totaling 12.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game during Voorhees’ 9-0 run that’s taken it to the top of the Valley Division. She went for 9.9 PPG last season.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Somerville at Bound Brook, 7 p.m. Tuesday: The Ville has already posted wins over Delaware Valley, South Hunterdon and Manville to take hold of the top spot in the Skyland Mountain and the Pioneers will look to remain perfect in the division facing Bound Brook, which won the Mountain title six straight times before playing in the Valley last year.

Gill St. Bernard’s at Franklin, 6 p.m. Thursday: Rutgers Prep’s dominance over the Delaware Division and Somerset County is pretty much a given, but these two teams get together as a pair of clubs – among others – looking to jockey for position behind the Argos, especially in the county tournament, which will be seeded in four weeks.

Hillsborough at New Providence, 6 p.m. Thursday: The Pioneers have not only faced a tough Union County Watchung Division schedule, but also some of the top programs in the state. Here, they’ll try their hand against one of the Skyland Conference’s top teams with Hillsborough looking to make some noise against the reigning state Group 2 champ.

Staff writer Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997. He can be reached at CNGirlsHoops@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter/X @SimeonPincus.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Girls basketball rankings, notes: Skyland, area Top 10, notebook, Jan. 8