Star Rutgers Prep forward Mikayla Blake’s looks on after winning the 2024 Somerset Championship. Blakes will star for the Argonauts against Morris Catholic in the Non-Public B State Championship.

The Girls Non-Public season has been chock full of talent and surprises and with the final chapter of these stories unfolding on Friday afternoon at Rutgers, there will be a lot to unpack.

NON PUBLIC A

#1 Pope John @ #1 Red Bank Catholic

Pope John has had a whirlwind year as Katie O’Keefe has led this team and scored 14 points in the North Final against Immaculate Heart. She hit 21 3-pointers this season. O’Keefe and the rest of the Lions are a very deep team when it comes to guards and shooting. They won a very close tough game in the HWS Final against Voorhees as well as the North Non-Public Final against Immaculate Heart. Red Bank Catholic is led by Addy Nyemcheck, as a sophomore, she is only 7 points away from 700 in her career, she had 13 points, 9 rebounds, and a block against Paul VI. The Caseys are 25-5 and have a lot of experience. The guard play will be tough for RBC to deal with and I favor the Lions.

Peter’s Pick- Pope John 65-60

Projected Player of the Game- Katie O’Keefe

NON-PUBLIC B

#1 Rutgers Prep @ #1 Morris Catholic

It has been 365 days and we have the State Final rematch everyone was awaiting between the best teams in the state. Rutgers Prep has built this team for this moment and has a lot of talent to take a championship home. Mikayla Blakes is the number one player in the state and her talents that are being taken to Vanderbilt, have been put on display in a huge way this year. She has been their leading scorer almost scoring 500 points this year, and scored over 1800 points in her career and scored 14 points against St.Rose. Morris Catholic though brings size and experience to the table which will be extremely difficult for Rutgers Prep to deal with. The Pauldo twins Mia and Mya, combined to score 40 points against Montclair Immaculate. Madison Miller who is the Crusaders experienced center, adds a lot of depth with size and posted 6 points and 7 rebounds while her teammate in the paint Alexis Rosenfeld had 10 rebounds and 7 blocks. In this battle between top-tier teams, the size puts Morris Catholic over the top.

Peter’s Pick- Morris Catholic 81-69

Projected Player of the Game- Madison Miller C Morris Catholic