Girls Basketball: Franklin stuns Rutgers Prep to reach first TOC final

TOMS RIVER – The Franklin High School girls basketball team entered Sunday’s NJSIAA Tournament of Champions semifinals with a distinct advantage over every other team that had faced top-seeded Rutgers Prep this season in that the Warriors were the only squad to actually have beaten the Argonauts.

Sometimes lightning does strike twice.

Junior Camille Gray broke out in a big way, tallying 20 points, and sophomore Diamond Miller added 15 points and eight rebounds, as fourth-seeded Franklin dealt top-seeded Rutgers Prep just its second loss of the season, snapping the Argonauts 29-game winning streak and advancing to the program’s first-ever TOC final with a 66-57 victory at Pine Belt Arena.

PHOTO GALLERY: FRANKLIN STUNS RUTGERS PREP IN TOC

BOYS BASKETBALL: LINDEN FALLS TO DON BOSCO PREP IN TOC SEMIFINALS

PHOTO GALLERY: LINDEN FALLS IN TOC SEMIFINALS

“We realized that they are beatable, they are human and they do lose,” said Miller, whose team beat Rutgers Prep at home in overtime in the season’s second game, before dropping a regular-season rematch on the road Jan. 17 by 13 points. “We just happened to be the team that beat them – twice. Rutgers Prep is a really, really good team. They’re our rivals. But we out-hustled them, we were making shots, and doing all the right things. There’s a whole lot of emotions right now. I still can’t believe we beat them. They’re a really good team, we gave it our all, and I’m just really proud of our team. We did everything we could to win and we got it. I’m just so happy.

“We felt like it was everybody against us,” said Gray, whose team will face second-seeded Manasquan for the state championship at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Sun Bank National Center in Trenton. “Once our whole team had it together that we’re going to win the game, nobody was going to stop us.”

Franklin’s energy and Rutgers Prep’s vulnerability was evident fairly early, as the Argonauts got out to a quick 4-0 lead before the Warriors got to work, scoring eight unanswered points, capped by back-to-back buckets off steals by Gray. Rutgers Prep fought back, as sophomore Leilani Correa continued her stellar campaign by leading the way – she finished with a game-high 26 points to go with 11 from senior Gabi Redden – but after the Argos tied it at 16-16 with 10 seconds left, Miller drained a long 3 to secure a 19-16 advantage after one quarter.

Four quick points by Correa and two free throws by Redden began the second period, giving the Argos a 22-19 advantage, but Franklin embarked on an 11-0 run, getting a three-point play from senior Monique Davis-Campbell and four points each from Gray and sophomore Tiana Jackson, who finished with 12 points and seven assists.

Franklin would not trail again.

“Camille, the confidence today, and knowing that it was her attack and her speed that was going to get her there, was awesome,” said Franklin coach Audrey Taylor, who not only saw big-time performances from Gray and Jackson, but also from junior Kierstan McCloud, who got a spot start, posting five rebounds. “I can’t tell you last game to this game what made Camille come out and do what she did, but we told her that the key factor was going to be her or Tiana (Jackson). So we needed those two to make sure they play strong. We all know about Diamond (Miller), we all know about Mo (Davis-Campbell), so those other people had to play big roles.”

Rutgers Prep did its best to fight back in the second half, but each time the Argonauts looked like they might find a groove, Franklin would immediately respond. Rutgers Prep managed to score as many as two baskets in a row just once during the second half, finishing the game having shot just 37 percent from the field and an uncharacteristically poor 2-for-12 from beyond the 3-point arc.

“They made shots and we didn’t,” said Rutgers Prep coach Mary Klinger, whose team finishes 30-2, exiting in the TOC semis for the second straight season. “We had shots going in and out and they did some really good things. They got up the floor really well, they attacked the glass really well, and I thought that was really the difference.”

“We just knew we had to hustle our hardest this game,” Gray said. “We just weren’t going to go down without a fight.”

What makes Franklin’s accomplishment even more impressive is it’s done it with a relatively inexperienced group, especially compared to the senior-laden club that went to the TOC semifinals two years ago. Davis-Campbell is the only current Warriors player that saw any kind of regular minutes on that club. Gray was on the team, but saw very little playing time.

Now, with a sophomore in Miller leading the way, along with Davis-Campbell, and with Gray a key piece in a lineup otherwise comprised of varsity rookies, including several freshmen, it’s certainly a very different energy than the 2015 team that featured five four-year varsity performers.

“The confidence, the speed, they just believe,” said Taylor, whose team has won eight straight since being upset in the Somerset County semifinals. “With this group, there’s no coaching energy, and that made a huge difference between the last one and this one. I don’t have to tell them to go hard, they go hard without me saying it. They’re free spirits, they’re a family. There’s no envy, there’s no jealousy, everybody wants everybody to be successful, and when you have that, sky’s the limit.”

“They’re a really good team and they’re playing great right now,” said Klinger. “If we couldn’t be in the final, I’m glad they are.”

Simeon Pincus can be reached atCNGirlsHoops@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SimeonPincusCN