The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW RoundUp: Saint Joseph’s Completes A-10 Sweep of La Salle; No. 25 Washington Wins Double OT Thriller at No. 16 Maryland

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

PHILADELPHIA – Not a Big Five game, per se, the second local hookup in the Atlantic 10 of the season Wednesday night at La Salle in the John E. Glaser against Saint Joseph’s had all the tenacity in City Series play of the earlier one on Hawk Hill but ultimately the visitors prevailed with a 69-65 win to sweep the series with the potential of meeting once more in March at the conference tournament  in suburban Richmond.

Just like their first meeting, both teams came into the contest wins that followed losses, with Saint Joseph’s (14-6, 5-4) controlling most of the finish after falling behind the Explorers (11-10, 4-6) at the outset.

“We came out and it didn’t go our way, but in the second half we showed our grit and our toughness, stayed composed, stayed together,” said Hawks guard Gabby Casey. “And taking a force in the first three minutes that was really great and gave us momentum.”

She finished with a team-leading 14 points, while Rhian Stokes and Emily Knause each scored 11 points.

Joan Quinn had a game-high 18 points for the Explorers, while Kiara Williams scored 17, Ashleigh Connor had 13 points, and Aryss Macktoon scored 11.

La Salle coach Mountain MacGillivray bemoaned the wasted outcome out of the performance by the quartet.

“There’s not a lot of games where we put four players in double figures and lose the game,” he said. “When we get scoring balance like that, we usually find a way to win.”

Why they didn’t, he conceded, was the Hawks getting more 50-50 balls, and making several other big plays.

Though La Salle closed the gap in the closing minutes, the bigger problem was “trailing by 10 points before that,” MacGillivray said.

“The bottom line is that we gave up 14 offensive rebounds. That’s a team that doesn’t have a lot of size on us. You can’t give up 14 offensive boards,” he continued.

“When we make defensive stops and end up yielding offensive rebounds, and some of those are rebounds we got our hands on, we have to get tougher and better at those things. That’s what St. Joe’s does elite. We’ve got to respond and match it.”

Another factor was the 26-3 advantage in bench points by Saint Joseph’s.

The depth has gotten more wholesome with the recent return of Penn State transfer Jill Jekot, who was sidelined two weeks with a sprained ankle.

“We had some players pick up more experience when some players were out and with them back, we are really good when we are deeper,” said Saint Joseph’s veteran coach Cindy Griffin, now in her 25th season at her alma mater.

The Hawks next are at home in Hagan Arena Sunday hosting Davidson at 1 p.m. (ESPN+), while La Salle on Saturday is at Duquesne in Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. (ESPN+).

The two local Big Ten teams continued their slide with Rutgers falling 74-53 to Oregon at home in Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J., the Scarlet Knights having beaten only Penn State narrowly on the road in the conference.

The Lady Lions, who have yet to win in the league, fell 87-66 at home in Rec Hall to Minnesota.

Temple’s two-game win streak came to an end at Rice in the American Conference, the Owls losing 65-56, while in the Patriot League, Lehigh at home in Stabler Arena in Bethelehem, Pa., fell to Army 64-55, while Lafayette, in a game moved from Monday due to snowstorm Fern, won 65-56 to Bucknell.

In the game at Rutgers (9-12, 1-9), Lauryn Swann scored 13 points and Zachara Perkins scored 11 in the loss.

Oregon’s Ehis Etute was 8-for-11 from the field, scoring 12 points, and total matched by Ari Long, who also pulled down 12 rebounds.

Mia Jacobs added 10 points.

Rutgers next heads across the country Sunday to play at Southern Cal at 5 p.m. (B1G+) at the Galen Center.

In the game at Penn State (7-15, 0-11), as season-matching high of 12 made shots from deep went to waste in the loss to Minnesota (15-6, 6-4).

Rutgers transfer Kiyomi Miller had 23 points for the host Lady Lions, while Moriah Murray was 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, finishing with 16 points, and Tea Cleante scored 11.

The visitors’ Tori McKinney scored 23 points, one more than Mara Braun, while Sophie Hart and Amaya Battle each scored 12 with Battle also collecting 10 rebounds.

Penn State, which was again without Gracie Merkle, next Wednesday visits Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., at 7 p.m. (B1G+).

Temple (9-11, 3-5), in a game that Rice (18-3, 8-0) faded in the closing minutes in Houston, was too far behind to launch another miracle finish this time.

Kaylah Turner scored 16 points for the Owls, Saniyah Craig scored 14, and Jaleesa Molina had 13 points and eight rebounds.

The home team had nine blocked shots while Temple did not reject any.

The Owls next are in New Orleans on Saturday to visit Tulane at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

In the two Patriot League games involving the locals, freshman guard Emma Heaney had career highs of nine points and 13 rebounds for Lafayette (8-12, 4-5), which completed a season-sweep of Bucknell (6-14, 2-7) for the first time since the 2004-05 season.

Talia Zurinskas had 19 points for the winning Leopards while Teresa Kiewiet had 17 points and Haylie Adamski scored 10.

Lafayette next hosts American Saturday at 2 p.m. (ESPN+).

Nearby, Lehigh (10-9, 6-3) had to settle for a season-split with visiting Army (16-4, 7-2), which was led by Camryn Tade with 21 points, while Kya Smith scored 17 with 16 rebounds, and Brooke Wilson scored 11.

The Black Knights are under first year coach Katie Kuester, and former Saint Joseph’s star and assistant coach.

Lehigh’s Lily Fandre scored 21 points, while Gracyn Lovette and Whitney Lind each scored 10 points.

The Mountain Hawks next are at Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y., on Saturday, at 2 p.m. (ESPN+).

Delaware had to move its weekend home series in CUSA one day each at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, now hosting Missouri State Friday night at 7 p.m. and FIU on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m., both on ESPN+.

That left just Rider on Thursday’s card of locals, in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game hosting Mount St. Mary’s at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) in Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J.

The National Scene

Five AP ranked teams played Wednesday night, two against each other in a thriller.

That was down in College Park, Md., where No. 25 Washington (17-4, 7-3) in the Big Ten coming off Monday’s win at Rutgers, downed No. 16 Maryland 83-80 in double overtime as the Huskies got a career-high 38 points from Sayvia Sellers while Avery Howell got 17 points and 11 rebounds.

The Terrapins (17-5, 5-5) scored moving within a point with 3.30 left in the second overtime and that became the last made connect from the field by either team.

Maryland’s Yarden Garzon, a transfer from Indiana, scored 24 points, Addi Mack added 20 points, and Saylor Poffenbarger, who played at UConn and several other schools, scored 16 points with 10 boards.

Washington next hosts Illinois in Seattle on Sunday while Maryland Saturday hosts Oregon.

In another Big Ten contest, played in the midwest at Illinois (15-6. 65-5), No. 2 UCLA (20-1, 10-0) won 80-67 in Champaign to head home in Los Angeles at Pauley Pavilion for Sunday’s first-place showdown with No. 8 Iowa, which Thursday night will first visit Southern Cal at 9 p.m. (Peacock) in the Galen Center on Peacock trying to keep its conference slate still devoid of losses.

In UCLA’s win, all-American Lauren Betts shook off early foul trouble with a strong second half scoring 23 points on the night with nine rebounds, while Angel Dugalic scored 12 points, Gabriela Jaquez scored 11, while Kiki Rice, Utah transfer Gianna Kneepkins, and Sienna Betts, Lauren’s younger sister, each scored 10 points.

Cearah Parchment, shooting 10-for-13 from the field, had a career-high 26 points with seven boards for the Illini.

The Bruins’ only loss before launching a 14-game win streak was 76-65 to No. 4 Texas in Las Vegas on Nov. 26.

Iowa State, which had been in the Top 10 until a string of upset losses sent the Cyclones out of the Associated Press women’s poll, now in its 50th season, pulled the upset button on No. 21 Texas Tech on the road in the Big 12, winning 84-80 in Lubbock.

Addie Crooks scored 33 points with 12 rebounds for Iowa State (17-5, 5-1) in the victory that made veteran Bill Fennelly with his 297th triumph the winningest coach in Big 12 history.

Crooks was 13-of-19 from the field and 7-for-7 on the line while Jada Williams had 15 points and nine assists.

The Red Raiders (20-3, 7-3) got 17 points from Sidney Love while Bailey Maupin and Snudda Collins each scored 16 points.

Iowa State is home in Ames Saturday while hosting UCF while Texas Tech hosts No. 12 TCU on Sunday in Lubbock.

In the Big East, defending NCAA champion and No. 1 UConn (22-0, 12-0) preserved its perfect record as the nation’s last unbeaten team beating Xavier 97-39 at home ahead of Sunday’s out-of-conference visit from No. 15 Tennessee in Hartford.

The Musketeers fell to 10-11 overall and 3-9 in the conference.

The winning Huskies had six players sidelined for the contest, including a pair of regulars.

Allie Ziebell off the bench had a career night with 34 points, shooting 11-for-15 from the field and 10-for-14 on 3-point attempts, while Sarah Strong had 25 points, shooting 10-for-14 from the field.

Geno Auriemma increased his NCAA-record victory total in either the men’s or women’s game to 1,273.

Thursday’s schedule is loaded with ranked games but a mid-major standout in the MAAC has Quinnipiac visiting two-time defending champion Fairfield.

In the Big Ten, No. 13 Michigan State is at Purdue at 6 p.m. (BTN), the Southern Cal has already been mentioned, No. 9 Michigan at 7 p.m. on Peacock is at Indiana in Bloomington, the host Hoosiers, like Penn State, has yet to win the league this season; and No. 11 Ohio State hosts Wisconsin at 8 p.m. (BTN) in Columbus.

In the Big 12, No. 12 TCU hosts Kansas at 6 p.m. (ESPN).

In the Southeastern Conference, which has a record 10 teams in this week’s AP women’s poll, most ever for any conference, No. 3 South Carolina is at Auburn at 9 p.m. (SECN), No. 15 Tennessee, ahead of its non-conference visit to UConn, hosts Mississippi State in Knoxville at 6:30 p.m. (SECN+), No. 24 Alabama is at No. 23 Georgia at 6:30 p.m. (SECN) in Athens, No. 4 Texas is at Florida in Gainesville at 7 p.m. (SECN+), No. 10 Oklahoma at home in Norman hosts Texas A&M at 7 p.m. (SECN+), and No. 6 LSU hosts Arkansas at 8 p.m. (SECN+).

In the Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 7 Louisville is at Stanford at 8 p.m. (ESPN) in Palo Alto while No. 20 Duke is at Miami at 8 p.m. (ESPN).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Villanova Distance Shooting Downs Providence While Utah Upsets West Virginia

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

VILLANOVA – In the only local game on Tuesday’s schedule, a second straight night of limited activity also on the national card, Villanova was back at the second helpings portion of the Big East schedule here at home in Finneran Pavilion where the Wildcats (16-5, 9-3)  got off to another slow start but unlike getting swallowed Saturday at St. Johns they got their own digestive system adjusted with some torrid three-point shooting from freshman Brooke Bender off the bench behind leading scorer Jasmine Bascoe to take an 85-58 sweep of Providence (10-12, 3-8) and move a half-game ahead in second place behind No. 1 UConn, the remaining unbeaten team in the nation.

In the second go-round against the two teams, Villanova had dominated both in their first meetings.

Wildcats’ veteran coach and alum Denise Dillon alluded to the quirks that come with a roster still filled with a good portion of youth navigating conference play.

“In the second time, everybody knows everything about each other and makes adjustments,” she said alluding to the team getting a bit stunned off St. John’s start but then saying her group handled the start here much better.

For one, the assists on shots were more plentiful with Brynn Curry and Denae Carter each getting five of the 22 against the Friars.

“We talk about moving the ball, and it's a much better number today,” Dillon said. “We had only 9 assists in the game at St. John's and that's not Villanova basketball.

“I was happy that what we said in practice, they heard and moved the ball a little better. When you're moving the ball and getting uncontested shots, it makes it a lot easier out on the court.”

Villanova connected in a season high 15-of-34 from distance, also the most given up by Providence.

“We talked this week about having those shooters, we just got to do a better job of finding them,” Dillon said. “You've got to continue to take the shot when it's open and just feel good about it.”

That was the case with Bender, who had a career night with a perfect 6-for-6 beyond the arc for all 18 of her points in 19 minutes.

“I've been working on my shot all week, have the confidence and finding that again,” Bender said. “Just working on it all week and having the trust in myself that I was going to make those shots.”

“They found me, got me the ball in transition, inside out, they're doing a really good job of finding our shooters, and that was evident in this scheme,” Bender said.

‘Nova came out of a tight 40-35 lead at the half, which got even closer on an opening three from the Friars’ Orlagh Gormley, and then the Wildcats answered with a 12-0 run paced by a pair of 3-pointers from freshman Kennedy Henry and stayed in front the rest of the way.

Bascoe and Providence’s Sabou Gueye tied for game honors with 22 points each, Henry shooting 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, scored 16, and Brynn McCurry scored 11 with her first perfect night from the floor this season shooting 5-for-5.

The Wildcats, who had an easy night with DePaul earlier in Chicago, hosts the Blue Demons Saturday at 2 p.m. (ESPN+).

On Monday, there was just one local game, also, Rutgers (9-11, 1-8) at home falling 76-48 to No. 25 Washington (16-4, 6-3) in a Big Ten contest.

The Scarlet Knights’ lone conference win was a narrow victory on the road at Penn State, which is still winless in the Big Ten.

Freshman Brynn McGaughy scored 17 points for the Huskies of the Northwest, Avery Howell added 16 points, while Sayvia Sellers scored 11 and Yulia Grabovskaia had 17 rebounds.

Washington dominated the boards 51-30 and the paint 36-14.

Rutgers’ Kaylah Ivey and Imani Lester each scored 14 points and Lauryn Swann scored 11.

Looking Ahead Locally

The slate gets heavier Wednesday, Saint Joseph’s looking for a local A-10 sweep, is at La Salle at 6:30 p.m., (ESPN+), Temple off its two comeback wins last week is at Rice in an American Conference game at 8 p.m. (ESPN+), in the Big Ten, Rutgers, still home at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J., hosts Oregon at 7 p.m. (BTN), while Penn State State hosts Minnesota at 6 p.m. (B1G+) in Rec Hall, and in the Patriot League, Lafayette in a game moved from Monday due to snowstorm Fern, hosts Bucknell at 4:30 p.m. (CBSSN) in the Kirby Sports Arena in Easton, Pa., while nearby Lehigh hosts Army at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) in the Stabler Arena in Esston.

The National Scene

In Monday’s only game among ranked teams, No. 6 LSU (19-2, 5-2) broke away at home in Baton Rouge in the second half to win 89-60 against Florida (13-9, 1-6) as MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 15 points, Amiya Joiner scored 14, and Mikaylah Williams scored 12 in the Southeastern Conference.

The Tigers next host Arkansas Thursday.

On Tuesday, just two ranked teams played, both in the Big 12.

No. 14 Baylor (19-3, 8-12) held off a Houston rally to win 82-66 over the Cougars (6-14, 0-9) at home in Waco, Texas, as Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 25 points, and Bella Fontleroy had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bears next visit No. 22 West Virginia Sunday in Morgantown.

The Mountaineers (17-5, 7-3) will be returning home from a 71-64 upset loss at Utah (15-6, 6-3) in Salt Lake City.

The Utes were led by LA Sneed with with 15 points while Reese Ross had 12 points and 10 rebounds. The winners were in front wire-to-wire.

Jordan Harrison scored 18 points with eight assists for West Virginia.

Utah is at nearby BYU Saturday in Ogden.

On Wednesday, Washington is at No. 16 Maryland in College Park at 7 p.m. (B1G+) in the Big Ten, while No. 2 UCLA is at Illinois on the same network at 7 p.m.

In the Big East, unbeaten and defending champion UConn (21-0), the nation’s No. 1 team, hosts Xavier at 8 p.m. (Peacock). St. John’s is at Creighton in Omaha, Neb., at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).

No. 21 Texas Tech at home in Fort Worth hosts a Big 12 contest against Iowa State at 7 p.m.

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

The Guru’s National NCAAW National Weekend Roundup - II: South Carolina Drops Vanderbilt from the Unbeatens Leaving Only UConn

  

Note: No locals played Sunday due to the weather with most games moved to Saturday in the report under this post except Rutgers which plays Monday.

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

And then there was just 21-0 UConn.

The defending NCAA champions are the last unbeaten women’s team after No. 2 South Carolina (20-2, 6-1) took out its Thursday overtime loss at No. 16 Oklahoma on No. 5 Vanderbilt 103-74 at home Sunday afternoon at a Southeastern Conference game in Columbia at Colonial Life Arena as Florida State transfer Ta’Niya Latson, the nation’s leading scorer last season, collected 21 points and Tessa Johnson scored 20.

The Commodores (20-1, 6-1) had been off to their best start in program history and the 29-point win, the 19th straight in the series by South Carolina, was the Gamecock’s largest against an AP Top 5 opponent in the 50 years of the rankings begun in the 1976-77 season.

“I’m really impressed that we played connected basketball on both ends,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “I’m happy we responded to our loss.”

She said her players “know what the standard is, and we've got to keep them in a place where they play to that standard every night.”

Johnson added, saying, “We don't like to lose, but it was more how we lost. We were not ourselves at Oklahoma. We got back on our game today.”

Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph, a former UConn star and assistant coach, tipped her hat to the opposition, noting, “Credit to South Carolina because they played really well, maybe the best they've played all season.

“There just wasn't an answer today. For us, there's a lot we can take from it, but it also doesn't negate the fact that we've been really good up to this point.”

Vandy made it close as the first half ended, trailing by 11 points as reigning USBWA national freshman of the year Mikayla Blakes, who finished with 23 points, making a three-point play with 3.5 seconds remaining and after the Gamecocks threw a length of court pass out of bounds, Aubrey Galvan scored from deep ahead of the end of game clock.

But South Carolina then controlled the rest of the game.

The Gamecocks next are at Auburn Thursday night at 9 p.m. on the SEC Network while Vanderbilt the same night is at No. 18 Ole Miss in Oxford at 7:30 p.m. (SECN+).

Elsewhere in the SEC Oklahoma (16-4, 4–3) followed its win over South Carolina by winning 72-65 at Auburn (13-8, 2-5) as freshman Aaliyah Chavez scored 18 points.

The Sooners next host Texas A&M Thursday.

No. 23 Alabama (18-3, 4-3) won 85-78 at home in Tuscaloosa over Mississippi State (15-6, 2-5) as Jessica Timmons scored a career-high 28 points.

The Crimson Tide next are atGeorgia Thursday.

In the Big Ten No. 3 UCLA (19-1, 9-0) easily won 80-46 at Northwestern (8-12, 2-7) in Evanston, Ill., as Gabriela Jaquez scored 19 points and the Bruins will stay in the Midwest visiting Illinois on Wednesday.

No. 10 Iowa (18-2, 2-0) at home in Iowa City kept pace tied with UCLA for the Big Ten lead winning its eighth straight by a 91-70 score over No. 12 Ohio State (18-3, 7-2) snapping the Buckeyes’ seven-game win streak as freshman Addie Deal scored 20 points, Hannah Stuelke had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Ava Heiden scored 18 also for the Hawkeyes.

Jaloni Cambridge scored 26 for Ohio State with 10 rebounds while Chance Gray scored 16 points.

The Buckeyes host Wisconsin Thursday while the same night Iowa launches a two-game trip to Los Angeles visiting Southern Cal ahead of Sunday’s showdown at UCLA.

USC, a Top 5 team last season, has been struggling recently with the absence of reigning national player of the year JuJu Watkins, who suffered an ACL knee in the NCAA tournament.

On Sunday the Trojans (11-9, 3-6) fell in a close one 73-67 to No. 7 Michigan (17-3, 8-1) in Ann Arbor as Olivia Olson scored 23 for the winning Wolverines, who recovered in the game from blowing a 16-point lead.

Mia Holloway added 13 points with eight assists and six boards while Kara Dunn scored 26 points with 10 rebounds for USC.

Michigan next is at Indiana Thursday, the Hoosiers still winless in Big Ten play alongside Penn State.

Rutgers, with just a win over the Lady Lions in the conference, host No. 25 Washington Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. after the Scarlet Knights moved the game from Sunday because of the snowstorm which hit the Eastern seaboard.

On Monday night No. 6 LSU hosts Florida in an SEC game at 7 p.m. in Baton Rouge but the conference game featuring No. 17 Tennessee at No. 18 Ole Miss was postponed due to the weather with a new date yet to be determined.

In the Atlantic Coast Conference Sunday Clemson (14-7,5-4) won 65-58 at Notre Dame (13-7, 5-4) while North Carolina (17-5, 6-3) won 77-71 in overtime over visiting Syracuse (16-4, 6-3).

In a Bay Area rivalry game California (12-9, 3-5) won 78-71 in overtime over visiting Stanford (15-6, 4-4).

Taylor Johnson-Matthews scored 18 points for Clemson in its win over Notre Dame, which got 30 points from Hannah Hidalgo of South Jersey.

UNC’s Nyla Harris had 21 points and 11boards in the win over the Orange, whose freshman Uche Izoje had 27 points and 12 boards.

Lulu Twidale led Cal over Stanford with 24 points while the visiting Cardinal got 16 points each from freshman Lara Somfai and reserve Alexandra Eschmeyer.

In key ACC games Thursday, No. 8 Louisville is at Stanford at 8 p.m. (ESPN), No. 21 Duke is at Miami at 8 p.m. (ACCN) and Notre Dame is at California at 10 p.m. (ACCNX).