The Guru NCAAW Report: Temple, Villanova and Lehigh Gain Wins But Saint Joseph’s Upset at Rhode Island; Bueckers Leads No. 6 UConn Over Seton Hall While Watkins Leads No. 4 USC over No. 22 Michigan State
By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru
PHILADELPHIA — It was a good night here for Temple in the Liacouras Center, out in the suburbs for Villanova at the Wildcats’ Finneran Pavilion, and halfway up state for Lehigh at the Mountain Hawks’ Stabler Arena in Bethlehem.
But it was terrible up in New England where Saint Joseph’s went cold in the fourth quarter and once again got bedeviled by Rhode Island.
Let’s begin here with the Owls (16-10, 10-5), who erupted in the third period 31-7 on visiting Wichita State (9-19, 3-12) and remained sizably ahead for a 70-51 victory Wednesday night in the American Athletic Conference.
Coupled with Tulane’s 73-54 loss at Tulsa, the Owls are now 1.5 games ahead of the Green Wave in fourth place with the regular season drawing to a close, which if secured means a double bye in next month’s conference tournament once again at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
The star of the show against the Shockers was Tarriyonna Gary, who poured 25 points, shooting 9-for-15 from the field and 7-10 from beyond the arc, the most from deep in just short of a year.
She lit the match in the third, scoring 12 points off 4-5 on three point attempts while defense forced the opposition to eight miscues.
When one talks about runs at Temple, with baseball dropped a while back, one is talking about these Owls, who over the last month have opened or developed leads that got away, this one had one of those early, or quickly fell behind and rallied.
In this one, the home team jetted off to an 18-10 first quarter and then got into turnover trouble and was outscored 18-7 on the way to a 28-25 halftime deficit before some adjustments did the trick.
Kaylah Turner added 15 points to the Temple attack while Princess Anderson scored 20 for Wichita State shooting 7-for-21 from the field.
“It was a good win for us,” said coach Diane Richardson, who a year ago led the Owls on a run to finish in a three-way tie for the AAC crown. “We’re pretty happy about it. We had to turn up our defense in the second half to get this thing done. Hats off to them.”
On her effort, Gary said, “It felt good. I knew I needed to shoot the ball because they were playing us in a zone. I was just ready to shoot, and my shots just been falling.”
Defense as Richardson emphasizes it produced what is now a three-game win streak getting 23 points in transition off 18 turnovers.
“Our defense really turns us up,” the Temple coach said. “I think the extra effort in our defense really got us amped up. That carried into our offense, and then we were on a roll.
“When they see the ball go in the basket and we get turnovers, that really fires them up.”
It also helps to dominate the boards and after succumbing in that area earlier this month in a loss here to South Florida, the preseason favorite, resulting in a season sweep by the Bulls, there’s been an uptick, including this one with the Owls holding a 44-36 advantage, of which 13 second chance points occurred off 11 on the offense glass.
“We’ve been concentrating,” Richardson said. “Those losses that we experienced had a lot to do with the lack of rebounding.
“Our staff has put in a lot of work on rebounding and boxing out every day in practice to pair that with our defense.”
The Owls are off until Tuesday when they visit Memphis at 8 p.m. on ESPN+ and then return here next Friday against Rice for senior night at 7 p.m. They’ll finish up March 4 at Charlotte.
Bascoe Leads Villanova Over Georgetown
Freshman Jasmine Bascoe rom Toronto, Canada, matched a career-high in her rookie season with 26 points, 19 of them in the first half, and Villanova yanked one back that was about to get away resulting in a 70-65 win over Georgetown for a season sweep of the Hoyas.
Considering fifth-ranked Connecticut to be in a league of its own in Big East play, second-place and No. 23 Creighton has been the only member considered a lock for the NCAA tournament though Villanova continues to get mentioned in bubble talk from those who project the NCAA tournament bracket.
The win put the Wildcats (16-11, 10-5) in a three-way tie for third with Seton Hall and Marquette, but when it comes to seeds for next month’s return to the Mohegan Sun for the conference tournament, Villanova would be fifth, meaning a semifinal collision with the Huskies if advancing past the quarterfinals.
Unlike the beginning of the year and into early conference play where leads kept vanishing, including the buzzer-beating loss here to Seton Hall and a setback in the first Marquette matchup in Milwaukee, Villanova has been a bit vintage of late on an 8-of-10 streak and Denise Dillon’s squad will get a chance to keep things going visiting Providence Sunday at noon (FS1), hosting Butler Wednesday on Senior Night, and then at 8:30 p.m. on March 2 at Creighton.
“You want to finish, keep climbing,” said Dillon of positioning for the Big East tourney. “Continue just to climb. Put yourself in the best position possible and the results will take care of themselves.”
Besides the transfer departure here last spring of Lucy Olsen to Iowa and Christina Dalce to Maryland, other teams also suffered losses, resulting in the perception of the Big East not its usual past self but a Nova finish that could include two wins over Creighton if the Wildcats could get a third seed might be the ticket.
In the game against Georgetown (4-11, 11-15), a double-digit lead in the third became a one-point deficit with four minutes left in regulation before the home team turned up the defense a notch with an 8-0 push off three turnovers and a pair of blocks with Maddie Burke connecting on a dagger trey from the corner.
With the Hoyas using Kelsey Ransom, who had 25 points and 10 boards, to cool Bascoe down in the second half, Maddie Webber offset the move scoring 10 of her 15 points.
Bascoe was 4-5 on three-point attempts while while Webber was 3-7.
Deane Carter had 11 points and six boards for Villanova, while Georgetown was bolster behind Ransom with 16 points and 11 boards from Ariel Jenkins, and Khadee Hession had 11 points.
“I’m proud of this group for the way we came out, but Georgetown did a heck of a job in the second half,” Dillon said of the outcome. “I’m proud of this group for the way we got together, reconnected, and took the game in the end.”
Saint Joseph’s Upset at Rhode Island
A year after Rhode Island ruined the Hawks’ chances of ending their NCAA drought by knocking them out in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals, the Rams (15-13, 10-5) struck again in the Thomas M. Ryan Center, though one could make the claim perhaps Saint Joseph’s self-destructed shooting 1-11 for the final nine minutes for a 70-65 loss after going up six in the first minute of the quarter.
However, all is not doom and gloom though some heavy lifting is required starting with a must-win Sunday at home at 4 p.m. (ESPNU) with George Mason that would give a tie-breaking sweep of the Patriots.
Saint Joseph’s (20-6, 11-4) also has a tie-breaking win over Davidson, directly behind and playing George Mason Thursday.
Following Sunday, the finish next week is a trip to Dayton and hosting Richmond March 1 looking for a split with the Spiders and then aiming to meet them in a few weeks in the title game of the A-10 Tourney, returning to suburban Richmond.
As for the quick data from the trip to Rhode Island, Rhian Stokes and Laura Ziegler each scored 15 points, while Mackenzie Smith scored 11 points.
Harsimran Kaur scored 19 points, while Sophia Vital scored 11 with six assists, and three others on the home team also reached double digits in points.
Veteran coach Cindy Griffin did not make the trip, staying back for a medical procedure according to the university.
Talya Bruglar, who returned from a six-game absence due to hand injury and played in last week’s loss at Richmond, scored nine points and is 12 away from entering the top five career leaders in program history.
Lehigh Streak Continues in Patriot League While Holy Cross Downs Lafayette
It’s 11 straight for first place Lehigh (22-4, 13-1) after beating visiting Bucknell 73-59, a run that’s the Mountain Hawks’ longest since reeling off 16 in 2009-10.
The triumph over the Bison (14-11, 8-5) earned a top four seed and quarterfinal hosting site in next month’s tournament on March 10.
“It feels great,” said Lehigh coach Addie Micir. “This group plays with joy and effort the entire way. They have been the same since day one, so to have this and so many people in the stands celebrating this has been awesome.”
Maddie Albrecht had 20 points, Ella Stemmer scored 16, Whitney Lind scored 13, and and Meghan O’Brien scored nine.
Colleen McQuillen dished eight helpers and grabbed seven boards with four steals.
“Colleen is our engine,” Micir said. “She just keeps going and going. She’s been our real emotional leader too, making sure everybody brings it every day, and that’s what you want Out of your lead guard.”
Bucknell’s Ashley Sofikanich scored 14 points.
Lehigh on Saturday completes the home-and-home rivalry series looking for a sweep Saturday when the Mountain Hawks visit nearby Lafayette at the Kirby Sports Center at 2 p.m. (ESPN+) in Easton, Pa.
On Wednesday, the Leopards (7-19. 4-10) fell to defending champion Holy Cross 83-42 as Lindsay Berger scored a game-high 16 points with eight rebounds and seven assists for the Crusaders (16-9, 9-5).
Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly scored 15, Meg Cahalan scored 14 with seven boards, Simone Foreman scored 19, and Kaitlyn Flanagan scored six but dealt eight assists.
Lafayette reserve Talia Zurinskas was the lone Leopard in double figures, scoring 13 points, followed by Abby Antognoli with nine points.
The National Scene
No. 5 Connecticut stayed perfect in the Big East with its 41st straight win over Seton Hall, this one 91-49 on the road at the Pirates’ Walsh Gym in South Orange, N.J., as Paige Bueckers had 23 points, nine boards, and five assists.
Seton Hall (18-8, 10-5) last beat the Huskies (25-3, 15-0), who were coming off the weekend thumping of defending NCAA champion South Carolina, 31 years ago on Jan. 5, 1994.
A projected No. 1 pick in April’s WNBA draft, Bueckers moved into ninth place on Connecticut’s career scoring list past all-time great Diana Taurasi with 2,166 points.
Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury and is the all-time WNBA leader went into the off-season contemplating retirement but has yet to announce her decision either way.
Meanwhile Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen and Aubrey Griffin each scored 15 for the Huskies, while Ashlynn Shade collected 14 points and freshman Sarah Strong scored 10.
Seton Hall’s Yaya Lops scored 15 while Jada Eads and Faith Masonius each scored 12.
Bueckers has scored in double figures 100 times in 111 games.
Connecticut is at Butler Sunday while Seton Hall is at St. John’s, which fell to No. 23 Creighton 65-62 on the road in Omaha, Nebraska.
Morgan Maly scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half for the winning Bluejays (22-4, 14-1), who had to rally from a five-point deficit at the outset of the fourth quarter against the Red Storm (14-12, 4-11).
Creighton, which moved back into the AP Poll this week, clinched a top two seed for next month’s Big East tournament.
In sweeping the season series, the home team also got got 16 points from Lauren Jensen and 11 from Molly Mogensen.
Lashae Dwyer scored 18 for St. John’s and Drexel transfer Kylie Lavelle scored 14.
Watkins Leads Southern Cal over Michigan State
In a Big Ten game out west between two ranked teams, No. 4 Southern Cal at home in the Galen Center topped No. 22 Michigan State 83-75 as sophomore sensation JuJu Watkins scored 28 points and Stanford transfer Kiki Iriafen scored 24 with 10 rebounds.
Grace VanSlooten matched a personal best with 29 points while Julia Ayrault scored 16 with 10 boards for the Spartans (19-7, 8-6).
Down by 21 late in the third, Michigan State went on a 15-4 run in the fourth before Kennedy Smith and Watkins got the advantage back to double digits for USC (24-2, 14-1), who is battling cross-time rival No. 3 UCLA for top seed in next month’s Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
Southern Cal clinched a double bye with the win.
On Sunday Michigan State hosts Indiana while the Trojans host No. 25 Illinois at final home games for both.
In the Big 12, two other ranked teams played road games with No. 10 TCU winning 82-66 at Arizona State, while No. 19 Baylor won 84-62 at Colorado, both hosts coming over with Arizona and Utah from the former Pac-12 this season.
The game at Tempe saw Madison Conner score all 22 of her points in the second half for TCU (25-3, 13-2), which didn’t seal the win against the Sun Devils (8-19, 2-13) until late in the fourth quarter.
Delaware transfer Tyi Skinner had 25 points for the home team, which is at BYU Saturday.
TCU hosts No. 17 West Virginia on Sunday.
In the other game, Bella Fontleroy scored 21 for Baylor (23-5, 13-2), while Jada Walker scored 17 points. The winning Bears are tied for first with TCU.
Jada Masogayo scored 16 and Johanna Teder scored 14 for the Lady Buffs (17-9, 8-7).
Iowa State visits Baylor Saturday and then the Bears are at No. 12 Kansas State on Monday.
Colorado is at No. 24 Oklahoma State Saturday.
Looking Ahead
Just two locals are playing Thursday and both are near elimination from playing in their respective conference tournaments.
Rider is at first-place Fairfield, Thursday, at 7 p.m. (ESPN+), the host Stags have a two-year win streak to date in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Rutgers starts a Northwest swing in the Big Ten, visiting Washington in Seattle at 9 p.m.
Elsewhere in the Big Ten, No. 8 Ohio State is at Indiana at 7 p.m. on Peacock, No. 21 Maryland at 7:30 p.m. is at Northwestern on the Big Ten Network in suburban Chicago.
No. 25 Illinois is at No. 3 UCLA at 9:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
In the ACC, Stanford is at Virginia in Charlottesville on the ACC Network, which leads the night at 6 p.m. with No. 9 North Carolina at Syracuse. No. 1 Notre Dame at 7 p.m. is at Miami, while at the same time No. 13 N.C. State is at No. 20 Georgia Tech.
Louisville at 7 p.m. is at No. 11 Duke in Durham at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
In the SEC, No. 18 Alabama is at No. 15 Tennessee in Knoxville at 6:30 p.m. while Arkansas at 7 p.m. is at No. 6 South Carolina on the SEC Network. Vanderbilt on the SEC Network at 7 p.m. visits No. 10 Oklahoma. Georgia at 9 p.m. is at No. 7 LSU on the SEC Network.
On Friday locally, Drexel battling for first in the Coastal Athletic Association is at Campbell at 7 p.m., while Delaware at the same time is at Elon both on FloSports.
And that’s the report.
posted by Mel Greenberg | 4:59 AM
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