Womhoops Guru

Mel Greenberg covered college and professional women’s basketball for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he worked for 40 plus years. Greenberg pioneered national coverage of the game, including the original Top 25 women's college poll. His knowledge has earned him nicknames such as "The Guru" and "The Godfather," as well as induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Guru Summer League Report: Tuesday Preview

(Guru's Note: There are two posts above this one -- one directly above on WNBA news and the other on collegiate stuff.)

By Mel Greenberg

Columbia Blue (2-0) meets Lime Green (1-2) while in the perhaps the key game of the night Gold (3-0) meets Royal Blue (2-1) as the two remaining unbeaten teams try to stay perfect on the five-game slate Tuesday in the Philadelphia/Suburban Women's NCAA Summer Basketball League at Kelly Bolish Gymnasium -- home of the AAU Renegades -- in Hatboro, Pa., near Willow Grove.

Kelly Green (2-1), featuring St. Joseph's Katie Kuester and Villanova's Devon Kane and Megan Pearson, has the night's bye in the 11-team league.

The Gold game will be on Court 3 at 8:15 p.m., while the two other courts at that time will have nightcaps of doubleheaders that begin at 7 p.m.

Gold has been a surprise in the early season action heading into the fourth night of league competition that began with openers on June 16. However, the squad does have Addie Micir, a recent graduate of two-time defending Ivy champion Princeton, and Tigers teammate Megan Bowen, who is a junior. There are also three Division II Kutztown players: Brittany Greaves, Ashley Wood, and Stephanie Zewe. Bethune-Cookman senior Jasmine Elum has been one of the early season high scorers overall in league play.

Royal Blue, which will try to bring Gold back to the pack, is dominated by Division II local power Holy Family players such as Mary Ellen McCollum, Erin Mann, Meghan Gibson, Maggie Serratelli, and Carolyne Heston, as well as newcomer Ana Cruz from Harcum College.

Columbia Blue (2-0), which has already served its bye, is entirely composed of Division II West Chester players, and will play on Court 1 at 7 p.m. against Lime Green (1-2), which is one short of unanimous representation from Philadelphia University. The one is Kyra Holiday, a sophomore from Central Michigan who is believed wanting to transfer to college coach Tom Shirley's squad.

In the other 7 p.m. game, which will be on Court 2, Cardinal Red (0-2), will be looking for its first win when it meets Teal (1-2), a squad featuring such former Temple players as Ari Moore, Ashley Morris, Stacey Smalls, and former Drexel scoring sensation Michelle Maslowski.

Cardinal Red has three Lehigh players in Maryjo Horgan, Lindsay Hoskins, and Alexa Williams, while Alicia Manning is from Patriot League rival Lafayette.

In one of the other two 8:15 p.m. games completing doubleheaders, Team Black (2-1) will meet Orange (2-1) on Court 2 with the winner staying closer to the top of the pack.

Several Division III Swarthmore players are on Team Black, including recent graduate Kathryn Stockbower, who has the Division III career record for double doubles. Lehigh senior Emily Gratch is also on the squad.

Orange (2-1) has two Villanovans in Emily Leer and Rachel Roberts along with two Lehigh players in Aly Borick and Marisa Repasch.

When White (0-2) meets Purple (0-3) on Court 1 in the other remaining game of the night, both teams are looking for their first win of the season.

The White squad is dominated by University of Science p[ayers out of Division II but also has Villanova's Jesse Carey and Laura Sweeney. Purple features recent La Salle grad Ashley Gale along with St. Joseph's sophomore Erin Shields and Hawks junior Shelby Smith.

Here are the standings off commissioner David Kessler's newsletter, which he distributes as the games. Warning: The cut-and-paste in this platform plays havoc with the alignment.

Standings (through Monday June 27)
W-L PF PA PCT.
Gold 3-0 197 154 1.000
Columbia 2-0 128 100 1.000
Black 2-1 178 182 .667
Kelly 2-1 216 198 .667
Royal 2-1 197 171 .667
Orange 2-1 196 192 .667
Teal 1-2 191 199 .333
Lime 1-2 160 183 .333
Cardinal 0-2 133 163 .000
White 0-2 104 124 .000
Purple 0-3 163 209 .000

-- Mel