Guru's Philly Summer League Report: Lime Green And Black Cruise To Their Battle Of Unbeatens Just Ahead

Guru's Note: Sorry for the delay. The Friday NY-Wash game and roundup of the pre-Olympic WNBA schedule completion is just above this post if you got here first.

By Mel Greenberg

Lime Green and Black gained easy wins Thursday night in the Philadelphia Suburban NCAA Women's Basketball Summer league to remain unbeaten and tied for first to set up their showdown Tuesday night on Court 1 at 7 p.m. at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades in Hatboro, Pa., in lower Bucks County.

Saint Joseph's and Villanova players past and present had productive contributions and arrays of three-pointers filled the baskets as some games were contested down the stretch.

For the second straight night, a one-point margin, lowest of the season, determined the differential in one of the six games on the card.

This one featured Hunter Green topping Purple 61-60 as incoming Hawks freshman Ciara Andrews hit decisive foul shots in the last minute and led Hunter Green (5-2) with 11 points and into sole possession of third place, two games behind the league leaders.

Shelby Smith, a Saint Joseph's senior, had 10 points in the Hunter Green attack, while Hawks junior Erin Shields and Division III Swarthmore senior Eliza Polli each scored nine points. Polli also connected on three 3-pointers.

Kendall Burton, a Villanova sophomore, was one of two players overall to hit the 20s, scoring 20 points for Purple (3-4) into a four-way tie for sixth place. Kisha Thompson, a 1998 Philadelphia University graduate, and Lehigh senior Becky Guman each scored 11 points.

At the top of the standings, Lime Green (7-0) got 19 points from recent Saint Joseph's graduate Katie Kuester in a lopsided 74-36 win over Kelly Green (2-5), which fell all alone to 10th place and is the Division II University of the Sciences in Philadelphia squad.

Additionally, Villanova recent graduate Megan Pearson scored 17 points and fired five 3-pointers matching the season highs to date in league, including her previous effort on opening night last month.

Elsebeth Birman, a USP senior, scored eight points while the Devils trio of Rebecca Ruggear, Natalie Stella, and Brianne Traub each scored seven points.

Black (7-0) kept pace at the top with a 77-52 win over Ash Gray (3-4), which fell into the four-way deadlock for sixth place.

Villanova senior Rachel Roberts scored 16 points, while Black also collected 11 points, each, from Colgate sophomore Stephanie Schultz, which might be her career high in the league; recent Bethune Cookman graduate Jasmine Elum, and Lehigh junior Hilary Weaver. Villanova sophomore Emily Leer scored 10 points.

Brena Coll, a Division III Delaware Valley College sophmore, scored 13 for Ash Gray, while Grace Mirack, another DVC sophomore, scored 12, and Da'Kiya Johnson, a transfer from Santa Monica College in California back to the area at Division II Chestnut Hill, scored nine points.

In another close game, Orange (3-4) moved into the three-way tie for sixth with a 52-49 triumph over winless Gold (0-7).

Orange, which is the Division II Philadelphia University squad, got 14 points from Rams sophomore Najah Jacobs, while senior Megan Finn scored 13 points.

Michell McCaughren, a recent La Salle graduate, scored 11 points for Gold, while Alexandra Yatzi, a Lehigh junior, and Bridget Higgins, an incoming freshman at Pittsburgh, each scored 10 points.

Royal Blue (4-3) beat Cardinal Red 67-56 and moved into a fourth-place tie with their opponent and if the playoffs began tomorrow, which won't be true until the end of the month, Royal Blue would be fourth seed with the head-to-head win.

The Royal Blue squad, which is composed of Division II Holy Family, used a balanced attack with 17 points from senior Ana Cruz, includng four 3-pointers, 15 from senior Erin Mann, and seven each from junior MaryEllen McCollum, 2011 graduate Meghan Gibson, junior Carolyn Heston, and junior Maggie Seratelli.

Lakia Stewart, a 2007 Kent State graduate, scored 16 points for Cardinal Red (4-3), while 2008 Temple star and graduate Ashley Morris scored 14 points and fired four 3-pointers. Lafayette junior Emily Homan scored 12 points.

In the other game played, Vegas Gold (3-4), composed of Division II West Chester University, is the other team moving into the four-way sixth-place tie, courtesy of a 68-59 win that dropped Columbia Blue (1-6) into 11th place.

Senior Alexandra Lennon scored 16 points for Vegas Gold, while junior Paige Elliott scored 13 points, and sophomore Kendall Benovy scored 12.

Alyssa Isler, a junior at Gettsyburg, turned in one of the better performances, scoring wise, on the losing side, collecting 20 points for Columbia Blue, while Alex Wheatley, an incoming freshman at three-time defending Ivy champion Princeton, scored 19 points, and Bloomsburg senior Danielle Derr scored 14 points.

Class designations refer to this fall when the players return to their respective schools for the 2012-13 season.

Under NCAA rules concerning sanctioned summer leagues, only two teammates from the same Division I school can play together, except incoming freshmen can be added to the limit.

However, entire Division II and Division III teams can play together. There are four such squads in the local competition, and all are Division II outfits.

Two of Holy Family's winter rivals from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) play together -- University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP) is actually the Kelly Green squad, or vice versa depending on your viewpoint, while the Orange squad is really Philadelphia University.

Additionally, West Chester University of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division competes as the Vegas Gold team.

Admission is free to the league competition, which occurs Tuesday and Thursday nights through the end of the month before the top eight finishers will battle in the playoffs that include one-and-done formats in the quarterfinals and semifinals and a best-of-three duel in the championship series.

The gym is located in the Willow Grove Industrial Commons business park at the end of Turnpike Drive, which begins at Davisville Road, about a mile below the Davisville &Byberry Roads intersection and also not far from the Route 611 exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Doubleheaders on game nights occur on three courts with the openers tipping off at 7 p.m. and the nightcaps, barring overtime, getting under way at 8:15 p.m.

There is also a concession stand with reasonably priced items and the offerings include hamburgers, hot dogs, sodas, juices, bottled water, Italian water ice, potato chips and other foods.

And as always, the ringmaster who keeps all of this running smoothly is longtime commissioner David Kessler, whose email is deucedbk@comcast.net if you have any questions.

If you want to see all the rosters, there has been one small affiliation adjustment since then, in this blog site, go to last month's post and in early June you will see a Guru's guide to the league.

Looking Ahead
Here's the schedule for Tuesday night, with records, and Thursday night, which obviously won't have records until the next report covering Tuesday's action.

On Tuesday, July 17th, in the 7 p.m. games, besides the previously mentioned Black-Lime Green showdown on Court 1, Cardinal Red (4-3) will meet Gold (0-7) on Court 2, while Ash Gray (3-4) and Hunter Green (4-3) will meet on Court 3.

At 815 p.m., or later if a game in front goes into overtime or beyond, Vegas Gold (3-4) will met Purple (3-4) on Court 1, Kelly Green (2-5) will meet Royal Blue (4-3) on Court 2, while Orange (3-4) will meet Columbia Blue (1-6) on Court 3.

On Thursday, July 19, the 7 p.m. matchups have Columbia Blue and Ash Gray meeting on Court 1, Cardinal Red and Kelly Green meeting on Court 2, and Purple against Lime Green meeting on Court 3.

At 8:15 p.m., Hunter Green will meet Gold on Court 1, Black wll meet Orange on Court 2, and Royal Blue will meet Vegas Gold on Court 3.

STANDINGS (THRU MONDAY, JULY 16)
TEAM W-L PCT. GB PF PA
Lime Green 7-0 1.000 --- 512 332
Black 7-0 1.000 --- 507 345
Hunter Grn 5-2 .714 2.0 464 476
Royal Blue 4-3 .500 3.0 380 382
Cardinal Red 4-3 .571 3.0 497 433
Purple 3-4 .429 4.0 427 454
Ash Gray 3-4 .429 4.0 378 415
Vegas Gold 3-4 .429 4.0 437 487
Orange 3-4 .429 4.0 388 384
Kelly Green 2-5 .286 5.0 392 444
Col. Blue 1-6 .143 6.0 423 468
Gold 0-7 .000 7.0 297 452

Breaking Ties
Here's how seeds would occur if the playoffs were determined right at this moment.

Eventually the competition may make things clearer than now but for the sake of some organization here's how the order within ties were set, especially since there's not a lot of head-to-head, though it is starting to increase.

1st Place: Breaking tie of Lime Green vs. Black. -- Lime Green beating Hunter Green is a better quality win since there's no head-to-head yet but that's coming Tuesday night..

3rd Place: Hunter Green -- record. No tie to be broken.

4th Place: Breaking tie with Royal Blue and Cardinal Red to Royal Blue on head to head.

6th Place: Breaking tie of Purple, Ash Gray, Vegas Gold, and Orange. Within group Purple 1-0 6th, Ash Gray and Vegas Gold both 1-1, but Ash Gray 7th on head to head, Vegas Gold 8th losing head to head, and Orange 9th 1-2 record within group.

10th Place Kelly Green -- record. No tie break.

11th Place: Columbia Blue -- record. No tie to break.

12th Place: Gold -- record. No tie to break.

The grid several items down below gives you each team's win or loss along its schedule so you can see how the seed order was derived. It will be updated after each game night.

Average Scores To Date (7 Games Through Monday, July 16)

Kelly Green (7-0) 73.1-47.4 Differential (aprox. round nos.) 26 pts.
Black (7-0) 72.7-49.2 Differential 23 pts.
Cardinal Red (4-3) 71.0-61.8 Differential 10.0 pts.
Hunter Green (5-2) 66.2-68.02 Differential -2.0 pts.
Vegas Gold (3-4) 62.4-69.5 Differental -7.0 pts.
Purple (3-4) 61.0-64.8 Differental -5.0 pts.
Columbia Blue (1-6) 60.4-66.8 Differental -6.0 pts.
Kelly Green (2-5) 56.0-63.4 Differental -7.0 pts.
Orange (3-4) 55.4-54.8 Differental 1.0 pts.
Royal Blue (4-3) 54.2-54.6 Differental -0.4 pts.
Ash Gray (3-4) 54.0-59.2 Differental -5.0 pts.
Gold (0-7) 42.4-64.4 Differential -22.0 pts.

Top Individual Performers (20 or more pts)
(21 performances, 19 individuals to date)

Thurs., June 28: Taylor Bryant, Columbia Blue, 29 pts., vs. Lime Green.
Tues., June 26: Katie Kuester, Lime Green, 26 pts., vs. Orange.
Thurs., June 28: Erin Shields, Hunter Green, 25 pts., vs. Cardinal Red.
Tues., June 19: Lakia Stewart, Card. Red, 23 pts. vs. Vegas Gold.
Tues., June 26: Marissa Repasch, Purple, 23 pts., vs. Kelly Green.
Tues., July 10: Alex Wheatley, Columbia Blue, 22 pts., vs. Royal Blue.
Thurs., June 21: Noelle Alicea, Gold, 21 pts. vs. Columbia Blue.
Tues., June 26: Emily Leer, Black, 21 pts., vs. Vegas Gold.
Thur., June 28: Ciara Andrews, Hunter Green, 21 pts., vs. Cardinal Red.
Thurs., July 5: Stephanie Keyes, Vegas Gold, 21 pts., vs. Ash Gray.
Tues., June 19: Kendall Benovy, Vegas Gold, 20 pts., vs. Cardinal Red.
Tues., June 19: Jessica Sylvester, Kelly Green, 20 pts., vs. Hunter Green.
Thurs., June 21: Tiffany Johnson, Vegas Gold, 20 pts., vs. Hunter Green.
Tues., June 26: Alex Wheatley, Columbia Blue, 20 pts., vs. Hunter Green.
Tues., June 26: Ashley Morris, Cardinal Red, 20 pts., vs. Ash Gray.
Thurs., June 28: Trish Watson, Purple, 20 points, vs. Gold.
Thurs., July 5: Alexandra Yantzi, Gold, 20 points, vs. Kelly.
Thurs., July 5: Trish Watson, Purple, 20 points, vs. Columbia Blue.
Thurs., July 5: Taylor Bryant, Columbia Blue, 20 points, vs. Purple.
Thurs., July 12: Alyssa Islar, Columbia Blue, 20 points, vs. Vegas Gold.
Thurs., July 12: Kendall Burton, Purple, 20 points, vs. Hunter Green.

Individual Highs and Lows
Highest total points top scorer on winning team: Katie Kuester, 26 pts. (Tues., June 26, Lime Green 87, Orange 58).
Lowest total points top scorer on winning team: Kerry Kinek, 10 pts. (Tues., June 19: Black 66, Columbia Blue 59).
Highest total points top scorer on losing team: Taylor Bryant, 29 pts. (Thurs., June 28: Lime Green 75, Columbia Blue 62).
Lowest total points top scorer on losing team: Lindsay Alexander, 6 pts. (Thurs., June 28: Royal Bue 52, Ash Gray 29).

Results To Date
Tues., July 17
Lime Green vs. Black
Gold vs. Cardinal Red
Hunter Green vs. Ash Gray
Purple vs. Vegas Gold
Kelly Green vs. Royal Blue
Orange vs. Columbia Blue

Thurs., July 12
Royal Blue 67, Cardinal Red 56
Orange 52, Gold 49
Lime Green 74, Kelly Green 36
Hunter Green 61, Purple 60
Vegas Gold 68, Columbia Blue 59
Black 77, Ash Gray 52

Tuesday, July 10
Black 85, Hunter Green 57
Orange 67, Ash Gray 46
Royal Blue 60, Columbia Blue 59
Cardinal Red 81, Purple 57
Lime Green 67, Gold 31
Vegas Gold 66, Kelly Green 55

Thurs., July 5
Ash Gray 71, Vegas Gold 61
Black 80, Royal Blue 53
Purple 78, Columbia Blue 64
Cardinal Red 69, Orange 53
Kelly Green 60, Gold 52
Lime Green 62, Hunter Green 46

Tues., July 3
No Games Schedule

Thurs., June 28
Purple 82, Gold 47
Black 60, Kelly Green 44
Hunter Green 76, Cardinal Red 72
Lime Green 75, Columbia Blue 62
Royal Blue 52, Ash Gray 29
Vegas Gold 69, Orange 53

Tues., June 26
Hunter Green 74, Columbia Blue 63
Black 84, Vegas Gold 47
Cardinal Red 73, Ash Gray 47
Royal Blue 65, Gold 32
Lime Green 87, Orange 58
Kelly Green 85, Purple 59

Thurs., June 21
Ash Gray 64, Kelly Green 46
Lime Green 75, Cardinal Red 62
Black 55, Purple 33
Columbia Blue 57, Gold 47
Hunter Green 81, Vegas Gold 68
Orange 54, Royal Blue 46

Tues., June 19
Hunter Green 69, Kelly Green 66
Purple 58, Orange 51
Lime Green 72, Royal Blue 37
Cardinal Red 84, Vegas Gold 58
Black 66, Columbia Blue 59
Ash Gray 69, Gold 39

Teams Highs And Lows
Highest winning total points: Lime Green 87, Orange 58 -- 6/26
Lowest winning total points : Royal Blue 52, Ash Gray 29 -- 6/28;
Orange 52, Gold 49 -- 7/12
Highest losing total points: Hunter Green 81, Vegas Gold 68 -- 6/21
Lowest losing total points: Royal Blue 52, Ash Gray 29 -- 6/28
Highest differential (37 pts.): Black 84, Vegas Gold 47 -- 6/26
Lowest differential (1 point): Royal Blue 60, Columbia blue 59 -- 7/10;
Hunter Green 61, Purple 60 -- 7/12.

Grid Of Teams Against League

LG (7-0) vs. RB (W), CR (W), O (W), CB (W), HG (W), Gd (W), KG (W)
Bk (7-0) vs. CB (W), P (W), VG (W), KG (W), RB (W), HG (W), AG (W)
HG (5-2) vs. KG (W), VG (W), CB (W), CR (W), LG (L), Bk (L) P (W)
RB (4-3) vs. LG (L), O (L), Gd (W), AG (W), Blk (L), CB (W). CR (W)
C R (4-3) vs. VG (W), LG (L), AG (W), HG (L). O (W), P (W), RB (L)
Purp (3-4) vs. O (W), Bk (L), KG (L), Gld (W), CB (W), CR (L), HG (L)
Ash Gry (3-4) vs. Gd (W), KG (W), CR (L), RB (L), VG (W), Or (L), BK (L)
VG (3-4) vs. CR (L), H. G. (L), Bk (L), O (W), AG (L), KG (L), CB (W)
Or (3-4) vs. P (L), RB (W), LG (L), VG (L), CR(L), AG (W), Gd (W)
K G (2-5) vs. H.G. (L), AG (L), P (W), Bk (L), Gd (W), VG (L), LG (L)
C B (1-6) vs. Bk (L), Gd (W), HG (L), LG (L), P (L), RB (L), VG (L)
Gld (0-7) vs. AG (L), CB (L), RB (L), P (L), KG (L), LG (L), O (L)

Schools Competing As Whole Units

Kelly Green -- University of Sciences in Philadelphia
Orange -- Philadelphia University
Royal Blue -- Holy Family
Vegas Gold -- West Chester

That's it.

-- Mel




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