Guru's Philly Summer League Report: Lime Green Wins Battle Of Unbeatens

By Mel Greenberg

HATBORO, Pa. -- In a battle between the two remaining unbeaten teams, defending champion Lime Green pulled away from Black late in the game to claim a 76-57 victory and sole possession of first place Tuesday night in the Philadelphia/Suburban NCAA Women's Basketball Summer League at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades, here in lower Bucks County.

The season's first overtime game saw a narrow one point result, the third straight night that an outcome was determined by that differential, while several players crossed the individual 20 points or more milestone honor roll.

Three sets of two-team ties existed in the standings of the 12-team league following Tuesday's action, which left only three dates remaining to the regular season until the eight-team playoffs begin with quarterfinal action on Tuesday, July 31.

Semifinals will then be played on Thursday, August 2 followed by a best-of-three finals the following week Tuesday (Aug. 7), Wednesday, and, if necessary, Thursday.

Amazingly, no games have yet to be decided through forfeit because of lack of players, which has usually happened several times in the past when teams were hit by members unable to attend due to work or vacation conflicts besides impacts from injuries or illness.

In the marquee attraction of the night Dana Mitchell, a 2010 St. Bonaventure graduate, scored 20 points for Lime Green (8-0), which also got 15 points from recent Villanova graduate Megan Pearson and 11 from recent Saint Joseph's graduate Katie Kuester.

"Most of them played together last year so they all know each other so well and what to do," said Keith Wood, coach of the Black squad (7-1), which dropped to second place all alone and is one game behind Lime Green and one ahead of Hunter Green (6-2), which stayed in the top three of the standings after a 62-47 win over Ash Gray (3-5).

Hilary Weaver, a Lehigh junior, scored 10 points for Black, a total matched by teammates Jasmine Elum, who recently graduated Bethune Cookman, and Stephanie Schultz, who will be a sophomore this fall at Colgate.

Villanova senior Rachel Roberts scored eight points for Black.

Meanwhile, Orange (4-4) evened its record and matched Vegas Gold (4-4) into a two-way tie for sixth by slipping past Columbia Blue 69-68 in overtime.

Orange in the winter is the Division II Philadelphia University squad, which got 17 points from Rams sophomore Monica Schacker, 11 each from incoming senior co-captain Taylor Peltz, whose father Lou played at Saint Joseph's in the early 1970s, and sophomore Najah Jacobs, and nine from junior Jaclyn Panichi.

Columbia Blue (1-7), which remained all alone in 11th place seven games behind Lime Green and three behind eighth place Purple (3-5) and Ash Gray (3-5), got 19 points from Bloomsburg senior Danielle Derr, while Delaware incoming freshman Taylor Bryant scored 18 points, Millersville senior Shira Newman scored 12, incoming F&M freshman Hannah Rose Nussbaum scored 10, and Kings College sophomore Alicia Hayes scored eight points.

The night's top individual performance came from 2008 Temple graduate Ashley Morris, who matched a season-high 29 points in the league to spur Cardinal Red (5-3) to a 94-53 romp over Gold (0-8) and a fourth-place tie with Royal Blue (5-3).

Morris' total was the first to be gained by a player on the winning side, topping Kuester's 26 points in an earlier win by Lime Green.

Previously, Taylor Bryant, an incoming freshman at nationally-ranked Delaware who plays for Columbia Blue, scored 29 in a loss to Lime Green on June 28th.

The 94 points for Cardinal Red was a season-high team score, while the 41-point differential was the most this season, topping the previous 37-point separation in Black's 84-47 win over Vegas Gold on June 26.

Lakia Stewart, a 2007 Kent State graduate, added 16 points to Cardinal Red's total, while incoming Lafayette freshman Annette Snow scored 12 points and her future winter teammate, sophomore Emily Homan, scored 10 points.

Gold got 13 points from Lebanon Valley junior Lauren Ruhl, 12 from Saint Joseph's incoming freshman Jordan Strode, and eight from recent La Salle graduate Michele McCaughern.

Hunter Green (6-2) stayed alone in third place with a 62-47 win over Ash Gray (3-5), which fell into an eighth-place tie with Purple (3-5), a game ahead of 10th place Kelly Green (2-6).

Saint Joseph's senior Shelby Smith scored 16 points for Hunter Green, Kathryn Stockbower, a 2011 graduate of Division III Swarthmore who holds the NCAA career record for double doubles in the Garnet's division, scored 10 points and Saint Joseph's junior Erin Shields scored eight points.

Ash Gray got 11 points each from Division III Delaware Valley College sophomore Brenna Coll, Dowling College sophomore Christine Verrelle, and Mary Washington sophomore Aubrey Howland.

Royal Blue (5-3) was able to stay in a fourth-place tie with Cardinal Red by beating Kelly Green 53-44 in a game between two winter rivals in the Division II Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) that also contains Orange known to the collegiate world as Philadelphia University.

Ana Cruz, a senior, had 13 points for Royal Blue, which is also known as Division II Holy Family, while Tigers junior Carolyn Heston scored 12 points and Tigers senior Erin Mann scored nine points.

Kelly Green (2-6), also known as University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, stayed in sole possession of 10th place still alive in the playoff hunt after crashing the postseaon lineup a year ago.

Britany Traub, targeted for 2017 graduation under USP's work/study program, scored 15 points, Devils 2018-targeted grad Natalie Stella scored 11 points, and sophomore Carolyn Edwards scored nine points.

Lime Green and Black have clinched playoff participation outright with final seeds to be determined. Hunter Green and Royal Blue also clinched playoff participation because they would win worst-case projected tiebreakers for spots if they lost their remaining three games≥

In the only other game of the night on the ongoing six-game, three-doubleheaders card, Vegas Gold (4-4) stayed tied with Orange for sixth place, by beating Purple 68-50.

Thee Vegas Gold squad is also Division II West Chester University, which competes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division.

Golden Rams junior Paige Elliott scored 21 points, while sophomore Stephanie Keyes got 16 points for Vegas Gold, and incoming freshman Anna Kuntz scored 10 points.

Marisa Repasch, a Lehigh junior, scored 21 points for Purple (3-5), which stayed tied with Ash Gray for eighth place. Ryan Fiascki, a sophomore at East Stroudsburg in upstate Pennsyvania, scored 12 points, while Becky Guman, a senior at Lehigh, scored nine 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 as mentioned above in the report of Tuesday results.

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 Thursday night, with records, and next week's final regular season action with records to be updated as the next three competition nights come and go.

On Thursday, July 19th, in the 7 p.m. games, Ash Gray (3-5) and Columbia Blue (1-7) meet on Court 1, Cardinal Red (5-3) and Kelly Green (2-6) meet on Court 2, and Purple (3-5) and Lime Green (8-0) meet on Court 3.

At 815 p.m., or later if a game in front goes into overtime or beyond, Hunter Green (6-2) will meet Gold (0-8) on Court 1, Black (7-1) will meet Orange (4-4) on Court 2 and Vegas Gold (4-4) will met Royal Blue (53) on Court 3.

On Tuesday, July 24, the final week of the regular season will get under way with 7 p.m. matchups having Orange meeting Kelly Green on Court 1, Ash Gray meeting Purple on Court 2, and Cardinal Red meeting Columbia Blue on Court 3.

The 815 p.m. contests will feature Lime Green against Vegas Gold on Court 1, Gold against Black on Court 2, and Royal Blue against Hunter Green on Court 3.

Playoff qualifers and seed positions, through tiebreakers, if necessary, will be locked into place following the final night on regular season competition on Thursday, July 26. Head-to-head will be the first tiebreaker.

At 7 p.m., Orange meets Hunter Green on Court 1, Gold meets Vegas Gold on Court 2, and Royal Blue meets Purple on Court 3.

The final doubleheader nightcaps at 8:15 p.m. offer Kelly Green meeting Columbia Blue on Court 1, Ash Gray meeting Lime Green on Court 2, and Cardinal Red meeting Black on Court 3.

STANDINGS (THRU WEDNESDAY, JULY 18)
TEAM W-L PCT. GB PF PA
c-Lime Green 8-0 1.000 --- 588 389
c-Black 7-1 . .875 1.0 564 421
cb-Hunter Grn 6-2 .750 2.0 526 523
cb-Royal Blue 5-3 .625 3.0 433 426
Cardinal Red 5-3 .625 3.0 591 486
Vegas Gold 4-4 .500 4.0 505 537
Orange 4-4 .500 4.0 457 452
Ash Gray 3-5 .375 5.0 425 477
Purple 3-5 .375 5.0 477 522
Kelly Green 2-6 .250 6.0 436 497
Col. Blue 1-7 .125 7.0 491 437
**-Gold 0-8 .000 8.0 350 546
c-Clinched playoff qualifier.
cb-Clinched playoff qualifier thru projected tiebreaker if occurred.
**-Eliminated from playoffs thru projected tiebreakers if ocurred.

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

The competition is making things clearer for now with two of the three tiebreaks determined by head to head.

1st Place: Lime Green -- record. No tiebreak.

2nd Place Black -- record. No tiebreak.

3rd Place: Hunter Green -- record. No tiebreak.

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

6th Place: Breaking tie between Vegas Gold and Orange goes to Vegas Gold on head to head.

8th Place Breaking tie between Purple and Ash Gray goes to Ash Gray right now because of better win in standings with Ash Gray beating Vegas Gold while Purple beat Orange.

10th Place Kelly Green -- record. No tiebreak.

11th Place: Columbia Blue -- record. No tiebreak.

12th Place: Gold -- record. No tiebreak and eliminated because Gold would lose tiebreaks on head-to-head in final standings.

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 (8 Games Through Wednesday, July 18)


Cardinal Red (5-3) 73.8-60.7 Differential (aprox, round nos.) 12.0 pts.
Kelly Green (8-0) 73.0-48.1 Differential 25 pts.
Black (7-1) 70.5-52.6 Differential 17 pts.
Hunter Green (6-2) 65.7-65.3 Differential 2.0 pts.
Vegas Gold (4-4) 63.1-67.1 Differental -4.0 pts.
Purple (3-5) 59.6-65.2 Differental -5.5 pts.
Columbia Blue (1-7) 54.5-54.6 Differental -0.1 pts.
Kelly Green (2-6) 54.5-62.1 Differental -8.0 pts.
Orange (4-4) 57.1-56.5 Differental 0.5 pts.
Royal Blue (5-3) 54.1-53.2 Differental 1.0 pts.
Ash Gray (3-5) 53.1-59.6 Differental -6.0 pts.
Gold (0-8) 43.7-68.2Differential -25.0 pts.

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

Thurs., June 28: Taylor Bryant, Columbia Blue, 29 pts., vs. Lime Green.
Tues., July 17: Ashley Morris, Cardinal Red, 29 pts., vs. Gold.
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: Marisa 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., July 17, Paige Elliott, Vegas Gold, 21 pts., vs. Purple.
Tues., July 17, Marisa Repasch, Purple, 21 pts., vs. Vegas Gold.
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.
Tues., July 17: Dana Mitchell, Lime Green, 20 points vs. Black.

Individual Highs and Lows
Highest total points top scorer on winning team: Ashley Morris, 29 pts. (Tues., July 17, Cardinal Red 94, Gold 53.)
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
Thurs., July 19
Ash Gray vs. Columbia Blue
Hunter Green vs. Gold
Cardinal Red vs. Kelly Green
Black vs. Orange
Lime Green vs. Purple
Vegas Gold vs. Royal Blue

Tues., July 17
Lime Green 76, Black 57
Cardinal Red 94, God 53
Hunter Green 62, Ash Gray 47
Vegas Gold 68, Purple 50
Royal Blue 53, Kelly Green 44
Orange 69, Columbia Blue 68, ovt.

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;
Orange 69, Gold 68, ovt.
Lowest losing total points: Royal Blue 52, Ash Gray 29 -- 6/28
Highest differential (41 pts.): Cardinal Red 94, Gold 53 -- 7/17
Lowest differential (1 point): Royal Blue 60, Columbia blue 59 -- 7/10;
Hunter Green 61, Purple 60 -- 7/12.
Orange 69, Columbia Blue 68, ovt. -- 7/17.

Grid Of Teams Against League

LG (8-0) vs. RB (W), CR (W), O (W), CB (W), HG (W), Gd (W), KG (W), B(W).
Bk (7-1) vs. CB (W), P (W), VG (W), KG (W), RB (W), HG (W), AG (W), LG(L).
HG (6-2) vs. KG (W), VG (W), CB (W), CR (W), LG (L), Bk (L), P (W), AG(W).
RB (5-3) vs. LG (L), O (L), Gd (W), AG (W), Blk (L), CB (W), *CR (W), KG(W).
C R (5-3) vs. VG (W), LG (L), AG (W), HG (L). O (W), P (W), *RB (L), G(W).
VG (4-4) vs. CR (L), H. G. (L), Bk (L), *O (W), AG (L), KG (L), CB (W), P(W).
Or (4-4) vs. P (L), RB (W), LG (L), *VG (L), CR(L), AG (W), G(W), CB(W).
AG (3-5) vs. Gd (W), KG (W), CR (L), RB (L), VG (W), Or (L), BK (L), H(L).
P (3-5) vs. O (W), Bk (L), KG (L), Gld (W), CB (W), CR (L), HG (L),VG(L).
KG (2-6) vs. H.G. (L), AG (L), P (W), Bk (L), Gd (W), VG (L), LG (L), RB(L).
C B (1-7) vs. Bk (L), Gd (W), HG (L), LG (L), P (L), RB (L), VG (L), O(L).
Gld (0-8) vs. AG (L), CB (L), RB (L), P (L), KG (L), LG (L), O (L), CR(L).

Schools Competing As Whole Units

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

That's it.

-- Mel

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