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.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Guru's Philly Summer League Report: Kuester's 27 Leads Lime Green To Unbeaten Finish

By Mel Greenberg

HATBORO, Pa. --
Defending champion Lime Green finished the regular season unbeaten at 11-0 with a 68-47 win over Ash Gray (4-7) Thursday night as recent Saint Joseph's graduate Katie Kuester scored 27 points at the Kelly Bolish Gymnasium, home of the AAU Renegades in Lower Bucks County.

Kuester, the daughter of NBA Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach John Kuester, who will be on the Lehigh staff this winter and thus won't be eligible to compete in the league next season, had one of the only three 20-plus effort in the six games played Thursday night.

Lafayette sophomore Emily Homan scored 22 points for Cardinal Red (7-4) in its 77-67 upset of Black (9-2), which in the same game got 26 points from Holy Cross sophomore Alex Smith.

Danielle Callahan, a senior at Boston University, added 12 points to the Lime Green scoring, while Jenn Prine, a recent Shepherd U. graduate, scored nine points and Katelyn O'Reilly, a Lehigh sophomore, also scored nine points.

Lindsay Alexander, a Chestnut Hill senior, scored 11 points for Ash Gray, which was eliminated with the loss and through a head-to-head eighth place tiebreak with Purple (4-7). Aubrey Howland, a sophomore at Mary Washington, scored eight points while Megan Shaughnessy, another Chestut Hill senior, also scored eight points.

Meanwhile, the finish resulted in four standings ties, including the eighth-place deadlock with Ash Gray and Purple, that were all easily determined through the first tiebreaker -- head-to-head results -- to set the opening playoff matchups for Tuesday's quarterfinals.

A complex three-way tie for eighth that caused a lot of discussion as to finding a way to eliminate two of the teams became moot when 10th place Kelly Green (3-8) lost 65-54 to 11th place Columbia Blue (2-9) in one of the final nightcap games in the three doubleheaders.

For a while longtime comissioner David Kessler contemplated what needed to be done if the triple deadlock occurred before making a decision off conversations with the competition committee that became moot.

Kessler's email, incidentally, for contacting him is deucebk@comcast net.

Despite Purple losing 71-65 to Royal Blue (7-4), it was still able to advance to Tuesday's playoff action off its slim head-to-head 50-46 win over Ash Gray earlier this week.

Purple will meet top-seeded Lime Green at 7 p.m. Tuesday on Court 1 in an attempt to avenge an overall season-high 92-41 wipeout in the league on July 19.

Elsewhere Black (9-2) and Hunter Green (9-2) finished tied for second two games behind Lime Green following Black's 77-67 upset loss to Cardinal Red and Hunter Green's 65-47 win over Orange (5-6).

Black is seeded second off its 85-57 win over Hunter Green on July 10 and will play its quarterfinal game Tuesday at 8:15 on Court 1 against seventh-seeded Orange (5-6), which is composed of Division II Philadelphia University, a team Black beat 62-49 on July 19.

Orange's loss to Hunter Green caused a drop to a sixth-place tie with Vegas Gold (5-6), which picked up a 2-0 forfeit off winless Gold (0-11) Thursday night.

Vegas Gold, which is composed of Division II West Chester Univrsity, earned the sixth seed off a 69-53 win over Orange on June 28 and will open Tuesday in the quarterfinals on Court 2 at 7 p.m. against No. 3 Hunter Green, looking to avenge an 81-68 loss on June 21.

Royal Blue, composed of Division II Holy Family, finished tied for fourth with Cardinal Red and got the fourth seed off its 67-56 win on July 12th.

The seeds are a bit moot since the two will open their quarterfinal action against each other at 8:15 p.m. on Court 2 with Cardinal Red looking for revenge.

As for the details on the other four games besides the Vegas Gold forfeit win on Tuesday night to complete the regular season:

In addition to Homan's 22 for Cardinal Red in the win over Black, Kent State 2007 graduate Lakia Stewart scored 17 points, Temple 2008 graduate Ashley Morris scored 12 points, while the winners also got 11 points from Lafayette junior Kelly Loughney and 10 from incoming Lafayette freshman Annette Snow.

Black's Smith was joined in its scoring parade by Colgate sophomore Stephanie Schultz collecting 14 points, Kutztown senior Ashley Wood scoring 19 points and recent Bethune Cookman graduate Jasmine Elum getting nine points.

Taylor Bryant, who has enrolled at Delaware, led Columbia Blue in its win to ruin Kelly Green's playoff bid by scoring 12 points, while Alyssa Isler, a Gettysburg junior, and Danielle Derr, a Bloomsburg senior, each scored 11 points.

Kelly Green, which is really Division II University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, got 12 points from recent Devils graduate Rebecca Ruggar, while senior Elsebeth Birman and Brianne Traub, targeted for a 2017 graduation in USP's work/study program, each scored nine points.

Saint Joseph's junior Erin Shields scored 18 points to lead Hunter Green to its win and second-place tie while Madeleine Ross, a Division III Swarthmore senior, scored 13 points, incoming Saint Joseph's freshman Ciara Andrews scored 12 points, Sarah Fairbanks, yet another Hawks-bound freshman, scored 10 points and Lindsey Kelly, an incoming Nazareth College freshman, scored eight.

Orange, the Division II Philadelphia University contingent, in the loss to Hunter Green, got 11 points from senior Kristen Blye, seven points from sophomore Bria Young, six each from sophomore Najah Jacobs and junior Samantha Morris, and five each from junior Courtney Overholt and incoming freshman Alexandra Heck.

Holy Family's junior Maggie Serratelli scored 17 for Royal Blue in its win over Purple, while Tigers incoming freshman Sarab Listenbee scored 15 points, senior Erin Mann scored 11, and junior Carolyn Heston scored 10 points.

Holy Family, Philadelphia U., USP, and Chestnut Hill all compete in the Division II Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) while West Chester, the Vegas Gold bunch, competes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division.

Adddie Micir, the former Ivy player of the year and star of three-time defending league champion Princeton, scored 16 points for Purple, while Ryan Fiascki, a sophomore at East Stroudsburg, scored 11 points, incoming freshman Helena Gemmell at the same school scored 10, Devin Shea, a senior at Ithaca College, scored eight points, as did Division III Haverford senior Calla Miller.

FINAL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
TEAM W-L PCT. GB PF PA
Lime Green 11-0 1.000 --- 823 536
Black 9-2 .818 2.0 775 634
Hunter Grn 9-2 .818 2.0 758 718
Royal Blue 7-4 .636 4.0 639 619
1f-Cardinal Red 7-4 .636 4.0 750 609
2f-Vegas Gold 5-6 .455 6.0 622 674
Orange 5-6 .455 6.0 629 662
Purple 4-7 .363 7.0 663 721
$$-Ash Gray 4-7 .363 7.0 584 653
**lf-Kelly Green 3-8 .273 8.0 535 638
**-Col. Blue 2-9 .182 9.0 668 739
**2f-Gold 0-11 .000 11.0 504 717

**-Eliminated from playoffs off won-loss records
$$-Eliminated from playoffs in tie-breaking scenarios.
1f-Kelly Green 2, Cardinal Red 0, forfeit, July 19.
2f-Vegas Gold 2, Gold 0, forfeit, July 26

Breaking Ties
Seeds determined for playoffs and ties broken as follows:

1st Place: Lime Green -- Record.

2nd Place Black and Hunter Green tied and Black seeded second off 85-57 win over Hunter Green on July 10.

4th Place: Royal Blue and Cardinal Red tied and Royal Blue seeded fourth off 67-56 win over Cardinal Red on July 12th.

6th Place Vegas Gold and Orange tied and Vegas Gold seeded sixth off 69-53 win over Orange on June 28th.

8th Place: Purple and Ash Gray tied and Purple advanced to last playoff slot off 50-46 win over Ash Gray on July 24th.

10th Place Kelly Green -- Record. Eliminated.

11th Place: Columbia Blue -- Record. Eliminated.

12th Place: Gold -- Record. Eliminated.

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.

Playoff Schedule
(Will update after each round)

Quarterfinals
Tues., July 31
No. 8 Purple (4-7) vs. No. 1 Lime Green, (11-0), 7 p.m., Court 1
No. 7 Orange (5-6) vs. No. 2 Black (9-2), 8:15 p.m., Court 1
No. 6 Vegas Gold (5-6) vs. No. 3 Hunter Green (9-2), 7 p.m., Court 2
No. 5 Cardinal Red (7-4) vs. No. 4 Royal Blue (7-4), 8:15 p.m., Court 2

Semifinals
Thurs., Aug. 2
7 p.m. Highest Seed Survivor vs. Lowest Seed Survivor
8:15 p.m. Other Two Surviving Seeds

Championship Best-of-Three Finals
Tues., Aug. 7
Game 1, Court 1, 7:30 p.m.

Wed, Aug.8
Game 2, Court 1, 7:30 p.m.

Thurs., Aug. 9
(If necessary)
Game 3, Court 1, 7:30 p.m.

Saint Joe Scoring Power

Saint Joseph's made itself felt through the performance of its past and present stars in the league. Of the top 39 scoring performances -- 20 or more points -- the Hawks had 10 of those efforts from Kuester, Shields, senior Shelby Smith and senior Ashley Prim, and incoming freshmen Jordan Strode and Ciara Andrews.

Prim on the last place but competitive Gold squad recently produced the top two performances of the season, scoring 30, then 31 points on consecutive nights earlier this month.

Class designations to players in the roundup 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. The quarterfinals are next Tuesday night followed by the semifinals on Thursday night and then a best-of-three championship series the following week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and, if necessary Thursday.

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.

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.

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

Rosters of teams in the playoffs in order of their matchups will be repeated in a playoff preview over the weekend. The Guru will tweet when they are posted at @womhoopsguru.

Average Scores To Date (11 Games Through Final)

Lime Green (11-0) 74.8-48.7 Differential (approx. round nos.) 26.0 pts.
Black (9-2) 70.4-57.3 Differential 13 pts.
Hunter Green (9-2) 68.9-65.2 Differential 4.0 pts.
fl-Cardinal Red (7-4) 68.1-55.3 Differential 13.2 pts.
Columbia Blue (2-9) 60.7-67.1 Differental -6.0 pts.
Royal Blue (7-4) 58.0-56.2 Differental 2.0 pts.
Purple (4-7) 57.5-65.5 Differental -8.0 pts.
Orange (5-6) 57.1-60.1 Differental -3.0 pts.
2fwVegas Gold (5-6) 56.5-61.3 Differental -6.0 pts.
Ash Gray (5-6) 53.0-59.0 Differental -6.0 pts.
fw-Kelly Green (3-8) 48.6-58.0 Differental -9.0 pts.
2flGold (0-11) 45.8-65.1 Differential -19.0 pts.
fw and 2fw: includes 2-0 forfeit wins; fl and 2fl includes 0-2 forfeit losses.

Top Individual Performers (20 or more pts)
(39 performances, 28 individuals to date)

Tues., July 24: Ashley Prim, Gold 31 pts., vs. Black.
Thurs., July 19: Ashley Prim, Gold, 30 pts., vs. Hunter Green.
Thurs., June 28: Taylor Bryant, Columbia Blue, 29 pts., vs. Lime Green.
Tues., July 17: Ashley Morris, Cardinal Red, 29 pts., vs. Gold.
Tues., July 24: Jordan Strode, Gold, 29 pts., vs. Black.
Tues., July 24: Erin Shields, Hunter Green, 27 pts., vs. Royal Blue.
Thurs., July 26: Katie Kuester, Lime Green, 27 pts., vs. Ash Gray.
Tues., June 26: Katie Kuester, Lime Green, 26 pts., vs. Orange.
Thurs., June 28: Erin Shields, Hunter Green, 25 pts., vs. Cardinal Red.
Thurs., July 19: Shelby Smith, Hunter Green, 24 pts., vs. Gold.
Thurs., July 26: Alex Smith, Black, 26 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 26: Erin Mann, Royal Blue, 23 pts., vs. Vegas Gold.
Tues., July 10: Alex Wheatley, Columbia Blue, 22 pts., vs. Royal Blue.
Thurs., July 26: Emily Homan, Cardinal Red, 22 pts., vs. Black.
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.
Thurs., July 19: Jordan Strode, Gold, 21 pts., vs. Hunter Green.
Tues., July 24: Ashley Morris, Cardinal Red, 21 pts.,vs. Columbia Blue.
Tues., July 24: Ciara Andrews, Hunter Green, 21 pts., vs. Royal Blue.
Tues., July 24: Maggie Serratelli, Royal Blue, 21 pts., vs. Hunter Green.
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.
Tues., July 24: Dana Mitchell, Lime Green, 20 points vs. Vegas Gold.

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); Marisa Repasch, 10 pts. (Tues., July 24: Purple 50, Ash Gray 46.
Highest total points top scorer on losing team: Ashley Prim, 31 pts. (Tues., July 24: Black 80, Gold 77.)
Lowest total points top scorer on losing team: Lindsay Alexander, 6 pts. (Thurs., June 28: Royal Blue 52, Ash Gray 29).

Results To Date

Thurs., July 26
Regular Season Ends

Hunter Green 65, Orange 47
Columbia Blue 65, Kelly Green 54
Vegas Gold 2, Gold 0, forfeit by Gold.
Lime Green 68, Ash Gray 47
Royal Blue 71, Purple 65
Cardinal Red 77, Black 67

Tues., July 24
Orange 76, Kelly Green 43
Lime Green 75, Vegas Gold 59
Purple 50, Ash Gray 46
Black 80, Gold 77
Cardinal Red 82, Columbia Blue 54
Hunter Green 79, Royal Blue 72

Thurs., July 19
Ash Gray 66, Columbia Blue 58
Hunter Green 88, Gold 77
Kelly Green 2, Cardinal Red 0, Forfeit
Black 62, Orange 49
Lime Green 92, Purple 41
Royal Blue 62, Vegas Gold 47

Tues., July 17
Lime Green 76, Black 57
Cardinal Red 94, Gold 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 92, Purple 41 -- 7/19.
Lowest winning total points : Purple 50, Ash Gray 46 -- 7/24.
Highest losing total points: Hunter Green 88, Gold 77 -- 7/19.
Black 80, Gold 77 -- 7/24.
Lowest losing total points: Royal Blue 52, Ash Gray 29 -- 6/28
Highest differential (51 pts.): Cardinal Red 94, Gold 53 -- 7/17
Lime Green 92, Purple 41 -- 7/19
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
First No.seed, followed by standings No. with T being Tied.

1S1 LG (11-0) vs. RB (W), CR (W), O (W), CB (W), HG (W), Gd (W), KG (W), B(W), P(W), VG(W), AG(W).

2S2T BLK (9-2) vs. CB (W), P (W), VG (W), KG (W), RB (W), *-2HG (W), AG (W), LG(L), O(W), G(W), CR(L).

3S2T HG (9-2) vs. KG (W), VG (W), CB (W), CR (W), LG (L), *-2Bk (L), P (W), AG(W), G(W), RB(W), O(W),

4S4T RB (7-4) vs. LG (L), O (L), Gd (W), AG (W), Blk (L), CB (W), *-4CR (W), KG(W), VG(W), HG(L),P(W).

5S4T CR (7-4) vs. VG (W), LG (L), AG (W), HG (L). O (W), P (W), *-4RB (L), G(W), %-KG(L), CB(W),Bk(W).

6S6T VG (5-6) vs. CR (L), HG (L), Bk (L), *-6O (W), AG (L), KG (W), CB (W), P(W), RB(L), LG(L),%-G(W).

7S6T Or (5-6) vs. P (L), RB (W), LG (L), *-6VG (L), CR(L), AG (W), G(W), CB(W). B(L), KG(W), HG(L).

8S8T P (5-6) vs. O (W), Bk (L), KG (L), Gld (W), CB (W), CR (L), HG (L),VG(L), LG(L), *-8AG(W), RB(L).

9E8T AG (5-6) vs. Gd (W), KG (W), CR (L), RB (L), VG (W), Or (L), BK (L), H(L), CB(W), *-8P(L), LG(L).

10E10 KG (3-8) vs. H.G. (L), AG (L), P (W), Bk (L), Gd (W), VG (L), LG (L), RB(L), %-CR(W), Or(L),CB(L).

11E11 CB (2-9) vs. Bk (L), Gd (W), HG (L), LG (L), P (L), RB (L), VG (L), O(L), (AG), CR(L), KG(W).

12E11 Gld (0-11) vs. AG (L), CB (L), RB (L), P (L), KG (L), LG (L), O (L), CR(L), HG(L), Bk(L), %-(VG(L).
%-Forfeit games.

*-2 Tiebreak for 2nd; *-4 Tiebreak for 4th; *-6 Tiebreak for 6th; *-8 Tiebreak for 8th.
9E, 10E, 11E, 12E -- Eliminated from playoffs; 2T, 4T, 6T, 8T -- Tie number in standings.


Division II 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 for the roundup.

-- Mel



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