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.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Philly Summer League: Crisler's 20 Points Helps 5-0 Gold Take Sole Possession of First

By Mel Greenberg

HATBORO, Pa. --
American University sophomore Lauren Crisler out of North Penn High poured down 20 points to lead a balanced attack as Gold handled White 69-47 Thursday night in the battle of remaining unbeatens in the Phladelphia/Suburban Women's NCAA Summer Basketball League at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades in lower Bucks County.

Crisler was one of four players to hit the nightly premium performance milestone of 20 or more points.

Division II University of the Sciences of Philadelphhia sophomore Brianne Traub had the night's best performance out of the three doubleheadeers, scoring 24 points for the Pink team in a 70-50 win over Royal Blue, which is still looking for its first victory as most teams hit the halfway point on the 12-game schedule in the 13-team league.

However, Royal Blue (0-6) remains alive in the hunt for the eight playoff spots considering the crowd from the middle of the standings to the bottom.

Natalie Stella, an incoming freshman for USP out of Wilmington Christian also had a big night for Pink with 21 points.

Amanda Fioravanti was the fourth player with a big night, scoring 21 point for Orange in a narrow 53-47 loss to Maroon.

While the tie at the top was broken, two teams are tied for third, two for sixth, and three for the eighth and final playoff spot while there is also a two-way tie for 11th.

Seed placement is explained several spots below.

Notes: Kuester Hired at Loyola Maryland

Former Saint Joseph's star Katie Kuester, who was part of several recent summer league champions, will be joining Philadelphian Joe Logan as one of his assistants with the university team that competes in the Patriot League.

Logaan also hired Sarah Jones, a former Central star and team captain at Villanova.

Inccidentally, Andy McGovern has been hired as an assistant at USP.

Meanwhile, after Thursday's action, the Guru drove over to visit longtime league commissioner David Kessler, who is recovering from replacement hip surgery.

Kessler recently moved into new digs about20 minutes northwest of the league action and reports he will be back on the scene, though still using his walker, on Tusday night.

He said he is feeling much better every day.

Kessler's new home is almost as spacious as his previious one.

Despite all the various hurdles that have popped up this summer, the league continues as Kessler's co-director Steve Michielli wih valuable help from Richard Fagan have taken the helm in the commissioner's absence.

Setting the Seeds

There is still much to deetermine before the final standings and eight playoff slots are set.

Ties are moot at the moment since many head-to-head meetings have yet to occur. But by doing them now gets things on thee road to save time later if deadlocks need to be broken.

So here is how the lineup goes after Thursday's games.

Gold and White uncontested in the top two slots.

The best way to determine the third slot given what has and not has been done, Maroon gets third and Hunter Green, with a worst loss, is placed fourth.

Sky Blue is alone in fifth.

Pink gets sixth over Black, the Division II Philadelphia University team, because of a head to head win.

To take three teams among themlves to snap a three-way at eighth, Kelly Green, on the move after suffering a few forfeits coping with the lack of Division I players until they were eligible due to the inadvertent snafu with the NCAA, gets eighth on the head-to--head win over Navy Blue, which occurred in overtime, then comes Orange with no wins or losses within the trio and then Navy Blue with the loss.

Purple gets placed ahead of Red in 11th because of a quality win over Hunter Green since the two have yet to play, and then Royal Blue rounds out the group.

The Recaps of Thursday's Action

Gold 69, White 47 -- Following Lauren Crisler's big night, Gold (5-0) remains unbeaten after Alex Smith, a recent Holy Cross graduate and former Peddie School star, scored 14 points, while Saint Joseph's senior Natasha Cloud out of Cardinal O'Hara and former Bethune-Cookman star Jasmine Elum out of Bodine High each scored 12 points.

White (4-1) drrops to second for now. The Division II West Chester contingent got 11 points from sophomore Emily Torrance out of West Chester Henderson High, and senior Mariah Powell and sphomore Victoria Smick each scored 10 points.

Maroon 53, Orange 47 -- The winners (4-2) moved into a third-place tie with Hunter Green (4-2) as Rachel Falkowski, an East Stroudsburg sophomore out of Central Bucks South, scored 14 points, Elana Roadcloud, a Division III Ursinus junior out of Springside, scored 12 points, and East Stroudsburg junior Melissa Poderis scored nine points in the closely-fought battle.

Amanda Fioravanti's 21 points have already been mentioned for Team Orange (2-3) while Penn senior Kara Bonenberger out of Northampton High scored 11 points and Quaakers teammate Kathleen Roche, a sister senior, scored 10 points.

Sky Blue 59, Purple 36 -- Alone in fifth place a half-game out of third and just two behind first, Sky Blue (3-2) got 14 points from Saint Joseph's incoming freshman Avery Marz out of Wilson High, while Hawks sophomore Jessica Pongonis scored 11 points and Bloomfield junior Tierra Scott scored seven points.

Purple (2-4) got 10 points from Nazareth College junior Lindsey Kelly out of Central Bucks East, while York junioe Julianne Lambert scored nine points, and Bucknell sophomore Megan McGurk scored seven points.

Kelly Green 59, Red 45 Trying to make up for lost ground, Kelly Green (2-3) got 15 points from Bryant junior Maureen Leahy out of Cardinal O'Hara, while incoming Villanova freshman Alex Louin out of Mount Saint Joseph's scored 14 points and Wildcats sophomore Megan Quinn out of Episcopal scored 12 points.

Tuga Goff, a Rosemont sophomore out of Upper Dublin scored 11 points for Red (2-4), Utica College sophomore Calypso Carty out of Central Bucks West scored 10 points and Salisbury sophomore Lauren Rothfeld out of Upper Dublin scored eight points.

Hunter Green 51, Black 43 -- Incoming Saint Joseph's freshman Sarah Veileux scored 17 points to help Hunter Green (4-2) stay tied for third with Maroon 1.5 games out of the lead.

Erin Fenningham, a Holy Family junor out of St.Basil scored 14 points as did Saint Joseph's juior Sarah Fairbanks.

Black (3-3) stayed even in the won-loss column as Philadelphia University senior Najah Jacobbs out of Central High scored 11 points, a total matched by Rams senior teammate Victoria Arnao out of Archbishop Wood, and sophomore Regan Marriner out of Merion Mercy Academy scored eight points.

Pink 70, Royal Blue 50 -- Jessica Silverster, a USP soophomore, scored eight points for Pink (3-3), which got the other big scores previously mentioned from Traub and Stella.

Incoming Saint Joseph's freshman Adashia Franklyn out of Rustin High in West Chester Rustin scored 12 points for Royal Blue (0-6).

Franklyn's mother Marilyn Stephens was a Temple all-American rrecruited out of Gratz High by new USP assistant Andy McGovern when he coached the Owls in the early 1980s.

Erica Guketlov, a Stevens sophomore, scored 11 for Royal Blue and connected on three threes while Saint Joseph's junior Ciara Andrews out of Cheltenham scored 10 points.

Individual Scoring Performances
(20 or more points)

31 pts. -- Jasmine Elum, Gold (W) vs. Maroon, July 1
27 pts. -- Samantha Stipa, Purple (W) vs. H.G., June 26
26 pts. -- Courtney Brown, Maroon (W) vs. R. Blue, July 2
24 pts. -- Jasmine Elum, Gold (W) vs Hunter Green, June 24
24 pts. -- Erin Fenningham, Hunt. Green (W) vs. N.B., July 1
24 pts. -- Alexis Smith, Gold (W) vs. Maroon, July 1
24 pts. -- Brianne Traub, Pink (W) vs. Royal Blue, July 10
23 pts. -- Lexi Scrivano, Kelly Green (L) vs. White, June 24
22 pts. -- Mariah Powell, White (W) vs. Kelly Green, June 24
22 pts. -- Alex Smith, Gold (W) vs. Orange, June 26
22 pts. -- Brianne Traub, Pink (L) vs. Sky Blue, July 1
21 pts. -- Alex Smith, Gold (W) vs. Hunter Green, June 24.
21 pts. -- Jasmine Elum, Gold (W) vs. Orange, June 26
21 pts. -- Chelsea Woods, Navy Blue (L-OT), vs. Kelly Green, July 8
21 pts. -- Amanda Fioravanti, Orange (L) vs. Maroon,July 10
21 pts. -- Natalie Stella, Pink (W) vs. Royal Blue, July 10
20 pts. -- Brittany Sicinski, White (W), vs. R.B., June 26
20 pts. -- Lauren Crisler, Gold (@),vs. White, July 10

Running Tracker for Playoff Seeds and Tiebreakers
Placements now reflect seeds for most teams but not all if the season ended today, which it doesn't


Gold (5-0): H.G. (W), Orange (W), Maroon (W), Purple (W), White (W).
White (4-1): K.G.(W), R.B. (W), Purple (W), S.B.(W), Gold (L)
Maroon (4-2): Red (W), K.G. (W-F), Gold (L), R.B. (W), S.B. (L), vs. Orange (W)
Hunter Green (4-2) Gold (L), Purp. (L), N.B. (W), Pink (W), Red (W), vs. Black (W)
Sky Blue: (3-2) R.B.(W), Pink (L), White (L), Maroon(W), Purple (W).
Pink (3-3): Black (W), N.B. (L), S.B. (W), H.G. (L), Orng (L ), R.B. (W)
Black (3-3): Pink (L), Red (L), Orange (W), K.G. (W-F), R.B. (W), H.G. (L)
Kelly Green (2-3): White (L), Maroon (L-F), Black (L-F), N.B. (W-OT), Red (W)
Orange (2-3): Gold (L), Black (L), Purple (W-F), Pink (W), Maroon (L)
Navy Blue (2-3): Purple (L), Pink (W),H.G.(L), Red (W), K.G. (L-OT)
Purple (2-4): N.B.(W), H.G.(W),White (L), Orange (L-F), Gold (L), S.B. (L)
Red (2-4) Maroon (L), Black (W), R.B.(W), N.B. (L), H.G. (L), KG (L)
Royal Blue (0-6): S.B. (L), White (L), Red (L), Maroon (L), BLack (L), Pink (L)

Standings (Thru Monday, July 14)

Team, W-L, Pct., G.B., Pts., Opp Pts.

Gold, 5-0, 1.000, --, 394 300
White, 4-1, .800, 1.0, 343 265
fw-Maroon, 4-2, .667, 1.5, 316 184
Hunter Green, 4-2, .667, 1.5, 375 373
Sky Blue, 3-2, .600, 2.0, 308 244
Pink, 3-3, .500, 2.5, 330 322
w-Black, 3-3, .500, 2.5, 264 259
fl(2)-Kelly Green, 2-3, 400, 3.0, 177 228
Orange, 2-3, .400, 3.0, 205 235
Navy Blue, 2-3, .400, 3.0, 313 311
fl-Purple, 2-4, .333, 3.5, 287 286
Red, 2-4, .333, 3.5, 323 371
Royal Blue, 0-6, .000, 5.5, 313 473

fw -- includes forfeit win, fl -- includes forfeit loss

Past Results

Thursday (July 10) Results

Maroon 53, Orange 47
Sky Blue 59, Purple 36
Kelly Green 59, Red 45
Gold 69, White(D2-West Chester) 47
Hunter Green 51, Black (D2-Phila. U) 43
Pink (D2-USP) 70, Royal Blue 50

Tuesday (July 8) Results

Black (D2-Phila. U.) 58, Royal Blue 56
Kelly Green 74, Navy Blue 70, ovt.
Orange 50, Pink (D2-USP) 49
Sky Blue 52, Maroon 47
Hunter Green 75, Red 60
Gold 77, Purple 57

Wednesday (July 2) Results

Hunter Green 51, Pink 47
Maroon 98, Royal Blue 48
White (D2-West Chester) 59, Sky Blue 48
Navy Blue 78, Red 52
Black 2, Kelly Green 0, forfeit
Orange 2, Purple 0, forfeit

Tuesday (July 1) Results

Hunter Green 69, Navy Blue 59
White (West Chester) 54, Purple 45
Gold 85, Maroon 68
Black (Phila. U.) 54, Orange 38
Pink (USP) 59, Sky Blue 56
Red 70, Royal Blue 57

Thursday (June 26) Results

Red 55, Black 54
White 84, Royal Blue 59
Gold 79, Orange 68
Purple 80, Hunter Green 50
Navy Blue 62, Pink 46
Maroon 2, Kelly Green 0 (forfeit)
Bye: Sky Blue

Tuesday (June 24) Results

Purple 69, Navy Blue 44
Maroon 48, Red 42
Sky Blue 93, Royal Blue 43
White (West Chester) 99, Kelly Green 44
Pink (USP) 59, Black (Phila. U.) 53
Gold 84, Hunter Green 59
Bye: Orange

Looking Ahead

Hunter Green (4-2) can help itself Tuesday night in a 7 p.m. game when it meets White (4-1) on Coourt 1 with a chance to move into second place.

Maroon (4-2) will look to stay in the uppper part of the standngs in an 8:15 p.m. game when it meets Navvy Blue (2-3) on Court 3.

The rest of the action has teams all within hailing distance of each other that will battle to stay above or even with the eighth seed and final playoff slot as the second half of the 12-game slate gets under way, though some teams will just be getting to their sixth game.


Upcoming Schedule

Tuesday, July 15

7 p.m.

Hunter Green (4-2) vs. White (4-1), Court 1
Pink vs. Red (2-4), Court 2
Sky Blue (3-2) vs. Orange (2-3), Court 3

8:15 p.m.

Gold (5-0) vs. Royal Blue, Court 1
Kelly Green (2-3) vs. Purple (2-4), Court 2
Maroon (4-2) vs. Navy Blue (2-3), Court 3

Bye: Black

Thursday, July 17

7 p.m.

White vs. Red, Court 1
Hunter Green vs. Orange, Court 2
Pink vs. Maroon, Court 3

8:15 p.m.

Black vs. Purple, Court 1
Gold vs. Navy Blue, Court 2
Kelly Green vs. Sky Blue, Court 3

Bye: Royal Blue

Tuesday, July 22

7 pm.

Royal vs. Purple, Court 1
Navy Blue vs. Black, Court 2
Gold vs. Sky Blue, Court 3

8:15 p.m.

White vs. Orange, Court 1
Hunter Green vs. Maroon, Court 2
Pink vs. Kelly Green

Bye: Red

That's it for this report.

-- Mel


- Posted using BlogPress from the Guru's iPad

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