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.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Philly Summer League: Two Still Unbeaten as Gold Catches Idle White With Win Over Purple

By Mel Greenberg

And now the delayed but completed report from night number five.

Four closely fought games and the first action of most Division I players marked Tuesday night's action in the Philadelphia/Suburban Women's NCAA Summer Basketball League at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades, in Hatboro, Pa., in lower Bucks County.

Standings' wise, while the White squad (4-0), also known as Division II West Chester, took its turn with a bye in the 13-team league, Gold (4-0) handled Purple 77-57 to move back into a first-place tie and set up Thursday night's showdown between the last two unbeatens on Court 3 at 7 p.m.

Kelly Green (1-3) with a mostly full complement of players for the first time, got its initial triumph but had to battle Navy Blue into overtime before emerging with a 74-70 victory.

Black (3-2), which is also Division II Philadelphia University, edged Royal Blue 58-56 to keep the opposition left as the only winless squad, and moved into a three-way tie for third with Maroon, which fell 52-47 to Sky Blue. and Hunter Green, which handled Red 75-60.

In another close game, Orange edged Pink, also known as the Division II University of the Sciences of Philadelphia (USP), 50-49.

Saint Joseph's players dominated scoring in virtually every game and two incoming Hawks freshmen had the best performances of the evening.

Chelsea Woods was the only player to crack the 20 or more points honor roll with 21 but her Navy Blue team fell in overtime to Kelly Green, which had to forfeit two previous games due to lack of players.

Sarah Veilleux just missed the 20-point milestone, scoring 19 points for Hunter Green in a winning effort.

Though a multitude of Hawks were back in action -- previous posts have covered the problems due to issues with the NCAA -- the contingent of Lehigh players will not be back due to scheduling and time-off issues coupled with the travel down to the league from Bethlehem, Pa., about an honor and a half to the North.

Longtime commissioner David Kessler, still sidelined recovering from hip replaccement surgery but expecting to make an appearance at the gyn next week, said he just got word from Lehigh coach Sue Troyan, whose team competes in the winter in the Patriot League.

Sowing the Seeds

Since the season is only at the halfway point with many teams in deadlocked situations yet to play each other, the placement in the standings listed in this post were applied liberally in terms if the season ended today.

This helps getting ready when the time comes near the playoffs to factor seeds and which eight get to the postseason, especially at the cutoff point.

At the top it really made no difference for now between White and Gold since they are on a collision course heading into each other Thursday to decide the first and second positions.

In the three-way tie for third, neither have Hunter Green, Maroon, or Black met yet within themselves so set up a mini record.

So for now, Black's win over Orange is the best among the three to be placed third, followed by Hunter Green and Maroon, determined by better wins.

Sky Blue gets placed over Orange in the sixth-seventh slots because of the win over Maroon.

In the four-way for eighth, Purple is 1-0 within the group but has two quality wins elseewhere.
Navy Blue is next because of a 1-2 within the group while Red and Pink have no wins but each one loss within the group.

Pink goes ahead of Red because of better wins.

Kelly Green and Royal Blue are each uncontested in the final two slots, though the positions would be moot right now in terms of making the playoffs field.

The Recaps

Gold 77, Purple 57 -- Gold (4-0) caught up with idle White (4-0), to take first place though each are a game short to others after having served their byes.

Lauren Crisler, an American U sophomore out of North Penn High making her debut, had 14 points for Gold, while Saint Joseph's senior (all class designations are for status this fall) Natasha Cloud out of Cardinal O'Hara had 12 points, as did Meghan Gibson, a 2011 Division II Holy Family graduate out of Archbishop Ryan; and Alex Smith, a recent Holy Cross graduate out of the Peddie School.

Gold also connected on six 3-pointers.

Purple (2-3), which hit five 3-pointers and has several Division III Scranton players on the roster, got 11 points from Lia DiSciascio, a senior with the Royals out of Cardinal O'Hara, while Scranton junior Jaclyn Glantz out of Haverford High, and Courtney Webster, an incoming freshman at LeMoyne College out of Central Bucks East, each scored 10 points.

Black 58, Royal Blue 56 -- A gritty win for the Black (3-2) squad, also known as Division II Philadelphia University, and a tough loss for Royal Blue (0-5), which was deprived of its first win.

Rams senior Najah Jacobs out of Central High had 14 points for Black in the narrow win while senior Victoria Arnao out of Archbishop Wood scored 10 points, and senior Monica Schacker out of Germantown Academy scored nine points.

In the information provided the Guru, since he wasn't on the scene Tuesday night, there was no indication in any of these close gamess if buzzer-beaters, or desperate shots failing to connect or bringing a closer outcome but no win, were invoved in the final score.

Emily O'Donnell, an Albright junior out of William Tennent, scored14 points for Royal Blue, while Daphne Ginn, a Stevens sophomore, and Saint Joseph's junior Ciara Andrews out of Chelttenham High each scored 10 points.

Making her debut for Royal Blue was incoming Saint Josseph's freshman Adashia Franklyn out of West Chester Rustin High, whose mother Marilyn Stephens was an all-American at Temple and an all-time Public League star at Gratz.

Hunter Green 75, Red 60 -- The winners (3-2) moved closer to the top of the standings as incoming Saint Joseph's freshman Sarah Veilleux scored 19 points while Saint Joseph's junior Sarah Fairbanks scored 14 points and Erin Fenningham, a Holy Family junior out of St. Basil, scored 12 points.

Veilleux connected on three of the nine 3-pointers made by Hunter Green.

Though the score never got close at the finish, Red (2-3) nailed 11 treys and was led by Rosemont sophomore Tuga Goff out of Upper Dublin, who hsd 14 points and three of the treys, while Lauren Rothfeld, a Salisbury soophomore on Maryland's Eastern Shore out of Upper Dublin, and Emily DeAngelis, an incoming Wilkes freshman out of Council Rock South, who each scored 11 points.

DeAngelis also connected on three treys.

Orange 50, Pink 49 -- A narrow win enabled Orange (2-2) to get to .500 and moved into a tie for sixth with Sky blue (2-2) as Saint Joseph's sophomore Amanda Fioravanti scored 15 points, while Penn senior Kathleen Roche scored 11 points and her Quakers teammate from the defending Ivy champions senior Kara Bonenberger scored six points.

Orange also connected on four 3-pointers.

Pink (2-3), the USP squad, got 12 points from Devils senior Brianne Traub, while sophomore Jessica Sylvester nailed three 3-pointers and 11 overall points, and Sarah Abbonizio, targeted for 2020 graduatiion out of Episcopal Academy, scored 10 points.

Pink shot down six three-pointers in the narrow loss.

Kelly Green 74, Navy Blue 70 (overtime) -- After opening with three straight losses of which two were forfeits due to a shortage of players, Kelly Green (1-3) got extended into overtime before getting its first triumph of the season.

Alex Louin, an incoming Villanova freshman out of Mount Saint Joseph's Academy, scored 15 points for Kelly Green, and Saint Joseph's sophomore Mackenzie Rule out of Cardinal O'Hara, and Maureen Leahy, a Bryant junior out of Cardinal O'Hara, each scored nine points.

As mentioned earlier, Chelsea Woods, an incoming Saint Joseph's freshman out of Freire Charter had the night's top performance in the league with 21 points for Navy Blue (2-3), whiie Stephanie Keyes, a Penn State Abington senior out of Archbishop Wood, scored 13 points, followed by nine each from Saint Joseph's Kathleen Fitzpatrick out of Notre Dame de Namur and Lauren Gold, a Shippensburg sophomore out of Abington Friends.

Sky Blue 52, Maroon 47 -- Mary Ellen McCollum, a recent Holly Family graduate out of St. Basil, scored 12 points to lead Sky Blue (2=2) to a win over Maroon (3-2) and tie with Orange in the middle of the standings.

Carolyne Heston, another recent Holy Family graduate, who is also out of Villa Jos. Marie, had seven points, while Jenna Swope, a Gettysburg senior out of Archbishop Wood, scored seven points.

Maroon got eight points from Elana Roadcloud, a Ursinus junior out of Springside, and six each from Maddie Wallace, an incoming freshman at East Stroudsburg out of Archbishop Carroll, and Michelle Boggs, an East Stroudsburg junior out of Springside.

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
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
20 pts. -- Brittany Sicinski, White (W), vs. R.B., June 26

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

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

Standings (Thru July 9)

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

White, 4-0, 1.000, --, 296 196
Gold, 4-0, 1.000, --, 325 253
fw-Black, 3-2, .600, 1.5, 221 208
Hunter Green, 3-2, .600, 1.5, 324 330
fw-Maroon, 3-2, .600,1.5, 263 237
Sky Blue, 2-2, .500, 2.0, 249 208
Orange, 2-2, .500, 2.0, 158 182
fl-Purple, 2-3, .400, 2.5, 251 227
Navy Blue, 2-3, .400, 2.5, 313 311
Pink, 2-3, .400, 2.5, 260 272
Red, 2-3, .400, 2.5, 278 312
fl(2)-Kelly Green, 1-3, .250, 3.0, 118 173
Royal Blue, 0-5, .000, 4.5, 263 403

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

Past Results

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

The big showdown, as mentioned above,is on Court 3 at 7 p.m., when the last two unbeatens Gold (4-0) and White (4-0) will battle it out for undisputed possession of first place in what will be the halfway point in terms of teams reaching their sixth contest on the 12-game schedule in the 13-team league.

At the same time, Orange (2-2) will be looking to take down Maroon (3-2) on court 1 and move up some more in the standings.

In the 8:15 p.m. contests, Hunter Green (3-2) and Black (3-2) meet on Court 3 with identical records and the winner can jump alone into third place if Maroon loses its game.

Royal Blue (0-5), the only team without a win, will be seeking to reverse that when it meets Pink (2-3) on Court 2.

Upcoming Schedule

Thursday, July 10

7 p.m.

Orange (2-2) vs. Maroon (3-2), Court 1
Red (2-3) vs. Kelly Green (1-3), Court 2
Gold (4-0) vs. White (4-0), Court 3

8:15 p.m.

Sky Blue (2-2) va. Purple (2-3), Court 1
Royal Blue (0-5) vs. Pink (2-3), Court 2
Hunter Green (3-2) vs. Black (3-2), Court 3

Bye: Navy Blue

Tuesday, July 15

7 p.m.

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

8:15 p.m.

Gold vs. Royal Blue, Court 1
Kelly Green vs. Purple, Court 2
Maroon vs. Navy Blue, 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

That's it for this report.

-- Mel


- Posted using BlogPress from the Guru's iPad

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