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 03, 2014

Philly Summer League: Unbeaten Team White Bolts to Sole Possession of First Place

By Mel Greenberg

HATBORO, Pa. --
White moved ahead into sole possession of first place Wednesday night a half-game ahead of idle Gold with a 59-48 victory over Sky Blue in the Philadelphia/Suburban Women's NCAA Summer Basketball League with a well-balanced attack.

Also known as the Division II West Chester squad, Team White was paced by senior Kendall Benovy with 13 points, sophomore Brooke Mullen out of Boyertown High with 11 points, and junior Brittany Sicinsku out of Downingtown West with 10 points.

Recent Division II Holy Family graduate Mary Ellen McCollum out of St. Basil had 14 points while Dowling College senior Christine Verrelle out of Archbishop Wood scored nine points for Sky Blue (1-2) in the action at Kelly Bolish Gymnasium, home of the AAU Renegades in Willow Grove Industrial Commons at the end of Turnpike Drive off Davisville Road in Lower Bucks County.

White (4-0) will stay in first Tuesday night because it is the next of the 13 teams in the league to gain a bye.

That was the same situation for Gold (3-0) Wednesday night as teams in the league did a quick turnaround within 24 hours before of the schedule running into the holiday weekend.

White and Gold are the only two unbeaten teams left, just ahead of Maroon (3-1). Gold resumes action Tuesday night against Purple at 7 p.m. on Court 1.

Two games were not played, however, becoming forfeits as Kelly Green (0-3) suffered its second straight setback caused by a lack of players. Black (2-2), which is also Division II Philadelphia University, was the beneficiary.

Kelly Green should improve next time out however when Division I players begin to participate in league competition.

They had to be held back the first three or four games, depending on who's teams got byes the first two weeks, because of complications arising with certification with the NCAA.

Purple (2-2) suffered a fofeit loss to Orange (1-2), which picked up its first triumph, because of an ineligible player.

In the other three games that were played, Maroon (3-1) exploded for a 98-48 win over Royal Blue (0-4), which is still looking for its first victory.

Hunter Green edged Pink 51-47 to be part of a logjam of six teams with .500 records at 2-2 that was also created with a Navy Blue 78-52 victory over Red.

Pink, which actually won Tuesday night but was written here as a loss (it's all been adjusted), is also the Division II University of the Sciences of Philadelphia.

Bob Heller, who is USP all-everything on the athletic department staff, provided the recap of Pink's game listed below.

All teams in the standings and running tracker are in place by natural seed position if the regular season were over now but, of course, it isn't, and the teams in deadlocks have yet to play the same number against each other.

This will continue, perhaps in evolving form, to be in flux for a while until they are broken apart by records or by meeting each other.

For example, in terms of the six that are tied, here is their records within the group that causes the placement: Purple 2-0, Hunter Green 2-1, Navy Blue 2-2, Red 1-1, Pink 1-2, and Black 0-2.

Orange's forfeit win over Purple breaks the other tie, which is with Sky Blue, and puts them in the 10th seeded position over Sky Blue.

Eight teams make the playoffs in early August.

Wednesday's Recaps

Maroon 98, Royal Blue 48 -- Courtney Brown, a sophomore at Division II East Stroudsburg out of Council Rock South, had 26 points, the only player on the night to go above 20 in league play, to keep Maroon (3-1) right behind the two unbeaten leaders in the standings.

The winners shot 10 three-pointers and Brown nailed six of them from beyond the arc.

Elena Roadcloud, a junior at Division III Ursinus out of Springside, had 17 points, Ryann Fiascki, a Divsion II East Stroudsburg senior out of Archbishop Carroll had 13 points, Rachel Falkowski, whose university and high school affiliation's are the same as Maroon teammate Courtney Brown, had 15 points, while Taylor Bryant, listed as a Penn student out of Upper Dublin, had 12 points.

Emily O'Donnell, a junior at Albright out of William Tennent, had 14 points for Royal Blue (0-4), and Megan Petsuky, a Stevens junior, had 10 points, while Stevens sophomore Erica Guketlov scored nine points.

White 59, Sky Blue 48 -- The details were all noted in the top of this report and thus do not need to be repeated here.

Kelly Green vs. Black (Philadelphia U.) -- Kelly Green forfeited a game for the second straight time due to a lack of players.

Purple vs. Orange -- Purple forfeited due to the use of an ineligible player.

Navy Blue 78, Red 52 -- A key outcome that resulted in the six-team deadlock for fourth place at 2-2, including the duo in this game, saw another contingent with a well-balanced attack as Devin Gold, a senior at Caldwell College out of Council Rock North, scored 15 points for Navy Blue (2-2).

Lauren Gold, a Shippensburg sophomore out of Abington Friends, and senior Jessica Schmidt of Penn State Abington out of Abington High, each scored 14 points in the Navy Blue attack, while Janaiah Elum, a PSU-Abington junior out of Northeast High, and Stephanie Keyes, a PSU-Abington senior out of Archbishop Wood each scored 12 points. Double digits were also collected by PSU-Abington junior Kira Ogden, a former Cheltenham star, who scored 11 points.

Lauren Rothfeld, a Salisbury sophomore out of Upper Dublin, had 16 points for Red (2-2), which shot five treys, including three from Rothfeld.

Josephine Noonan, an incoming Saiisbury freshman, also scored in double figures for Red, collecting 11 points.

Hunter Green 51, Pink 47 -- Millersville incoming freshman Maya Thomas out of Plymouth Whitemarsh High had 11 point for Hunter Green (2-2), which held off a strong second half rally and got to .500, while Sarah Listenbee, a junior at Mary Washington out of Abington High, had 10 points, and Erin Fenningham, a Division II Holy Family junior out of St. Basil, and Yasmin Walker, a Holy Family sophomore out of Caravel Academy, each scored nine points.

Laura Trisch, an incoming freshman at University of the Sciences of Philadelphia out of Archbishop Wood, scored 12 for Pink (2-2).

The Pink team could not get on track in the opening stanza with their first field goal not coming until 12 minutes had gone by.

Hunter Green opened a 13-2 lead and expanded it to 32-17 at the break, taking advantage of Pink's shooting woes.

Pink came out rejuvenated in the second half with a 16-4 run over the first six minutes to cut the lead to three 36-33.

Caitlin Conroy’s short jumper in the lane pulled Pink within two with nine minutes to go, 40-38.

Hunter Green scored four of the next six points to jump back up by four 44-40 before Pink rallied to take their only lead of the night 45-44 after a triple by Trisch and a layup from USciences senior Jessica Sylvester (eight points).

Hunter Green however, countered with six straight points to go up 50-45 with just under a minute to play.

Another USciences incoming freshman, Sarah Abbonizio (seven points), added a bucket with 36 ticks on the clock to pull Pink within three and after forcing a 10 second violation (13 in actuality before the whistle blew) Pink had the ball with 23 seconds and got a wide open look for a potential game-tying three..

Bbut the shot bounced off the rim and was rebounded by Hunter Green’s Maya Thomas (team high 11 points). Pink had several fouls to give and began to foul, eventually putting Fenningham on the line with 4.4 seconds. She made 1-2 to seal the win 51-47.

Note: Abbonizio is beginning her first year in USciences six-year Doctor of Physical Therapy program. Hence class of ’20. Brianne Traub and Sylvester are similar - senior players in 14-15 and is in the six year Doctor of Pharmacy program, hence class of ’18.

Shifting Roster Personnel

As the Division I players return to begin their first action on Tuesday, here are the roster changes made necessary, as the Guru noted previously, due to a new NCAA rule in which incoming freshmen players now also are part of the D-1 count in terms of limiting only two players each from a school on the same summer squad.

Royal Blue to Sky Blue: Avery Marz, St. Joe '18; and Jess Pongonis, St. Joe '17.

Sky Blue to Royal Blue: Kayla Burton, Lehigh '17.

Hunter Green to Gold: Natasha Cloud, St. Joe '15; and Candace Belvedere, St. Joe '18.

Gold to Hunter Green: Lexi Martins, Lehigh 17; and Taylor Campell, Lehigh '18.

Orange to Navy Blue: Kerry Kinek, Lehigh '16.

Navy Blue to Orange: Amanda Fiorvanti, St. Joe '17.

These changes were made by coaches at the schools themselves involving Saint Joseph's and Lehigh.

The Guru will re-post the entire new rosters that contain the changes prior to Tuesday's games and will tweet when they are on the blog. The twitter account is @womhoopsguru.

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

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

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

Standings (Thru July 7)

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

White, 4-0, 1.000, --, 296 196
Gold, 3-0, 1.000, 0.5, 248 196
fw-Maroon, 3-1, .750, 1.0, 216 175
fl-Purple, 2-2, .500, 2.0, 194 150
Hunter Green, 2-2, .500, 2.0, 229 270
Navy Blue, 2-2, .500, 2.0, 243 237
Red, 2-2, .500, 2.0, 218 237
Pink, 2-2, .500, 2.0, 211 222
fw-Black, 2-2, .500, 2.0, 163 152
fw-Orange, 1-2, .333, 2.5, 108 133
Sky Blue, 1-2, .500, 2.5, 197 161
fl(2)-Kelly Green, 0-3, .000, 3.5, 44 103
Royal Blue, 0-4, .000, 4.0, 207 345

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

Past Results

Wednesday (July 2) Results

Hunter Green 51, Pink 47
Maroon 98, Royal Blue 48
White 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

Starting next week this space will be used to write a look ahead to the next night's action as the implications of next games become more meaningful.

Upcoming Schedule

Tuesday, July 8

7 p.m.

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

8:15 p.m.

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

Bye: White

Thursday, July 10

7 p.m.

Orange vs. Maroon, Court 1
Red vs. Kelly Green, Court 2
Gold vs. White, Court 3

8:15 p.m.

Sky Blue va. Purple, Court 1
Royal Blue vs. Pink, Court 2
Hunter Green vs. Black, 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

That's it for this report.

-- Mel


- Posted using BlogPress from the Guru's iPad

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