Philly Women's Summer League: St. Joe's Star Chelsea Woods' 43 Leads Purple to Five-Way Tie in First

By Mel Greenberg - @womhoopsguru

And Bob Heller

 HATBORO, Pa. – Saint Joseph’s junior Chelsea Woods, who has been hot all season, exploded for 43 points to lead Purple to a 90-81 win over White (2-3) Tuesday night and become part of a five-way tie for first at 4-1 in the Philadelphia/Suburban NCAA Certified Women’s Summer Basketball League 

Pink’s sole possession at the top as the last unbeaten team quickly ended as Gold (4-1) bounced back from last Thursday’s -2-0 forfeit loss to Purple to beat the league leader head on 76-59 on the strength of Alex Smith’s 18 points at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades.

Maroon (4-1) topped Kelly Green 58-47 while Sky Blue (4-1) in one of the more competitive outcomes of the night overcame Red 61-56 to keep pace at the top and become the other parts of the five-way tangle as the third week of action got under way.

It could stay that way for a while since none of the five will meet each other Thursday night and then because of the July 4 holiday on Monday the league, in a rarity, will be dark all next week before action resumes on Tuesday, July 12.

Royal Blue (3-2) got to hold sixth place all by itself as a result of a 55-45 victory of Black (0-5) which, along with Kelly Green (0-5), has yet to hit the win column to date.

Saint Joseph’s senior Amanda Fioravanti made her first appearance of the summer and scored 14 points to lead Royal Blue. Hawks sophomore Michala Clay made her first appearance also, playing for White, which fell into a three-way tie for seventh with the loss to Purple while Red’s loss to Sky Blue and Orange’s 67-42 win over Hunter Green (1-4) placed those two teams into the seventh place deadlock.

Hunter Green’s loss dropped the squad into sole possession of 10th place. Black and Kelly Green, which fell to Maroon, hold the 11th place tie at the bottom with their winless performances.

Tori Smick’s 21 points for Red made her the only other player to reach the individual 20 or more points nightly milestone besides the Woods attack.

With help from Bob Heller, who tracked everything Tuesday night, and longtime Commissioner David Kessler’s scoring recaps sent to the Guru, here’s a look at all the action.

Recaps

Purple 90, White 81 – Woods used five 3-pointers and shot 7-for-7 from the line to fuel her 43-point total for Purple while Symantha Marrero, one of several Penn State-Abington players on Purple and also a Central High grad had 18 points off four treys, while Jaryn Garner, a Saint Joseph’s senior out of Germantown Academy, scored 12 points.

Sierra Taylor, a Kutztown freshman out of Camden Catholic, scored 16 points for White, Karen Lapkiewicz, another Kutztown freshman but out of St. Basil, scored 15, Alexandra Heck, a recent Philadelphia University grad out of Archbishop Wood, scored 14, Gabbi Wright, another Kutztown frosh, this one out of Cheltenham High, shot 7-for-8 for the line on the way to 11 points, and Michala Clay in her summer debut scored 10 points.

Woods’ big night helped push a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter to eight at the half.

White narrowed the deficit to two points in the third before Purple pulled away to become the third team this summer to score 90 or more points.

Gold 76, Pink 59 – In the game that saw Pink fall from the unbeaten column, Alex Smith, a 2014 Holy Cross grad out of the Peddie School, hit three treys to propel her way to her 18 points for the winners, while Adaisha Franklyn, a Saint Joseph’s junior out of Bayard Rustin, scored 14 points and Shira Newman, a 2013 Millersville grad out of Upper Dublin, scored 10 points for Keith Woods’ team.

Coach Steve Flynn got 13 points from Emma Dorshimer, a Gettysburg sophomore out of Jenkintown, shooting 4-for-4 from the line for his Pink squad, while 12 points each were collected by Emily Walls, Moravian Sophomore out of Bayard Rustin, and Lauren Rothfeld, a Salisbury junior out of Upper Dublin, who had a pair of treys and made both her foul shots.

Gold reached a double digit lead late in the first quarter and never trailed. They took an 11-point halftime lead and scored the first seven points of the next period.

Pink did not go quietly, responding with a 10-1 run to get within nine, but Gold was quickly back up by 11 and built the advantage to as many as 18 points.

Maroon 58, Kelly Green 47 – The  USciences squad on the way to keeping Kelly Green out of the win column, got 13 points from Laura Trisch, a Devils junior out of Arcbishop Wood, while eight points each came from Alyx McKiernan, a Devils sophomore;; Colleen Walsh, a junior out of the Shipley School, and Alex Thomas, a targeted for 2020 graduation.

Trisch sank six foul shots in the final two minutes to secure the win. Maroon used runs of 15-0 and 13-7 around a 12-0 Kelly Green counter to maintain control in the stretch drive.

No one scored in double figures for Kelly Green, as Danielle Skedzielewski, a Delaware Valley sophomore out of Archbishop Ryan, scored nine points, Zoe Hahn, a Stevens Tech freshman out of Kingsway Regional, scored 8, and seven other Kelly Green players got into the scoring column.

Orange 67, Hunter Green 42 – Mackenzie Rule, a Saint Joseph’s senior out of Cardinal O’Hara, got most of her 14 points for Orange out of three 3-pointers, the same number that Allison Chernow, an Emory freshman out of Upper Dublin, shot to go with her perfect two foul shots on the same number of attempts, while Morgan Goldenbaum, an Ursinus freshman out of Neshaminy, scored 12, Lauren Killion, an Albright freshman out of Lower Moreland, scored 10 points on two treys and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line, and Kendall Grasela, a Penn freshman out of Germantown Academy, scored 10 points.

Katherine Feehery, a Scranton junior out of Cardinal O’Hara, scored 15 points for Hunter Green, while Karissa Mansure, a Catholic U sophomore out of Shawnee, scored 11 points.

Orange finished the opening quarter with an 8-2 run and then dominated 19-6 in the second to coast to a win.

Sky Blue 61, Red 56 – Recent Saint Joseph’s grad Ciara Andrews out of Cheltenham scored 19 points to help Six Blue get its piece of the league lead while Lily Kuntz, a Middlebury freshman out of Episcopal scored 10 points.

Behind the 21 points from Tori Smick, a West Chester senior out of Woodstown on the predominantly Golden Rams squad this summer, Jenna Widdicombe, a sophomore out of Pope John Paul II, scored 15 points, and Mariah Traywick, a sophomore out of Spring-Ford, scored 11.

There were several ties and lead changes in the closely-fought battle but Stephanie Petery, a Mercyhurst freshman out of John Paul Ii, hit two foul shots while Kristalyn Baisden, a Saint Joseph’s sophomore, sank another in the final 43 seconds to ensure Sky Blue’s place in the standings Penhouse.

Royal Blue 55, Black 45 – After Fioravanti’s 14 points for the winners, Katie Armstrong, a Saint Joseph’s freshman from Perkiomen Valley, scored 12, making all three of her free throw attempts To give Royal Blue sole possession of sixth place a game behind the deadlocked quintet in front.

Caitlyn Cunningham, a Saint Joseph’s freshman from Mount Saint Joseph’s on the predominantly Philadelphia University squad, scored 10 points from two treys and 2-for-2 from the line, Erin Rafter, a Rams junior out of Washington Township, scored nine, and seven each came from Ashley Barber, a Rams freshman from Upper Dublin; Rachel Day, a Rams junior out of Archbishop Wood, and Kelsey Jones, a Saint Joseph’s senior out of Mount Saint Joseph’s.

Royal Blue was down five at the half but erupted on a 21-8 run over the final two quarters to seal the win.

Breaking Ties

Since looking ahead, a normal staple, doesn’t offer clear-cut must-see games based on records Thursday night other than fans cheering for their favorites, especially the underdogs, we took a shot on breaking all the ties for the purpose of standings placement.

There’s no reason yet to officially place seed numbers with an eye to the eight-team playoffs but here’s what was done with the three sets of ties:

In the five-team gridlock at the top, you look at records among them overall, though not all have met yet in the same number.

But for now, out of the mix, Purple and Gold were both 2-1 in the group and Purple has the forfeit win so they go 1-2, then Pink at 1-1 goes into the third slot, and Maroon and Sky Blue at 0-1 get the next two on a coin flip right now since they haven’t mt to use the head-to-head standard.

Royal Blue is alone in sixth place.

In the next group of a three-way tie, White is 1-0, Red  is 1-1, and Orange is 0-1 so that takes care of 7-8-9.

Hunter Green is alone in 10th while Black and Kelly Green are placed through a coin flip. 

Standings

(Thru June 29)

Team,  W-L, Pct., G.B., PF, PA

%-Purple, 4-1, .800, --, 302 200

@-Gold, 4-1, .800, ---, 318 235

Pink, 4-1, 1.000, --, 339 308

Maroon, 4-1, .800, --, 295 293

Sky Blue, 4-1, .800, --, 355 348

Royal Blue, 3-2, .600, 1.0, 317 287

White, 2-3, .400, --,2.0 315 336

%-Red,2-3 ,.400, 2.0 , 244 253

@-Orange, 2-3, .400, 2.0 233 272

Hunter Green, 1-4, .250, 3.0, 280 328

Black, 0-5, .000, 4.0, 233 305

Kelly Green, 0-5, .000, 4.0, 288 344

%-includes forfeit win

@-includes forfeit loss

Schedule

Thursday, June 30

7 p.m.

Kelly Green (0-5) vs. Gold (4-1), Court 1

Purple (4-1) vs. Red (2-3), Court 2

Pink (4-1) vs. Royal Blue (3-2), Court 3

8:15 p.m.

Maroon (4-1) vs. White (2-3), Court 1

Hunter Green (1-4) vs. Black (0-5), Court 2

Sky Blue (4-1) vs. Orange (2-3), Court 3

Tuesday, July 5, Thursday, July 7

No Games

Tuesday, July 12

7 p.m.

Purple vs. Black, Court 1

Royal Blue vs. Orange, Court 2

White vs. Kelly Green, Court 3

8:15  p.m.

Red vs. Pink, Court 1

Sky Blue vs. Maroon, Court 2

Hunter Green vs. Gold, Court 3 

Thursday, July 14

7 p.m.

Hunter Green vs. Red, Court 1

Pink vs. Maroon, Court 2

Sky Blue, vs. White, Court 3

8:15 p.m.

Orange vs. Black, Court 1

Royal Blue vs. Gold, Court 2

Purple vs. Kelly Green, Court 3

Results

Tuesday, June 28

Purple 90, White 81

Gold 76, Pink 59

Maroon 58, Kelly Green 47

Royal Blue 55, Black 45

Orange 67, Hunter Green 42

Sky Blue 61, Red 56

Thursday, June 23

Sky Blue 78, Royal Blue 71

Orange 71,  Kelly Green 65

Purple 2,  Gold 0, forfeit

Maroon 64, Black 41

White 67, Red 64, OT

Pink 70, Hunter Green 66, OT

Tuesday, June 21

Purple 57, Maroon 52

Royal Blue 80, Hunter Green 58

Red 69, Kelly Green 66

White 60, Black 44

Gold 89, Sky Blue 59

Pink 75, Orange 50

Thursday, June 16

Sky Blue 67, Hunter Green 66

Pink 63, Black 51

Maroon 59, Red 53, overtime

Purple 88, Orange 45

Gold 90, White 63

Royal Blue 56, Kelly Green 44

Wednesday, June 15

Hunter Green 48, White 44

Sky Blue 90, Kelly Green 66

Pink 72, Purple 65

Gold 63. Black 52

Maroon 62, Royal Blue 55

Red 2, Orange 0, forfeit

Individual Scoring 20 Or More Points

43-Chelsea Woods, Purple, W, vs. White, June 28

33-Chelsea Woods, Purple, W, vs. Maroon, June 22

32-Chelsea Woods, Purple, L, vs. Pink, June 15

28-Alex Smith, Gold, W, vs. Sky Blue, June 22

28-Alex Smith, Gold, W, vs. White, June 16

26-Alexix Roman, Hunter Green, L, vs. Sky Blue, June 16

25-Ciara Andrews, Sky Blue, W, vs. Hunter Green, June 16

25-Ciara Andrews, Sky Blue, W, vs. Kelly Green, June 15

23-Alynna Williams, Black, L, vs. Pink, June 23

23-Kelsey Watson, White, L, vs. Gold, June 16

23-Chelsea Woods, Purple, W, vs. Orange, June 16

22-Mia Hopkins, Gold, W, vs. Sky Blue, June 22

22-Adaisha Franklyn, Gold, W, vs. White, June 16

21-Tori Smick, Red, L, vs. Sky Blue, June 28

21-Julia Glantz, Hunter Green, W, vs. White, June 15

21-Jessica Gerber, Sky Blue, W, vs. Kelly Green, June 15

21-K.T. (Katie) Armstrong, Royal Blue, L, vs. Maroon, June 15

20-Ciara Andrews, Sky Blue, W, vs. Royal Blue, June 23

20-Lauren Rothfeld, Pink, W-OT, vs. Hunter Green, June 23

20-Mackenzie Rule, Orange, L, vs. vs. Pink, June 22

20-Micah Morgan, Maroon, W-OT, vs. Red, June 16

Seed Tracker (not yet in order)

Purple (4-1) vs. Pink (L), vs. Org (W), vs. M(W), vs. Gold (W-%), vs. White (W), 

Gold (4-1) vs. Blk (W), vs. White (W), vs. SB (W), vs. Purp (L-@), vs. Pink (W), 

Pink (4-1) vs. Purp (W), vs. Blk (W), vs. Orange, (W), vs. H.G. (W-OT), Gold (L),

Maroon (4-1) vs. RB (W), vs. Red (W-OT), vs. Purple (L), vs. Black (W), KG (W),

Sky Blue (4-1) vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W), vs. Gold (L), vs. RB (W), vs. Red (W),

Royal Blue (3-2) vs. M (L), vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W), vs, SB (L), vs. Black (W),

White (2-3) vs. HG (L), vs. Gold (L), vs. Black (W), vs. Red (W-OT), vs. Purp (L),

Red (2-3) vs. Org (%-W), vs. M (L-OT), vs. Kelly Green (W), vs. White (L-OT), vs. SB (L),

Orange (2-3) vs. Red (@-L), vs. Purp (L), vs. Pink (L), vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W),

Hunter Green (1-4) vs. White (W), vs. SB (L), vs RB (L), vs. Pink (L-OT), vs. Orange (L),

Black (0-5) vs. Gold (L), vs. Pk (L), vs. White (L), vs. M (L), vs. R.B. (L),

Kelly Green (0-5) vs. SB (L), vs. RB (L), vs Red (L), vs. Orange (L), vs. M(L),

%-forfeit win

@-forfeit loss