Philly Women's Summer League: Gold Reclaims Top Spot Ahead of a Second-Place Griidlock

By Mel Greenberg - @womhoopsguru

And Bob Heller

 HATBORO, Pa. – And now the one-day delayed report.

Gold is back in first place, this time all alone after thumping winless Hunter Green 90-52 Thursday night in the Philadelphia/Suburban NCAA Certified Women’s Summer League at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades going into a week-long break for the July 4 holiday.

Meanwhile, the five-way tie that was in the first place slot going into the night's action is now a second-place logjam, though Royal Blue is now part of the 4-2 mix after taking down Pink, 69-56.

The new positional logjam came out of four teams upsetting those above in the previous first-place deadlock.

The three-way deadlock for seventh remained the same in the same positions among White (3-3), Red (3-3), and Orange, (3-3), which won its third straight to get to .500 just two games behind leading Gold.

Black, the predominantly Division II Philadelphia University team, got into the win column by virtue of a forfeit by Hunter Green which put both teams in a tie for 10th at 1-5.

Saint Joseph’s junior Chelsea Woods was once again the individual leader on the night, this time  with 26 points but her Purple squad could not stop a ferocious rally by Red, the predominantly Division II West Chester squad, coming from 17 down to edge Woods’ team 67-65 in overtime.

It was Red’s third overtime encounter in the last four games.

An identical 67-65 score, but in regulation, enabled White (3-3) to top Maroon (4-2), the predominantly USciences team that was shorthanded and keep pace in the three-way seventh place tieup as Taylor Thames was one of three other players to reach the 20 or more points plateau on the night.

Orange (3-3) won its third straight with a 69-57 win over Sky Blue (4-2), overcoming recent Saint Joseph’s grad Ciara Andrews’ 21 points for the opposition.

Lauren Rothfeld scored 21 points for Pink in the loss to Royal Blue (4-2), enabling her to become the other of the four players in the 20-points or more individual honors.

Recaps:

Gold 90, Kelly Green 52 – Alex Smith, the 2014 Holy Cross grad out of the Peddie School, helped Gold back to the top slot with three treys and 19 points while Jazmin Horne, a Saint Joseph’s senior, had 15 points and was 4-for-4 from the line. Michele McCaughern, a 2012 La Salle grad, had 12 points, while five other Gold players scored.

Danielle Skedzielewski, one of eight Division III Delaware Valley players on Kelly Green (0-6) and a sophomore out of Archbishop Ryan, had 12 points, Ashley Smink, A Del Val sophomore out of Ryan, scored nine and seven other players scored.

It’s possible Mia Hopkins, a Bloomsburg junior, scored for Gold but the commissioner either started putting your name in by accident on the email and didn’t erase all of it or by accident, didn’t put your last name and points so the Guru is mentioning you just in case it was the latter.

Gold led only by a point at the end of the first quarter but then rolled to the largest victory to date in the league this season.

Red 67, Purple 65, OT – Tori Smick, a West Chester senior out of Woodstown, had 19 points, while Jenna Widdicombe, a Golden Rams sophomore out of John Paul II, scored 12, and Mariah Traywick, a sophomore out of Spring-Ford, scored 11 points.

Behind Woods’ 26 for Purple, Jaryne Garner, a Saint Joseph’s senior out of Germantown Academy, scored 13, and Shayna Rodriguez, a sophomore and one of six Penn State-Abington players on Purple – she’s out of Ryan, scored eight points.

Purple seemed to have the victory in its hands, using a 14-2 run over the final 6:03 of the third period, to lead 54-37.

But Red began to cut away and and came within four points of the lead with 1:15 left in regulation.

West Chester freshman Katie Fisher out of Strath Haven tied the game 62-62 with 50.6 seconds left in regulation. Purple held the ball for the last shot but Woods couldn’t connect.

Fisher maintained her heroine’s role in the overtime, snapping a 65-65 tie with 21.3 seconds left and then Brooke Mullen, a Golden Rams senior out of Boyertown, stole the ball to secure the win.

Royal Blue 64, Pink 56 – Katie Armstrong, a Saint Joseph’s freshman out of Perkiomen Valley, was 9-for-10 from the line on the way to a game-high 14 points, while Rachel Falkowski, an East Stroudsburg senior out of Central Bucks South, scored 10 points, helping Royal Blue step up into the second-place deadlock.

Madison Tamburini, one of five other ESU players on Royal Blue, she out of Wood, and a senior, had eight points as did Courtney Browne, an ESU senior out of Council Rock South. Five other players on the winners also scored.

Behind the 21 points from Rothfeld, a Salisbury senior out of Upper Dublin on Pink, Courtney Webster, a LeMoyne junior out of Central Bucks East, scored 11 and five others also scored for Pink.

Down four at halftime, Royal Blue launched a 10-1 run at the start of the third quarter to go up five points before Pink got back to within a point. But Royal Blue with on an 11-1 spurt across the end of the period and start of the last to take a 54-43 advantage.

Pink then rallied with an 8-1 spurt and later got within a field goal after a foul shot by Morgan Maturani, a Salsibury sophomore out of West Chester Henderson, to close it to 56-54 with 2:04 left in regulation.

Then Royal Blue’s Armstrong two foul shots with 1:14 left made it a five-point advantage but a long field goal from Webster made it a one-possession game at 59-56. The winners then wrapped it up with three foul shots and Noelle Powell’s breakaway layup at the buzzer.

Powell is an ESU sophomore from Bayard Rustin.

White 67, Maroon 65 – Behind the 20 from Taylor Thames, a Kutztown sophomore from North Penn High, most of the White team is from Division II Kutztown, Michala Clay, a Saint Joseph’s sophomore, shot 10-for-12 from the line, finishing with 16 points, and six other players on the winners also scored.

Clay also got the game-winner, hitting two free throws with 11.7 seconds left in regulation.

The Division II USciences Maroon squad got 18 points from Laura Trisch, a Devils junior out of Wood who had four treys, the same as Colleen Walsh, also a junior but out of the Shipley School who finished with 15 points, while Molly Greenberg, a Devils junior out of St. Basil, scored nine points.

Marissa Sylvester, a sophomore out of Nazareth Academy, scored eight point, as did  Brigit Coleman, a freshman out of Gwynedd Mercy, who had a pair of treys and was 2-for-2 from the line. Alex Thomas, a freshman, added seven points.

The game was close most of the night. White, which trailed at the half by two points, launched a 10-3 run for a 43-38 lead before Maroon rallied back with a 9-0 run off a pair of treys from Trisch and one from Coleman for a 47-43 lead.

But Clay hit five straight free throws for White in the final 1:53 of the third quarter for a 50-49 lead.

White surged at the start of the fourth period with a 13-5 run, building a 62-55 lead, the largest of the game, with six minutes left. Maroon countered with an 8-2 run, five from Thomas, to get within a point with 1:07 left in regulation.

Sierra Taylor’s free throw with 30 seconds made it a two-point advantage for White but Maroon knotted it 65-65 on Trisch’s shot with 14.5 ticks of the clock left.

Clay, however, then hit her two free throws to give White the win.

Black 2, Hunter Green 0, forfeit -- Black got its first win of the season by default and the right to be placed above Hunter Green in the unofficial 10th slot off the tie-break and win over Hunter Green.

Orange 69, Sky Blue 57 – It was a big night in the league for Saint Joseph’s players, in terms of heroines. Besides Clay’s game winners in the White-Maroon contest, Hawks senior Mackenzie Rule out of Cardinal O’Hara hit a pair of free throws in the final 1:09 to maintain the three-way tie at seventh and also be one of the four teams upsetting frontrunners.

Sky Blue overcame a four-point halftime deficit to lead 45-43 with one period left in the game.

Orange got a two-point lead at the midway point off a four-point run and then held off Sky Blue’s challenge, getting a 63-57 lead with 1:15 left. Six seconds later Rule hit the first of her four free throws at the close and Taylor Dunn, a Catholic U. freshman out of Central Bucks South, hit two more for a 10-point lead.

Rule finished off the scoring for both teams with two more free throws for 12 points.

Morgan Goldenbaum led Orange, scoring 13 points from the Ursinus freshman out of Neshaminy, while teammate Allison Chernow, an Emory freshman out of Upper Dublin, matched the total with three treys and shooting 2-for-2 from the line.

Dunn had 10 points for Orange off a pair of treys and 2-for-2 from the line to help her total, while six other players scored.

Behind Andrews’ 21 for Sky Blue, Jessica Gerber, a Kenyon sophomore out of Council Rock North, scored 12 points, while Avery Marz, a Saint Joseph’s freshman, scored eight points, and Kristalyn Baisden, a Saint Joseph’s sophomore out of Wilson, scored seven points.

Looking Ahead

When action resumes on July 11, three games will feature teams that are one game apart in the standing or tied.

Pink (4-2) meets Red (3-3) at 8:15 p.m. In the nightcap of the doubleheader on Court 1, the same time Maroon (4-2) meets Sky Blue (4-2) on Court 2. The latter game follows a 7 p.m. opener on Court between Royal Blue (4-2) and Orange (3-3).

Breaking Ties

Once again at the end of Week 3 it is still too early to place seed orders into the standings with an eye to the eight-team playoffs that begin at the end of this month.

But working on uneven competition because there still is not a lot of head-to-head games or games within groups involved in ties here is an idea through the standings in this post on what a final order would look like if the regular season had just ended.

Gold is alone at the top.

In the five-way tie for second, Sky Blue is 1-0 among the group, Purple is 1-1 but also has the forfeit win over Gold, while Pink (1-1) with a win over Maroon (1-1) is next in the head-to-head and Maroon is followed by Royal Blue (1-2).

In the three-way for seventh, White (1-0) has a win over Red (1-1), which beat Orange (0-1).

Black off the forfeit by Hunter Green breaks the tie between the two at 10th and Kelly Green (0-6) is at the bottom.  

Standings

(Thru July 11)

Team,  W-L, Pct., G.B., PF, PA

@-Gold, 5-1, .833, ---, 409 297

Sky Blue, 4-2, .667, 1.0, 412 417

%-Purple, 4-2, .667, 1.0, 367 317

Pink, 4-2, .667, 1.0, 385 377

Maroon, 4-2, .667, 1.0, 362 360

Royal Blue, 4-2, .667, 1.0, 436 343

White, 3-3, .500, 2.0 382 401

%-Red,3-3 ,.500, 2.0 , 311 318

@-Orange, 3-3, .500, 2.0 302 329

%-Black, 1-5, .167, 4.0, 235 305

@-Hunter Green, 1-5, .167, 4.0, 280 3330

Kelly Green, 0-6, .000, 5.0, 340 434

%-includes forfeit win

@-includes forfeit loss

Schedule

Tuesday, July 5, Thursday, July 7

No Games

Tuesday, July 12

7 p.m.

Purple (4-2) vs. Black (1-5), Court 1

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

White (3-3) vs. Kelly Green (0-6), Court 3

8:15  p.m.

Red (3-3)  vs. Pink (4-2), Court 1

Sky Blue (4-2) vs. Maroon (4-2), Court 2

Hunter Green (1-5) vs. Gold (5-1), 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

Thursday, June 30

Gold 90, Kelly Green 52

White 67, Maroon 65

Red 67, Purple 65, OT

Royal Blue 69, Pink 56

Orange 69, Sky Blue 57

Black 2, Hunter Green 0, forfeit

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-Chelsea Woods, Purple, L, vs. Red, June 30 

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-Ciara Andrews, Sky Blue, L, vs. Orange, June 30

21-Lauren Rothfeld, Pink, L, Royal Blue, June 30

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-Taylor Thames, White, W, vs. Maroon, June 30

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 official order)

Gold (5-1) vs. Blk (W), vs. White (W), vs. SB (W), vs. Purp (L-@), vs. Pink (W),vs. KG (W) 

Sky Blue (4-2) vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W), vs. Gold (L), vs. RB (W), vs. Red (W), Ornge(L)

Purple (4-2) vs. Pink (L), vs. Org (W), vs. M(W), vs. Gold (W-%), vs. White (W) vs. Red (W-OT), 

Pink (4-2) vs. Purp (W), vs. Blk (W), vs. Orange, (W), vs. H.G. (W-OT), Gold (L), vs. RB(L), 

Maroon (4-2) vs. RB (W), vs. Red (W-OT), vs. Purple (L), vs. Black (W), KG (W), vs. White (L)

Royal Blue (4-2) vs. M (L), vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W), vs, SB (L), vs. Black (W), Pink(W),

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

Red (3-3) vs. Org (%-W), vs. M (L-OT), vs. KG (W), vs. White (L-OT), vs. SB (L), Purp (W-OT)

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

Black (1-5) vs. Gold (L), vs. Pk (L), vs. White (L), vs. M (L), vs. R.B. (L), vs. HG (W-%)

Hunter Green (1-5) vs. White (W), vs. SB (L), vs RB (L), vs. Pk (L-OT), vs. Orange (L),vs. Blk (L-@)

Kelly Green (0-6) vs. SB (L), vs. RB (L), vs Red (L), vs. Orange (L), vs. M(L), vs. Gold (L)

%-forfeit win

@-forfeit loss