Philly Women's Summer League: Playoff Seeds Up For Grabs With Two Games Left

  By Mel Greenberg - @womhoopsguru

And Bob Heller

 HATBORO, Pa. – For the second time in nine outings the other of two ways to stop Saint Joseph’s junior Chelsea Woods occurred Tuesday night. Other business caused her to miss the action in the Philadelphia/Suburban NCAA Certified Women’s Summer Basketball League at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades.

Thus her Purple team fell to Hunter Green, 59-33, scoring less points than Woods has scored in three games, equal to her total in one other and just one more than she scored in still another.

The Big Five most improved women’s player from last season has scored 20 or more points in the seven of nine games she appeared but one of the other two she didn’t play in a 2-0 forfeit win over Gold, the only loss for the league leaders with two games left in the regular season.

The seed positions off broken ties are in their proper order and unlike the eight-way that needed to be broken two seasons ago to insert the final playoff teams right now only one would need to be cut from a group of three and that is easily done at the moment. 

But final seed orders are still up for grabs and with two teams within a game of the seventh place gridlock some chaos can still occur.

 

Here are the recaps from Tuesday night games:

Pink 90, Kelly Green 35 – An 11-0 run in the final three minutes of the second quarter put Pink (6-3) firmly in control of the game as they cruised to a 90-35 win over Kelly Green (0-9) to maintain pace with the Gold and Maroon.  Gettysburg College sophomore Emma Dorshimer (Jenkintown HS) led five Pink players in double figures with 20 points while Lauren Rothfeld, a Salisbury University senior from Upper Dublin HS added 17.  Penn Charter HS grad and Amherst freshman Hannah Fox  scored 15 points while Moravian College sophomore Emily Walls  (Bayard Rustin) and Salisbury sophomore Morgan Maturani (West Chester Henderson) added 14 and 10 respectively.

The predominately Division III Delaware Valley University Kelly Green squad was led by DVU senior Sam Foy’s (Ridley HS) 16 points.  Brittany Wood, a 2015 graduate of Delaware Valley, chipped in nine.

 Leading by eight after the first ten minutes of play, Pink scored the final 11 points of the second quarter to push their lead to 19, 44-25 at the half.  The third place Pink squad followed with a 25-5 outburst in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

Gold 79, Red 51 – First place Gold put five players in double figures as they won their fifth straight game 79-51 over the Red team.   La Salle University alumnus Michele McCaughern led all players with 20 points.  Mia Hopkins added 17.  Nia Holland, a sophomore at Lafayette College via The Shipley School chipped in 12 points.   Holy Cross alumnus Alex Smith (11) and Millersville alumnus Shira Newman (10)  provided additional offense for Gold (8-1).

 The Red team dropped their third straight contest to fall to 3-6.   The predominantly Division II West Chester University squad was led by WCU senior Brooke Mullen’s (Boyertown HS) 13 points.  Mariah Traywick (Spring-Ford HS)  and Tori Smick (Woodstown HS) added 11 and 10 respectively.

 Red kept the game close for much of the first half until Gold closed out the second quarter on a 10-2 run to open up an 11-point lead 39-28 at halftime.  The margin was still 11 late into the third quarter when Gold finished the period with a flurry, outscoring Red 11-2 over the final 1:30 to push their lead to 19, 62-41.  Red would come no closer than 15 points in the final period.

Black 62, Sky Blue 44 -  Black, also known as Division II Philadelphia University,  continued their solid play of late, recording their fourth straight win, 62-44 over Sky Blue after losing their first five games to start the season.  PU senior Jackie McCarron (Lansdale Catholic HS)  led Black with 17 points while fellow senior Kelsey Jones (Mount St. Joseph) chipped in 11.  The win move Black into a three-way tie for 7th place as they make their final push for one of the eight playoff spots.

 Sky Blue, who dropped their fourth straight game is also tied with Black and Orange for seventh place with a 4-5 record.  Samantha Stipa, a Lafayette College junior via Spring-Ford HS,  led Sky Blue with 12 points.  Middlebury College freshman Lily Kuntz (Episcopal Academy) and recent St. Joseph’s University graduate Ciara Andrews (Cheltenham HS) added nine and eight respectively.

The first 15 minutes of action saw four ties and four lead changes as neither team could pull away from each other.  Rachel Day’s (Archbishop Wood HS) three-pointer with 20 seconds left, gave Black their largest lead of the first half at 27-22.  Black finally opened up some daylight with a 7-2 run, capped by an Alynna Williams’ (Plymouth-Whitemarsh HS) triple to lead 44-35 entering the final quarter. Black pushed the lead to 18 with a 15-6 run to open the fourth quarter, cruising to the 62-44 win.

 Maroon 49, Orange 35 – The second place Maroon squad, also known as Division II University of the Sciences, held Orange scoreless in the third quarter as they turned a close game into their third straight win, 49-35 over Orange.  Nine players scored for Maroon, led by junior Laura Trisch’s (Archbishop Wood HS) 10 points and junior Haley Helms’ (Cardinal O’Hara HS)  8.

 Seven players scored for Orange (4-5), paced by Catholic University freshman and Central Bucks South grad Taylor Dunn’s 15 points.  Orange dropped into a three-way tie for seventh place with Black and Sky Blue with the loss.

 An Alex Thomas (St. Elizabeth HS (Del.)) three-pointer with 15 seconds left in the second quarter put Maroon up by four 27-23 at the half.  The third quarter was all Maroon as they held Orange scoreless while putting 14 points on the board.  Trisch scored the final five points of the period to give Maroon a 41-23 lead, their biggest of the night.  Orange could come no closer than 13 points in the fourth quarter as Maroon turned in another solid defensive effort to improve to 7-2 on the season.

 Royal Blue 61, White 56 – Royal Blue broke a tie game in the final 30 seconds, connecting on five of six free throws to record a 61-56 win in what was the closest game of the Tuesday session.  The teams combined for nine ties and eight lead changes throughout the 40 minutes of action. 

 The Royal Blue team, whose majority of players attend Division II East Stroudsburg University had ten players score, led by St. Joseph’s University freshman Katie Armstrong’s (Perkiomen Valley HS) 10 points.   Ithaca College sophomore Meghan Pickell (Episcopal Academy) and St. Joseph’s senior Amanda Fiorvanti (Our Lady of Good Counsel) added eight apiece. 

 The White team, made up predominantly of players from Division II Kutztown University placed three  players in double figures amongst their nine scorers on the evening.  Recent Philadelphia University graduate Alex Heck led White with 11 points while KU junior Keifonna Ferguson (Norristown Area HS) and KU sophomore Taylor Thames (North Penn HS)  had ten points apiece.

 The two teams finished the first two quarters deadlocked at 32-32 and white opened up a slim 45-42 lead after three quarters.  The Royal Blue squad reversed their deficit in the first five minutes of the fourth period with an 8-2 run to lead 50-47 midway through the final stanza.  Heck’s traditional three-point play tied the game at 50-50 with just under four minutes left.    After an Armstrong layup put Royal back up 54-52, baskets by Heck and Kutztown freshman Sierra Taylor (Camden Catholic HS) gave White a 56-54 lead with 1:13 remaining.  Armstrong tied it with a layup in the final minute before ESU senior and Central Bucks South HS grad Rachel Falkowski connected on 3-4 from the line to give Royal a 59-56 lead with just 20 seconds left.  White followed with two shot attempts but could not convert before Kenyon College graduate Molly Rubin hauled in the rebound and was fouled with seven seconds left.  Rubin made both free throws to make the final score 61-56.

 Both teams are now at 5-4 and in a three-way tie along with Purple for fourth place in the league standings.

 Hunter Green 59, Purple 33 – Hunter Green led the game from the opening tip as they cruised to the second consecutive win 59-33 over Purple.

 Hunter Green improves to 3-6 and is tied for 10th place with Red.  Purple falls to 5-4 and is in a three-way tied for fourth place with White and Royal Blue.

 Scranton senior and Spring-Ford HS graduate Sarah Payonk led Hunter Green (3-6) with 19 points while Scranton junior Katherine Feehery (Cardinal O’Hara HS) and McDaniel College sophomore Libby Dougherty (Cherry Hill West HS) added eight apiece.  Marah Hayes, a Penn State-Abington player out of Archbishop Wood HS paced Purple with 12 points.

 Hunter held Purple to just two points in the second quarter, outscoring them 13-2 to take a double digit lead 24-10 at the half.  Another 13-2 run by Hunter to start the third quarter pushed the lead to 37-12 before Purple closed the gap to 45-21 entering the fourth quarter of action, where Hunter maintained big lead en route to the 26-point win.  

Looking Ahead and Breaking Ties

With two nights left in the regular season Gold (8-1), Maroon (7-2), and Pink (6-3) stand alone in the 1-2-3 and if Gold gets past Orange in the 8:15 p.m. Game on Court 1 Thursday night and if Maroon gets past Hunter Green in the 7 p.m. game on Court 2, the two will play for the number seed when they meet at 7 p.m. on Court 3 Tuesday night.

The top two have already clinched playoff berths and more are likely to claim some of the eight spots on Thursday night.

Purple (5-4), Royal Blue (5-4), and White (5-4) are tied for fourth in the standings but the ties are easily broken because in the group, while Purple and Royal Blue are both 1-1 (they meet on Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. on Court 1, Purple with a forfeit win over Gold and win over Maroon lands the fourth seed, Royal Blue falls to fifth and White, at 0-2 takes the sixth seed.

A triple tie also occurs for seventh but only two game advance to the playoffs among Black (4-5), Orange (4-5), and Sky Blue (4-5). Black is 2-0 in the group for seventh, Orange is 1-1 for eighth and Sky Blue at 0-2 is ninth, needing most likely to beat Purple and Pink in its final two games to have a shot.

Hunter Green (3-6) and Red (3-6) are still alive, needing wins, but Hunter Green’s head-to-head win over Red gives it the 10th spot for now, while Kelly Green (0-9) was eliminated last time out.

Special Notes

Congratulations to former league and Temple star Melissa Dunne, named Holy Family coach last Saturday. She also was an assistant at Drexel, Rhode Island and George Washington. 

The Guru is putting the finishing touches on this blog on a MARC train to Washington for a morning game in the WNBA between the Mystics and New York Liberty so the oher side of the Guru's shared byline on these reports doesnt know until he reads this that today is Bob Heller's birthday so everyone stop by and wish him the best at Thursday night's games.

Next Wednesday is the USA Basketball game against France at Delaware after Australia and Canada play. Check the Blue Hens website for ticket info.

 

Standings

(Thru July 20)

Team,  W-L, Pct., G.B., PF, PA

^@-Gold, 8-1, .889, ---, 604 432

^Maroon, 7-2, .778, 1.0, 525 441

Pink, 6-3, .667, 2.0, 593 505

%-Purple, 5-4, .556, 3.0, 550 523

Royal Blue, 5-4, .556, 3.0, 546 510

White, 5-4, .556, 3.0 563 569

%-Black, 4-5, .444, 4.0, 438 478

@-Orange, 4-5, .444, 4.0 477 498

Sky Blue, 4-5, .444, 4.0, 552 598

@-Hunter Green, 3-6, .333, 5.0, 436 470

%-Red,3-6, .333, 5.0 , 444 513

#-Kelly Green, 0-9, .000, 7.0, 504 675

%-includes forfeit win

@-includes forfeit loss

^-Clinched playoff berth

#-Eliminated from playoffs

Schedule

Thursday, July 21

7 p.m.

White (5-4) vs. Pink (6-3), Court 1

Hunter Green (3-6) vs. Maroon (7-2), Court 2

Red (3-6) vs. Royal Blue (5-4), Court 3

8:15 p.m.

Gold (8-1) vs. Orange (4-5), Court 1

Sky Blue (4-5) vs. Purple (5-4), Court 2

Kelly Green (9-0) vs. Black (4-5), Court 3

Tuesday, July 26

(Regular Season Ends)

7 p.m.

Black vs. Red, Court 1

Sky Blue vs. Pink, Court 2

Gold vs. Maroon, Court 3

8:15 p.m.

Royal Blue vs. Purple. Court 1

White vs. Orange, Court 2

Hunter Green vs. Kelly Green, Court 3

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

Thursday, July 28

7 p.m.

Seed 1 vs. Seed 8, Court 1

Seed 6 vs Seed 3, Court 2

8:15 p.m.

Seed 2 vs. Seed 7, Court 1

Seed 5 vs. Seed 4, Court 2

Semifinals

Tuesday, Aug. 2

7 p.m.

Game 1, Court 1

8:15 p.m.

Game 2, Court 1

Championship

Thursday, Aug. 4

7 p.m.

Winner Semifinal 1 vs. Winner Semifinal 2

Results

Tuesday, July 19

Pink 90, Kelly Green 35

Gold 79, Red 51

Maroon 49, Orange 35

Hunter Green 59, Purple 33

Black 62, Sky BLue 44

Royal Blue 61, White 56

Thursday, July 14

Hunter Green 54, Red 45

Black 72, Orange 64, OT

Maroon 56, Pink 46

Gold 55, Royal Blue 51

White 59, Sky Blue 56

Purple 85, Kelly Green 78

Tuesday, July 12

Black 69, Purple 65

Orange 56, Royal Blue 48

White 66,  Kelly Green 55

Pink 62, Red 37

Maroon 60, Sky Blue 40

 Gold 62, Hunter Green 43 

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, OT

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

46 Chelsea Woods, Purple, L, vs. Black, July 12

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

39-Chelsea Woods, Purple, W, vs. Kelly Green, July 14

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

24-Alynna Williams, Black, W-OT, vs Orange, July 14. 

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-Alexix Roman, Hunter Green, W, vs. Red, July 14

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-Michele McCaughern, Gold, W, vs. Red, July 19

20- Emma Dorsheimer, Pink, W, vs. Kelly Green, July 19

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 (In order)

^-Gold (8-1) vs. Bk (W), vs. Wh (W), vs. SB (W), vs. Pur (L-@), vs. Pnk (W) ,vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W),

RB(W), vs. Red (W), 

^-Maroon (7-2) vs. RB (W), vs. Red (W-OT), vs. Pur(L), vs. Bk (W), KG (W), vs. Wh (L), vs. SB(W),

vs. Pnk(W), vs. Orng(W).

Pink (6-3) vs. Pur (W), vs. Bk (W), vs. Orge, (W), vs. HG (W-OT), Gold (L), vs. RB(L), vs. Rd(W),

 vs. M(L), vs. KG(W),

Purple (5-4) vs. Pk (L), vs. Org (W), vs. M(W), vs. Gd (W-%), vs. W (W) vs. Red (W-OT), vs. Bk(L), 

 vs. KG(W) vs. HG(L), 

Royal Blue (5-4) vs. M (L), vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W), vs, SB (L), vs. Black (W), Pnk(W), vs. Orng(L), vs. Gold(L), vs. Wh(W),

White (5-4) vs. HG (L), vs. Gd (L), vs. Bk (W), vs. Red (W-OT), vs. Pur (L), vs. M (W), vs. KG(W)

 vs. SB(W), vs. RB(L),  

Black (4-5) vs. Gd (L), vs. Pk (L), vs. Wh (L), vs. M (L), vs. RB (L), vs. HG (W-%), vs. Pur(W), vs. Or(W-OT), vs. SB(W),

Orange (4-5) vs. Red (@-L), vs. Pur (L), vs. Pnk (L), vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W), vs. SB (W), vs. RB(W),

 vs Bk (L-OT), M(L),

Sky Blue (4-5) vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W), vs. Gold (L), vs. RB (W), vs. Red (W), Ornge(L), vs. M(L),

  vs. Wh(L), vs. Blk(L),

Hunter Green (3-6) vs. Wh (W), vs. SB (L), vs RB (L), vs. Pk (L-OT), vs. Org (L),vs. Blk (L-@) vs. Gd(L), vs. Red(W), vs. Pur(W),

Red (3-6) vs. Org (%-W), vs. M (L-OT), vs. KG (W), vs. Wh (L-OT), vs. SB (L), Pur (W-OT), vs. Pk(L), vs. HG(L), vs. Gold(L),

#-Kelly Green (0-9) vs. SB (L), vs. RB (L), vs Red (L), vs. Orange (L), vs. M(L), vs. Gold (L), vs. Wh(L), vs. Pur(L) vs. Pnk(L),

%-forfeit win

@-forfeit loss

^-Clinched playoff berth

#-Eliminated from playoffs