The Guru Report: Blocks Apart Penn and Drexel Dominate With Key Home Wins in West Philly

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA — Three blocks apart Thursday night the Guru’s two resident local D-1 teams in West Philadelphia made powerful statements with lopsided victories that suddenly ramps up anticipation toward Dec. 21 when Drexel and Penn will meet for the first time in several seasons.

In the only two games on the Guru’s entire local slate, here in the fabled Palestra Penn walloped a young, struggling Saint Joseph’s squad 65-45 as the Quakers took both their Big Five and Home opener while up 33rd Street Drexel easily handled Bucknell 64-42.

Focusing here first, both the host Quakers and visiting Hawks were supposed to be in a rebuild mode but Penn apparently has found instant growth at the outset of a the new season.

True, there was an unplanned element in the this one caused by the unexpected heavier-than-predicted snowfall that later changed to rain as Saint Joseph’s got caught in a rush hour gridlock trying to get here from their campus a few miles away on City Ave.

The tie-up resulted in a one-hour delay to the opening tip originally set for 7 p.m.

It may have been a late start but it certainly was a quick finish in terms of where the outcome was headed as Penn owned the first two quarters, outscoring the visitors 15-5 and 25-15 for a 20-point halftime lead that grew to eventually 32 points early in the fourth quarter before the differential receded a bit the rest of the way.

Saint Joseph’s (0-3) is still looking for its first win after previous local losses to Temple at home last Friday and at nearby Drexel on Sunday. Though the Hawks were held to just five points in the first 10 minutes, that was actually better than Sunday when the Dragons held them scoreless out of the gate, which was a first defensively and offensively for each team.

“I was really pleased with the way we came out of the locker room,” said Penn coach Mike McLaughlin. “Obviously the game being delayed got them a little out of rhythm, certainly got Saint Joseph’s really out of rhythm getting here, but I was really happy with the way we came out.

“We executed, we rebounded the ball and I felt it was one of the best defensive efforts so far this year.”

Overall, Penn crashed the boards for a 50-32 advantage, including 13-4 on the offensive end that produced a 15-0 shutout in second chance points.

“Princess (Aghayere) and Eleah (Parker) dictated how the game was going to be,” McLaughlin said of his team’s inside attack. “It was a little bit better in terms of getting them the ball today than it was the first two times.”

Penn broke a recent drought in season opening wins, beating Siena in Albany last Saturday and then did not get embarrassed Monday night, losing to top-ranked and defending NCAA champion Notre Dame 75-55 in South Bend, Ind., as the Irish opened the event with the hanging of their title banner to go with the last one gained in 2001.

Aghayere had a game-high 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Parker, the reigning Big Five and Ivy rookie of the year, had another double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds while blocking four shots.

“We were supposed to be bigger, stronger,” Aghayere said of an inside presence that gave the Quakers a lopsided 38-18 on points scored in the paint. “Post play was big.”

Ashley Russell also scored in double figures with 11 points.

Saint Joseph’s had just one person in double figures with Katie Mayock, a freshman, getting 11, though she didn’t get to 10 until late in the game.

Times have changed in this series recently from the days the Quakers were an assumed gimme with Saint Joseph’s winning the first 29 and building on that to be 40-2 two seasons ago.

But now for a first, Penn has won two straight with last year’s 57-50 win a building block that enabled the Quakers to tie Villanova and pick up a piece of the Big Five title, their second, while their other City Series crown was also  a shared situation.

McLaughlin has been at the helm for all four Penn victories.

“I was looking at that before the game and now to get four? Especially with this group, which is a newer group. They’ve spent a lot of time together (on the road last weekend and on an overseas trip last summer). I can see them growing as a unit,” McLaughlin said.

 “I can see them growing as people. They’re seeing the best. They’re playing against the best. We have a long way to grow, but I can see progress. Princess was as good today as we’ve seen here all year. She was a little passive the first two times out.”

Penn comes right back here Saturday to host NJIT at 2 p.m. before heading to Annapolis, Md., next weekend to meet host Navy Saturday and then play Maine on Sunday.

Saint Joseph’s returns home to begin a seven-game stand Tuesday to host Niagara at 7 p.m. in Hagan Arena on Hawk Hill and then hosts the annual Hawk Classic the following weekend opening with Rider on Saturday at noon and then meeting either Loyola of Maryland or Boston College on Sunday.

Drexel Ropes Bucknell

While Penn was taking care of business at this end of the block, Drexel put on an impressive performance up the street in containing the Bisons, who are Patriot League favorites, ranked eighth in the mid-major poll, and were coming off an upset of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference favorite Quinnipiac, who narrowly got past the Dragons on opening night in the Daskalakis Athletic Center last Friday.

Following up on Sunday’s defense of Saint Joseph’s, in Thursday’s 64-42 win the Dragons (2-1) did not let up in this one, forcing 19 turnovers and limited Bucknell to just four field goals across the second and third quarters.

The Bisons have given Drexel fits in some meetings in recent seasons.

But such  certainly was not the case in this one as Bailey Greenberg continued to be the top scorer for the home team, equaling a career-high of 20 points. Career numbers were also turned in from Niki Metzel with 11 points and eight rebounds.

That helped the Dragons take the battle of the boards with a 40-36 advantage while being undersized to the opposition. They grabbed 17 of them on the offensive glass.

Freshman Keishana Washington had nine points and three steals after starting all three games as a newcomer to the attack.

A 19-0 run put the game away as the Dragons built a 30-point lead.

No one scored in double figures for Bucknell (2-1) as the Bisons’ high scorer was Kate Walker with eight points. Next up is a matchup with nationally-ranked Syracuse on Sunday for the Bisons.

Drexel is off until next weekend playing in a tournament at Vermont in Burlington, an appearance likely set up when Philadelphian Chris Day was head coach.

But Day left the Catamounts after the season and is now the associate head coach under Mountain MacGillivray, the former Quinnipiac associate head coach who was hired at La Salle.

The Dragons in New England will open against Siena on Friday and then face either the host Catamounts or Wagner in the TD Classic. They do not return to the DAC until Dec. 16, hosting Gardner-Webb.

Looking Ahead: Just one game Friday night, Villanova, idle since its season-opening win at home over Hartford last Wednesday, will make the quick trip north to Bethlehem to meet Lehigh at 6 p.m. in Stabler Arena as part of a doubleheader also involving the Mountain Hawks’ men’s team.

Lehigh, another Patriot League member, is off to a 3-0 start and the Wildcats are 9-1 against their geographical rival to the near north.

And that’s the report, short as it is, though, nationally, in a game between two ranked teams, No. 24 Miami, at home in Florida, topped No. 19 Marquette 63-55.