The Guru Report: Gedaka Powers Villanova Over Temple While La Salle Gets MacVilliray First Coaching Win

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

VILLANOVA, Pa. — An overall air assault plus a standout individual performance by Mary Gedaka carried Villanova over Temple 76-68 Sunday afternoon in a matchup of Big Five teams in the Wildcats’ Finneran Pavilion.

The outcome leaves just two teams in the annual local round robin with perfect records — ‘Nova at 3-0 and Penn at 2-0 setting up an outright 4-0 crown by either or potentially a co-share by both though Temple could still cobble its way into the top despite the loss.

But back to all that in a short bit.

Temple (3-6, 1-1 Big Five) overcame the first fusillade from the home team and after the Wildcats (7-2, 3-0)  got its lead into double digits at the five minute mark of the second quarter at 33-23, the Owls ran off 11 straight points to take the lead 34-33 at the break.

The run became 13-0 at the outset of the third quarter but the shooting barrage from Villanova and the play of Gedaka was too much to overcome, especially after Temple’s Mia Davis was hit with her fourth personal foul.

“The game changed momentum at that point,” Temple coach Tonya Cardoza said in terms of losing the tenaciousness of Davis, who had 22 points and nine rebounds along with a pair of steals and a blocked shot.

“They can’t guard her, they can’t stop (Davis) but now Alliya (Butts) had to carry the whole load on the offensive end.”

That 22 scoring number was the lottery winner on the Main Line with Butts, sidelined all last season with a knee injury, also scoring 22, dealing six assists and getting two steals.

Marissa Mackins, a freshman, started and scored 12 points while newcomer Alexa Williamson came off the bench and had six rebounds, drawing praise from Cardoza for getting thrown into the fire and getting their experience dealing with the offensive system put forth by Villanova’s Harry Perretta.

The longtime Wildcats mentor has always used a three-beats-two philosophy when dealing with a more athletic opponent.

On Sunday, the shots went down with a season-high 13 three-pointers connected by Villanova compared to two by the Owls.

Then there was the special play by Gedaka, who continued her like-mother-like-daughter Villanova legacy.

Lisa Angelotti, when she played for Perretta in the late 1980s, earned a Big East player of the year honor.

Gedaka, on Sunday, matched the two Temple performers, by also getting a season-high 22 points, including 14 in the second half while also grabbing a career high 13 rebounds.

She was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and shot 7-for-9 from the foul line.

“We made some threes and the big thing was our bench gave us 16 points, which we’ve been looking for,” Perretta said.

“Just one game at a time.”

All four of Jannah Tucker shots were three balls for her 12 points, Kelly Jekot scored 12 points, while Adrianna Hahn scored nine and off the bench Perretta got his welcomed reinforcements with eight points each from Bridget Herlihy and Emily Esposito, both of them connecting with a pair of attempted treys.

So as of now in terms of the Big Five, the Wildcats visit Penn at The Palestra on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m.

If Villanova wins that night, the Wildcats are outright champs. If Penn wins and then wins the following Wednesday at home at 7 p.m. against Temple, the Quakers get a third Big Five title and first-ever outright sweep.

If Penn loses to Temple after beating Villanova, the Quakers and Wildcats will share the title for the second straight year.

Temple needs to beat La Salle at home Dec. 30, a Sunday, and then beat Penn, while the Quakers beat Villanova. That would create a three-way tie at 3-1. 

The Owls are now off on a long break following seven of the last eight games played away from McGonigle Hall.

When they resume Dec. 21 it will be off to South Carolina to return the Dawn Staley-coached Gamecocks visit of last year.

“You’re not going to beat them when they’re shooting the three like that and getting open shots,” Cardoza said of Villanova’s hot afternoon. 

“I thought in the first half we did a really good job because (her players) are down our end and we can coach them through things,” Cardoza said of how the game played out. “Once they have to go down there and they have to coach themselves, that’s been the problem.

“Not communicating with each other. We had some defensive breakdowns where we’re doing things other than guarding the way we wanted to,” Cardoza added.

“We all need that long break. It’s frustrating because we have the ability and we just haven’t bought into making sure we win,” she continued. 

“We’ve been in every single game and we have breakdowns where we don’t put the pressure on ourselves to get stops. And if we bought into we’re really committed to making sure we’re communicating with each other and following the game plan, we’d be sitting here something totally different.

“But we have to get to that I want to see improvement. I’m not happy that we’re not committed enough to follow game plans on the defensive side.”

Villanova is off until Friday when Georgia, which had been ranked, visits.

La Salle Gets MacGillivray First Win

The dual winless struggles of the new men’s and women’s coaches at La Salle ended on the Explorer’s women’s side with a rally to a 62-52 triumph over Norfolk State at home in Tom Gola Arena.

An 11-2 run in the third period got La Salle to the lead but the Spartans (3-5) got it all knotted up at 43-43 at the end of the period.

But the taste of potential victory held firm in the final period with the Explorers (1-8) getting another burst, 19-9, to take new women’s coach Mountain MacGillivray to his first win running the show.

Previously, he had been associate head coach at Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference power Quinnipiac but his roots are down here.

“We made shots in the second half, but the big thing is all that we’ve been practicing and using finally made themselves show to get us a win,” he said.

Michelle Nicholls, who starred in the Philly summer league, had 17 points, while Shalina Miller scored 14 points and 10 rebounds for her first double double of the season, Deja King had 13 points, and Jeryn Reese had 12 points, a personal best.

The nine three pointers were a season best by the team while Rayshel Brown had a career mark in five steals and bests were set by Nicholls personally with four assists and three steals.

Newcomer Kayla Spruill had four assists, her first as a collegian, while Miller also had some career numbers with five blocks and three steals.

Raven Russell topped three Norfolk State players scoring in double figures with 15 points.

La Salle joins the many with a week-long break and will host St. John’s, Saturday at 2 p.m.

Career Marks Set in Penn State Win Over St. Bonaventure

La Salle wasn’t the only place among the Guru’s local D-1 teams who played Sunday where career marks were set.

Likewise was the case up in Happy Valley where Penn State put away St. Bonaventure 80-65 at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College.

While Teniya Page had her fifth 20-plus point performance of the season with 23, Siyeh Frazier tied a career mark with 17 points, freshman Lauren Ebo had her first double double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, her classmate Karisma Ortiz set a personal high with nine rebounds, and Amari Carter, back from missing three games due to injury, had 12 points, all in the third quarter courtesy of four three-balls.

Penn State (6-4) had lost its last three games against the Bonnies (3-7), who had four players score in double figures topped by Danielle Migliore, who had 15 points.

“It was good for us to get Amari back on the court,” Penn State coach Coquese Washington said. “Even though she wasn’t at 100 percent, her presence out there gives us a steady influence. It was an opportunity to have the full team together and continue to develop our chemistry.”

The Lady Lions also take their break before hosting American U. Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center at 2 p.m. as the Big Ten schedule phase will soon arrive.

Delaware Rally Foiled By UCF

The Blue Hens made it home for the first time this season but the comforts of the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark were no help as a comeback against UCF was stopped and Delaware absorbed a 71-60 loss to the budding power out of the American Athletic Conference.

Coach Natasha Adair’s squad (3-6) cut a 23-point deficit to 10 in the fourth period but couldn’t slice off any more.

Abby Gonzales had 18 points for the home folks while Samone DeFreese scored 10.

The affair was not one of beauty with each team committing 25 turnovers.

For UCF (7-1), Korneila Wright had 24 points, Sydnee McDonald scored 15, and Tolulope Omokore had 11 points. 

“For a team that is still learning and maturing, this is a great game to learn from,” Adair said. “Non-conference play is all about preparing us for the CAA portion of our schedule and I’m excited to see where we are in January.”

The Blue Hens take their break returning Dec. 18 to host Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m. and then on Dec. 20 Maryland will visit at 3 p.m.

Nationally Speaking: Oregon Shocked at Michigan State

So much for No. 3 Oregon with the potential to be invincible against anyone not named Connecticut or Notre Dame.

The Ducks dropped from the unbeaten column felled by Michigan State 88-82 in East Lansing.

“All we had to do is be better than them for two hours,” said Spartans coach Suzy Merchant. “That’s just what we kept talking about. For two hours our stats have to be just a little bit better.”

With an 8-1 record, Michigan State earned a crack at returning to the AP Women’s Poll for the first time this season as Jenna Allen had 27 points, among them a key 3-pointer in the final minute of play.

The Ducks (7-1) got usual large numbers out of Sabrina Ionescu with 29 points and 24 from Erin Boley, but the defense didn’t show up until late in the game and by then the Spartans were able to score just enough to fend off a successful rally.

“We’re not a very good defensive team anyway,” said Oregon coach Kelly Graves. “When you play with that kind of effort, thar’s what’s going to happen.”

There were some other narrow survival encounters among the ranked group, notably involving the in-state rivalry with No. 5 Louisville at home in the Yum Center holding off No. 19 Kentucky, 80-75.

Asia Durr, among a large group this season as a national player of the year candidate, had 32 points for the host Cardinals (10-0), who had led by 18 points midway through the third period.

Rhyne Howard had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (9-1).

Louisville missed foul shots down the stretch that allowed Kentucky to near an upset.

Former WNBA star Lindsay Whalen still has a perfect 1.000 winning percentage in her first season as a collegiate coach of her alma mater after No. 14 Minnesota held off host Boston College 77-69 om Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Destiny Pitts had a career-high 35 points for the Gophers (9-0), who used a 11-0 run in the final quarter to stop the Eagles. 

It’s Minnesota’s best start since a 15-0 opening in 2003-04 and a 12-0 start in 2002-03 when Whalen was a star player for the school.

BC (8-2) recently won the Saint Joseph’s tourney here in Philadelphia.

No. 9 Tennessee went on the road to No. 12 Texas in Austin and was nearly taken down despite injuries affecting the Longhorns roster.

Meme Jackson broke out of her offensive funk with a career-high 33 points for the Lady Vols (8-0) in their 88-82 victory while Evina Westbrook scored 23.

Texas (7-2) got 21 points from Audrey Warren and 14 from Danni Williams, all in the second half.

Joyner Holmes returned for the ‘Horns for the first time this season after right ankle surgery in October, which will help somewhat make up for the recent season-ending mishap to Lashann Higgs with an ACL.

Looking Ahead: Somewhat Quiet Time For Finals

Here and there will be some key intersectional matchups on the national scene during finals but the classroom off the court will dominate the local composite schedule this week among the Guru’s teams.

Saint Joseph’s host Towson, Monday at 7 in Hagan Arena looking to avenge last season’s loss to the Tigers in Maryland.

Princeton, celebrating the return of Bella Alarie, heads to Monmouth Tuesday night at 7 nearby in central New Jersey. No games are listed for Wednesday or Thursday while, as mentioned at the top, Villanova will host Georgia Friday night at 7 in Finneran Pavilion.

On Saturday, as mentioned in earlier reports, as well as above, La Salle hosts St. John’s at 2, Princeton hosts Marist at 5 p.m., Rider travels to Bucknell, and Rutgers hosts LSU at 4 p.m.

On Sunday, Drexel finally comes home to host Gardner-Webb while Penn State hosts American, both at 2.

And that’s the report.