The Guru Report: Towson Subudes Saint Joseph in 4th to Gain Win; Large Emmanuel Rally Carries Yosinoff to D-3 Win Tie

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA — It was a short night Monday in terms of just one game on the Guru’s local D-1 schedule and with it the Saint Joseph’s women were made medium work of by Towson here on Hawk Hill pulling away to a 73-52 non-conference victory in Hagan Arena.

The win by the Tigers (5-4) gave them a two-year sweep after Saint Joseph’s (3-7) won the first four in the now six-game series, and the initial Towson triumph last year at its SECU Arena 90-66 would indicate that maybe not much has changed in the last 12 months.

But there are differences.

The Tigers made quicker work of the then-more veteran Hawks down in suburban Baltimore catching them 12 months ago reeling a bit just 48 hours after Villanova had blasted Saint Joseph’s in record amounts in their long-running Big Five rivalry.

In Monday’s game here the Tigers rallied from an early eight-point deficit in the second period, exploding on a 24-13 run to gain a 39-36 lead at the half.

In essence, though, the Hawks were still in contention in the more recent affair trailing by just six after three periods.And, defensively, they had taken a bunch of points away compared to last year’s romp against them.

Furthermore, Towson’s Raine Bangston and Mary Cuevas were no longer around for Towson after combining to do big damage with a total 45 points between them in the previous contest.

But Hawks hopes here were then laid to rest, buried in a 23-8 wipeout in the final period.

“Wow, we really stepped it up,” said second-year coach Diane Richardson. “We’ve been working on some things to get ready for the (Colonial Athletic Association).”

Towson will be back in town next month on Jan. 4 to launch league play at Drexel.

Kionna Jeter, a red-shirt sophomore not involved in the previous meeting, had a game-high 19 points for the Tigers, scoring ten of them in the final period. Nukiya Mayo and Danielle Durjan scored 16 each, and Maia Lee grabbed 11 rebounds. Jeter also grabbed five steals.

Scoring woes continued to plague the home team, though reserve Lula Roig, a sophomore from Barcelona, Spain, had a career-high 16 points, shooting 6-for-10 from the field, and Alyssa Monaghan delivered 14 points.

But Saint Joseph’s got hammered on the boards 45-30, including 20-12 on the offensive glass, producing a Towson 24-9 advantage on second chance points, while the Tigers also picked up a 25-14 difference in points off turnovers, with the Hawks committing more miscues 20-16.

“We just couldn’t score,” veteran coach Cindy Griffin said. “I felt their defensive pressure turned up. We got to the free throw line a lot in the first half and they had zero fouls going into the fourth quarter. That’s on us. We were not attacking going down hill. We were going backwards.”

In the second half, the Hawks were just 2-for-12 in the decisive quarter, and 3-for-23 for the entire time after intermission.

Needless to say, the result at the end of the seven-game home stand that had shown some signs of promise in recent appearances, left Griffin more than a bit dismayed.

“I think our performance was very up and down, very erratic today, as good as we were, we were as bad as we were,” she said. “I don’t think we were ready to play, for whatever reason, but we were not focused, we were not committed to playing scouting report defense, we were not committed to boxing out today, and it showed.

“Towson came in they just handed it to us and I’m just disappointed really more so just in the (lack) of consistent effort. We had shown some signs in the course of the last month that we’ve gotten better but today was definitely a setback and we have to regroup and we have a break for finals and we have to finish the non-conference strong.

“We have to figure it out. We have to have different players step up and help and want the ball during the game.”

Though finals at this time of year can factor into loss of focus with attention also being emphasized on classwork, Griffin called it a factor but not a culprit as to the team’s slide.

“To say that’s not a factor, is not fair. I think it is a factor,” she responded. “But so is the other team. I do think it is at the end of the semester and they’re exhausted. They need a bit of a break. But still, if you’re playing on equal terms, we’re home and they’re traveling, we have a little bit of an advantage there this time of year.”

Most disconcerting was the inability to get more out of the long home stand, since now the Hawks won’t be back in the building for a game until early next month in the New Year when Saint Louis visits Jan. 9 for the annual school day matinee at 11:30 a.m., the first home date also on the A-10 sked.

Between now and then Saint Joseph’s visits Sacred Heart in Fairfield, Conn., Jan. 20 for an 11 a.m. contest, then eight days later drops in on Delaware at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, and then proceeds for a New Year’s Eve encounter 6 p.m. against Navy at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Overall play in the A-10 begins Jan. 5 at VCU in Richmond.

“We’ve had it pretty good. That’s why I’m a little more disappointed because we’ve had it pretty good as far as that aspect in not traveling, not missing class time,” Griffin noted. “They’re all doing good, academically, there’s no worries there.

“Again. I just think it was a bad night. We have to regroup, stay together, and figure some things out.”

Looking Ahead: Princeton Heads to Monmouth

Again, to repeat, it’s a light schedule due to finals period. Just one game on the local agenda finds Princeton heading to Monmouth Tuesday night at 7, with the next event not listed till Friday when Villanova gets a visit from Georgia at 7 in the Wildcats’ Finneran Pavilion.

On Saturday, La Salle will try to make it two straight wins following an 0-8 slide to start the season when St. John’s visits Tom Gola Arena at 2, while Rider is at Bucknell, Rutgers hosts LSU at 4, and Princeton hosts Marist at 5 p.m.

On Sunday, Drexel finally makes it home hosting Gardner-Webb at 2, while Penn State finishes its non-conference by hosting American U., also at 2.

Nationally, this week, on Saturday of note, No. 19 Marquette hosts Green Bay, and No. 11 Stanford hosts No. 9 Baylor, while No. 10 North Carolina State hosts Maine.

On Sunday, No. 8 Oregon State is at Texas A&M, and No. 25 South Carolina is at Purdue. 

Division III Milestone for Yosinoff

Appropriate for his long career in the way it occurred, Emmanuel College of Boston rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Rhode Island College, 75-71, in overtime, in Providence at the Murray Center Monday night, thus enabling women’s coach Andy Yosinoff to get his 815th career victory, tying him for the Division III record for most wins.

Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda of South Boston, Mass., had a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Saints (7-2).

The game was tied 69-69 with 3 minutes, 14 seconds in overtime before Emmanuel launched a 6-2 run against RIC (8-3) to carry Yosinoff to his milestone in his 42nd season with the program.

For the moment, Yosinoff is tied with a familiar name around here in former Scranton Coach Mike Strong (1980-2014), whose teams have played in the Philly Summer League.

Yosinoff has led the Saints to 18 NCAA appearances, three trips to the Sweet 16, two to the Elite Eight, and one advance to the NCAA Division III Women’s Final Four in 2001.

Including all divisions involving women’s basketball coaches, he joined the 800 victory club last year as its 14th member.

He is the ninth to win all 800 at the same school.

Counting both genders, the only coach in front of him in Division III is Franklin & Marshall men’s coach Glenn Robinson, who is in his 48th season with the Diplomats, earning 958 wins to date. He is a 1967 graduate of West Chester University and is a native of Yeadon in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Yosinoff’s first chance to become the singular women’s leader will take place Sunday, Dec. 30, against Ramapo of North Jersey in a game in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

And that’s the report.