Guru Report - Local: Delaware Wins First But Penn, Temple and Penn State Suffer Setbacks

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Delaware finally got onto the winning side of the scoreboard but for Temple, Penn, and Penn State it was a bleak Friday among the four of the Guru’s local 11 that saw action.

The Blue Hens took down tournament hosts Cal State Fullerton 72-55 in the opening round of the Titan Classic out West riding a first quarter 16-2 outburst to finally stop what had become a four-game slide since the launch of the 2019-20 season.

Extra good news also came Delaware’s way with the return of Nicole Enabosi, the 2018 Colonial Athletic Association player of the year, who missed all of 2018-19 with a knee injury.

She shot 4-for-7 from the field and made 5-of-6 foul shots to collect 13 points in 17 minutes of action behind teammates Abby Gonzales and Jasmine Dickey, who each scored 17, while Dickey enjoyed a double-double by grabbing 11 rebounds.

Gonzales’ total was spurred by nailing 5-of-7 three-point attempts, tying a career high, while grabbing a career-high eight rebounds.

The Titans (4-3) were led by Raina Perez and Carolyn Gill, who each scored 14 points.

“We did it together,” said Delaware coach Natasha Adair. “We did it together. We fight. No one sees it but us, day in and day out, the grind in practice.

“I thought we were very disciplined. This is a very tough Cal State Fullerton team, very well coached, with key players. I felt we contained them on the perimeter,” she said.

 “But I thought we imposed our will. That’s what we talked about, imposing our pace, our tempo for 40 minutes.”

This was the first meeting between the two programs, which each has a long history.

Delaware’s opponents in this tournament were pre-determined as opposed to normal winners format.

The Hens will meet Santa Clara at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and then return to the Bob Carpenter Center next Wednesday to host George Washington at 7 p.m. in Newark.

Penn Rally Falls Short at Duke in 66-50 Setback

The Quakers stepped out into the world of the Power 5 teams they like to mix with their Ivy League and other opponents but an explosive 22-11 third quarter rally went to naught with the Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference righting themselves 17-6 in the next period to hand Penn (4-1) its first loss of the season at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Coach Mike McLaughlin’s group had trailed by as many as 21 points in the second quarter before closing the deficit to five points before the final stanza got under way.

The two programs had met several times before with this trip Friday afternoon also serving as a state-homecoming visit for Penn junior Eleah Parker.

Freshman Kayla Padilla continued her fine play for the Quakers, scoring 15 points, dealing four assists and grabbing two rebounds while Kennedy Suttle matched a career high with 11 points while also grabbing five rebounds and three steals.

Parker was held to four points and four rebounds.

Duke (6-2) pulverized what had been a tough Penn (4-1) defense yielding an average of 45.5 points per game.

Leaonna Odom paced the Blue Devils with 23 points and 16 rebounds while Haley Gorecki scored 12 points, Miela Goodchild scored 11, and Onome Akinbode-James scored 10.

Penn heads back to The Palestra to host Hartford, Monday night at 7 before heading to La Salle Wednesday night for the Quakers’ second Big Five game of the season after recently winning at Saint Joseph’s.

Penn State Edge by Long Beach State in Cal Tourney

The Lady Lions (3-4) couldn’t strike gold in the opening of the Cal Classic Friday night, falling to Long Beach State 64-56 and thus will play the consolation game Saturday afternoon against North Carolina Central at 4 p.m. in California’s Haas Pavilion in Berkeley.

The 49ers were able to answer with enough runs to keep holding Penn State back from taking control.

Marisa Makenna had a career-high 16 point for the Lady Lions, who have lost three straight games, while Kamaria McDaniel scored 12 points making this the 13^th straight game she has scored in double figures.

Long Beach State (2-4) of the Big West Conference got 16 points from Justina King, while Ma’Qhi Berry scored 14, and Jasmine Hardy scored 10.

Next Thursday, Penn State will be home to host Pitt as part of the Big 10/ACC Challenge and then will break until visiting Princeton, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m.

Temple Downed by Creighton

In the second night of the Cancun Challenge in Mexico, Temple was unable to recover from its loss to North Carolina, falling to Creighton of the Big East 69-59 in what was a closely fought contest.

Mia Davis had 18 points for the Owls (4-4), while Ashley Jones scored 14, and Shannen Atkinson had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds and was voted to the all-tourney team. Asonah Alexander grabbed nine rebounds.

Temi Carda scored 17 points for the Blue Jays (6-1), while Jaylyn Agnew scored 15, Olivia Elger scored 12, and Mykel Parham grabbed 11 rebounds.

The opponents both nights were pre-determined as opposed to the normal advancement/consolation structure.

Temple was ahead 16-11 after the first period before Creighton was able to top the Owls each of the remaining three quarters.

When Temple returns stateside, the Owls on Wednesday head for an 11 a.m. game at Towson, the defending CAA tournament champs, in suburban Baltimore.

Next Saturday, Dawn Staley’s South Carolina squad will return for the second time in three seasons, playing the Owls at 3 p.m. in McGonigle Hall.

Looking Ahead: Tourney Saturday for Several Locals

It’s already been mentioned for games in existing tournaments of the matches Saturday for Delaware and Penn State.

An intriguing weekend at Saint Joseph’s Hagan Arena in the annual Hawk Classic gets under way at noon with the hosts meeting American U. at noon, followed by Drexel meeting Mid-American champion Buffalo at 2 p.m.

This event is using the pre-determined structure so on Sunday American and Buffalo will meet at noon followed by Saint Joseph’s and Drexel at 2 p.m.

La Salle will look to continue its winning ways, playing UMBC at 1 p.m. in the Navy Classic at the Academy in Annapolis, Md., followed by the hosts Midshipwomen playing Kennesaw State at 3 p.m.

On Sunday the winners will meet for the title and the other two teams will play for third place.

With Rutgers having won its first game Thursday, beating Vanderbilt in the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas, the Scarlet Knights at 2 p.m. will meet Georgia Tech, which beat Seton Hall.

On Sunday, besides the conclusion of the Hawk and Navy Classics, Princeton in a single game will host Saint Francis of Brooklyn at 1 p.m. in Jadwin Gym.

  And that’s all the reports.