Guru Report: Rutgers Wins But Other Turkey Action Tough Swallow For Temple, Notre Dame, USF, and South Carolina

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru 

 

It was a split holiday affair for Rutgers and Temple, the two Guru locals of his 11 who played on Thanksgiving in tournaments while there were shockers and a few other surprises on the national scene.

 

Down in the Junkanoo Jam in Bimini in the Bahamas, Rutgers rallied from an 11-point deficit to top Vanderbilt 62-56, to earn a day off, and then Saturday meet Georgia Tech at 2 p.m. in the championship.

 

It was the Scarlet Knights’ first win over the Commodores in three meetings, the last coming in 1995. They last appeared in the Junkanoo Jam when they won it in 2005.

 

The Yellowjackets (5-0) advanced by beating Seton Hall 79-54 sending the Pirates (4-3) into Friday’s consolation game against the Commodores (5-2), who were dropped by the, Scarlet Knights (5-1).

 

Rutgers had entered from meeting another Southeastern Conference member, losing Sunday at LSU for its first setback of the season.

 

It seemed for a long while, Thursday,  it might be two straight for RU in the game at Gateway Christian Academy, but ultimately Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer’s group was able to offset the seven-rebound deficit by limiting Vandy’s shooting to just 33 percent from the field.

 

The comeback was also charged by Tekia Mack, who had 18 of her 20 points in the second half. Her layup with 32 seconds left in regulation put the Scarlet Knights in the driver’s seat at the finish.

 

“We were running patterns that allowed us to get to the rim,” Stringer said. “We learned from our last game at LSU and didn’t have as many fouls. That gave us an opportunity to run the 55 effectively.”

 

The 55 is Stringer’s trademark pressing defense that has victimized many Rutgers foes over the years.

 

“It was a total team effort with a whole second group coming in to run the 55 and attack the rim effectively.”

 

There were six ties and eight lead changes.

 

Mack got her 20 points on 8-of-15 from the field and she also had five rebounds and two steals without committing a turnover in her 34 minutes of action.

 

Arella Guirantes had 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocks, while the most spectacular of Khadaizha Sanders points came by way of a half-court three pointer as the opening half expired to give Rutgers momentum.

 

Vanderbilt’s 11-point advantage was built in the first quarter before the Scarlet Knights became to climb back into contention.

 

Mariella Fasoula, on several preseason national watch lists, had 17 points for the Commodores, while off the bench reserves Koi Love and LeaLea Carter scored 13 and 10 points, respectively.

 

Career-wise, Stringer moved into sole possession of fifth place all-time in the women’s game and fourth in Division I with 1,024 wins, breaking a tie with retired North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell.

 

Stringer’s first win this season was her 500th with Rutgers while the rest of her triumphs have come coaching Cheyney U. and Iowa.

 

In Georgia Tech’s win, the Yellowjackets shot 63.3 percent from the field and Lorela Cubaj topped four players scoring in double figures as she collected 16 point, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Francesca Pam scored 15 points.

 

Desiree Elmore and Alexis Lewis each scored 14 points for Seton Hall.

 

“We didn’t play all that well in the first half, but I thought we were resilient, come back and played a much better second half,” said new Yellowjackets coach Nell Fortner, a former Texas star as well as having former coaching stops at Purdue, the USA 2000 Olympic Gold Medalists, the WNBA Indiana Fever and Auburn before serving as an analyst for ESPN-TV.

 

Temple Felled by North Carolina

 

The Owls ran into rough sailing in the tropics Thursday night, losing to unbeaten North Carolina 71-58 in the Cancun Challenge in Mexico.

 

The winning Tar Heels (5-0), now under former Princeton coach Courtney Banghart, forced Temple (4-3) into  committing 30 fouls, enabling UNC to shoot 24-for-37 from the line.

 

Temple transfer Ashley Jones had 15 points, while freshman Asonah Alexander had a team high 16 points and Shannen Atkinson scored 10, shooting 5-for-7 from the field.

 

 Four Tar Heels scored in double figures, paced by Madinah Muhammad with 20 points, while Janelle Bailey had a double-double 19 points and 11 rebounds, Shayla Bennett scored 15, and Taylor Koenen scored 10. Additionally, Malu Tshitenge grabbed 11 rebounds.

 

North Carolina had the game well-in-hand by the half holding a 42-20 lead and additionally gained seven three-pointers.

 

The Owls, who had a season-best 50 rebounds, seven of which were a career high from Lena Niang, ultimately lost post players Mia Davis, Shantay Taylor, and Atkinson to foul disqualifications in the final quarter. 

 

The Temple 50-40 advantage came off the inside play with the Owls holding an 18-8 differential on the offensive glass.

 

“It was a real gritty battle,” Banghart said afterwards of her team’s first road contest. “It didn’t come easy-we fought hard.”

 

The Tar Heels, who have won all their games by sizeable margins, next play Missouri in Cancun Friday while Temple will next play Creighton of the Big East at 9 p.m. The pairings for both nights were pre-determined and not in formal tournament advancement structure.

 

Nationally Noted: South Carolina Stunned by Indiana

 

It was easy to have South Carolina’s attention earlier this month when the then No. 8 Gamecocks headed into Big Ten country upsetting then No. 4 Maryland, the conference favorite, in College Park.

 

Back to play another Big Ten representative Thursday down in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, coach Dawn Staley’s squad didn’t fare as well with No. 17 Indiana, losing to the Hoosiers 71-57 in the opening of the Paradise Jam.

 

Brenna Wise and Ali Patberg each scored 16 points for unbeaten Indiana (5-0), who handed No. 5 South Carolina (6-1) its first loss of the season.

 

The Gamecocks held a four-point lead in the final quarter before Indiana went to work and the Hoosiers also got 10 points each from Aleksa Gulbe and Grace Berger.

 

Mikah Herbert Harrigan had 13 points for S.C. and freshmen Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke each scored 10 for Staley’s bunch, which wasted an earlier second half rally erasing a seven-point deificit.

 

“We knew they were going to come out an make a run,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said. “They’re too good a team and Staley is too good a coach that we were going to get their best coming out in the second half.”

 

The Gamecocks found themselves in foul trouble in the final period and after the Hoosiers used an 8-3 run at the outset to edge ahead 55-54 and then Indiana hit the accelerator and blasted to a 16-3 run closing things out.

 

Boston, playing just 14 minutes, and Tyasha Harris both fouled out – S.C. was assessed with 23 – and though Indiana was 12-of-19, the Gamecocks were 7-for-15 from the line.

 

“We got ourselves in some foul trouble and were not able to play people who we needed to play,” said Staley, whose team will visit Temple for the second time in three seasons next Saturday.

 

The loss removes South Carolina from an early meeting playing No. 2 Baylor, Friday, which now goes to Indiana  while the Gamecocks face Washington State.

 

More Upsets: South Dakota State Surprises South Florida While Fla. Gulf Coast Beats Notre Dame

 

Mid-majors had their day besides dining on turkey Thursday with unranked South Dakota State beating No. 21 South Florida 61-50 in Cancun, Mexico.

 

Myah Selland scored 17 points and Paiton Bruckhard had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Jackrabbits (4-2) while Kallie Theisen had 10 points.

 

South Florida (5-2), which now plays Florida Gulf Coast Friday, got 15 points and 12 rebounds from Bethy Muninga.

 

It looked like the Bulls of the American Athletic Conference might escape when a rally led them to a 46-44 lead midway in the final period before South Dakota State exploded on a 15-0 run. They are now 11-28 against nationally ranked opponents.

 

Meanwhile, also in Cancun, Florida Gulf Coast took advantage of 25 turnovers committed by Notre Dame to down the unranked Irish 69-60.

 

Anaya Peoples tied a season high for ND, scoring 19 points while grabbing nine rebounds. Sam Brunelle had 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Katlyn Gilbert scored 14 points.

 

Florida Gulf Coast (6-1), whose sole loss is at Princeton, got 19 points from Davion Wingate, 16 points and 14 rebounds from Tytiona Adderly, 12 from Keri Jewett-Giles, and 11 from Ulel Nasrin.

 

Playing on only the Irish’s third-ever Thanksgiving Day and against a first-ever opponent, no question this was tough to swallow for ND, losing its first-ever Thanksgiving week showcase game in the decade beginning 2009-10. They are now 13-1.

 

The two programs are half of four – the other two being UConn and Baylor – who have won at least 25 or more games since 2010-11.

 

Depending how one classifies DePaul these days in terms of Notre Dame losing to the Demons 70-69 on Feb. 28, 2011, the last true Mid-major loss for the Irish was to Northwestern State (La.) on March 24, 1995.

 

Now Notre Dame must play the South Dakota State group at 11 a.m. Friday that just upset South Florida.

 

Looking Ahead: The Locals and Nationals

 

As already mentioned for the locals: Temple plays Creighton at 9 Friday night in Cancun, Mexico; Rutgers is now off.

 

Penn State plays Long Beach at 6:15 p.m. in Cal-Berkeley’s tourney; Delaware plays Cal State Fullerton at 9 Friday night in the Titans’ tourney.

 

In a singles game at 1 p.m. Penn is at Duke.

 

On the national front, you’ve been told about Notre Dame and South Dakota State meeting at 11 and South Florida and Florida Gulf Coast meeting at 2:30 p.m. in Cancun.

 

Elsewhere: as mentioned, Baylor and Indiana meet at 5:30 p.m.; North Carolina and Missouri at 6:30 p.m.; Syracuse and Stanford at :10:30.

 

We will track and tweet others as the action warrants.

 

And that’s the report.