The Guru Report: Holy Smokes - Holy Family Tops USciences; Penn Visits La Salle

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

PHILADELPHIA – Last summer not long after former Penn assistant Bernadette Laukaitis was hired back at her alma mater Holy Family she was a spectator in the stands getting the thrill of seeing her Division II Tigers upset local and national powerhouse USciences  for the league title.

 

On Tuesday night in the Tigers’ Campus Center in Northeast Philadelphia, Laukaitis got to guide Holy Family in showing it was no fluke as they edged the Devils again 67-63 to open play in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.

 

The opposition Devils are ranked 23rd nationally and are now 6-3 overall besides 0-1 in the CACC.

 

Holding a  65-63 lead with 12 seconds left in regulation, junior Anjelai Hayes made one of two foul shots for a three-point edge and then blocked the Devils’ Irisa Ye on a potential game-tying 3-ball and USciences was forced to foul with a second left.

 

Senior Elizabeth Radley, who went to the line after grabbing the defensive rebound, made one of two attempts for the final 67-63 score.

 

The Tigers regained control for the fourth period after a 6-0 run that began in the third gave the Devils a 54-53 lead on a layup by Ye.

 

Holy Family showed it might be a tough out again by pushing a two-point lead to nine in the second period off a 7-0 run for the night’s largest differential. The Tigers also dominated the boards 37-23. 

 

Moe Moore, a freshman from Archbishop Ryan, had a season-high 21 points for Holy Family, shooting 8-13 from the field and 5-8 from the line.  She also had a game and season high 13 rebounds for her first career double-double.

 

Radley also had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds while having a career-high blocking five shots. Mia Ehling also scored in double figures, collecting 17 points to help the Tigers stay unbeaten at home at 3-0.

 

Ye had a game-high 26 for the Devils, who trail the Tigers 29-12 in the series between the two schools, dating to 2002-03 back when Penn coach Mike McLaughlin was coaching the program.

 

Holy Family’s last win over a nationally-ranked team was against Adelphi in the quarterfinals of the 2015 NCAA Division II East regional.

 

The Tigers next head to Wilmington U in Delaware at 1 p.m. on Saturday for another CACC contest while . USciences hosts Georgian Court in a CACC Saturday at 1 p. m.

 

Looking Ahead: Penn Visits La Salle Seeking More Big Five Glory

 

In the other major action in town Wednesday night Penn seeks to keep its early season success alive while La Salle will be doing likewise hosting the Explorers’ Big Five opener at 7 p.m. at their Tom Gola Arena.

 

A separate on the Villanova/Drexel game is above this report.

 

Penn (5-1, 1-0) is going into the contest off another blowout win, defeating Hartford Monday night at the Quakers’ Palestra. The one setback was at Duke last Friday.

 

La Salle (6-2, 0-0) is also having early  success and quite a turnaround under the second season with Mountain MacGillivray, matching the entire win total of 2018-19.

 

A recent five-game win streak featuring three late rallies was ended Sunday 61-46 by host Navy in the title game at the Academy in Annapolis, Md.

 

La Salle leads the series 35-11 but Penn, which has already won at Saint Joseph’s, has taken 6 of the last 9 between the two schools.

 After this game, the Quakers won’t see their remaining two Big Five foes until traveling to Temple and Villanova in mid-January.

 

Temple (4-4) meanwhile is at Towson’s SECU Arena Wednesday morning in suburban Baltimore at 11 trying to snap a two-game losing streak suffered last week to North Carolina and Creighton in the Cancun Challenge in Mexico.

 

The host Tigers (3-4) rallied over Drexel last season in the title game of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament at Delaware.

 

On Saturday the Owls are back home playing No. 6 South Carolina at 3 p.m. in McGonigle Hall in Dawn Staley’s second homecoming in three seasons coaching the Gamecocks.

 

Sacred Heart is at Saint Joseph’s at 7 as the Hawks try to bounce back from Sunday’s home loss to Drexel while Delaware (2-4),  which finally got on the winning side taking both games against host Cal State Fullerton and Santa Clara out West, will host George Washington at 7 at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark.

 

On Thursday, Penn State and Rutgers will be hosting on the Big 10 side of things against two ACC squads in the annual challenge.

 

The Lady Lions will host Pittsburgh at 7 in the Bryce Jordan Center while Rutgers at 6 in the RAC will host Virginia (4-4).

 

The Scarlet Knights (6-1) are on a roll with wins over Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech in the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas.

And that’s the report.