The Guru Report: Rutgers Rally Leads to Best Season Start Since 1990-91

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

In just under the past three decades, Rutgers has been to two NCAA Women’s Final Fours in 2000 and 2007, spent lots of periods of time in the upper portions of the Associated Press women’s poll, though not real recently, and has been under two stellar coaches in former Immaculata star Theresa Grentz and current Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer C.Vivian Stringer.

But quick season starts have been a mixed bag with most falling short of anything landmark in that time – until Saturday afternoon.

In a stunning late rally fueled by redshirt junior Arella Guirantes, who took a while herself to get going, the Scarlet Knights raced to the finish to edge host Wisconsin 64-61 in a Big Ten opener at the Badgers’ Kohl Center.

In a state in the Midwest where one is known to smile and say cheese, a dairy product of plenty in those parts, Stringer’s squad was grinning with the smiles that accompanied the farming of a victory that gives Rutgers (11-1) its best start in the Stringer era and best since the 1990-91 group under Grentz opened at 13-0.  

After almost an entire week off for all of NCAA Division I across the Christmas holiday, two of the Guru’s 11 Division I squads returned to the hardwood, both in the Big Ten, and the outcome was a split result, with a dynamic successful comeback for Rutgers but another rally that fell short for Penn State hosting Minnesota in an 81-74 loss at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College.

The Scarlet Knights seemed headed for a major setback to be handed by Wisconsin (8-4) after having blitzed Rutgers’ non-conference opponents.

 Late in the third period, they trailed the Badgers by 15 points with four minutes left in the quarter.

But continuing running the vaunted Stringer ‘55 Press,’ defensively, that forced 12 turnovers after the half, Rutgers went on to outscore Wisconsin 20-8 in the final stanza that began with a 10-0 run to stay on a winning track.

 Next up is Tuesday’s New Year’s Eve matinee back home at 3 p.m. in the Rutgers Athletic Center hosting No. 14 Indiana in Piscataway, N.J.

The Hoosiers (11-2), off to a near-equal start of Rutgers, won their conference opener at home defeating Michigan State 79-67 in Bloomington, being led by Ali Patberg with 23 points.

“We just gutted it out, playing the ’55 Defense,’ which we are known for and work extremely hard, but it is really an exhausting press,” Stringer said of the comeback. “But it just pushed us a little bit more. I was really proud of our team because they didn’t pay attention to the score.

“But the team did a nice job spreading the floor and executing offensively, so, it is good for us to have played a team like this and to have won. But we know better, more, the things we gotta do.”  

Guirantes shook off an 0-for-7 start from the field to finish with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, along with a career-high eight assists.

“Her teammates believe she will come through and get the numbers that she did and won’t get frustrated,” Stringer said. “And that’s incredible. But we have to get five solid people to produce at the level we expect.”

Guirantes, who has already won several weekly Big Ten player citations, the first for the program since 2015,  is leading the conference with a 19.4 points per game average.

Tekia Mack was red hot, scoring 17 points off 7-for-12 from the field, while also grabbing seven rebounds and dealing three assists.

 Another effort in double digits came from graduate student Khadaizha Sanders with 11 points.

Wisconsin’s Abby Laszewski had 20 points and nine rebounds while Imani Lewis had a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Sydney Hillard scored 11.

Depth showed itself with a differential of 10-0 off the bench for the visitors and fast break points comparison showed a 12-3 outcome.

Additionally, redshirt sophomore Alexis Morris, a transfer from Baylor, made her debut in the second quarter after becoming eligible for the game under NCAA guidelines.

Asked about the significance of the milestone start afterwards, Stringer said, “Really nothing, we’re just continuing to build on that. It gives us a chance to build on this and give us a chance to approach with confidence as we did in that game to come from behind.

“I believe that down to the last second that we believed that we were going to come from behind. 

“But it’s one thing to talk about it, but it’s another thing to expend the energy and play, because you believe in it,” Stringer said.

“But I’m sure we are going to be tested in our next game and the coming games in the Big Ten season. The biggest thing is we haven’t been put in a situation like this before. But I know they have a fight in them.”

Penn State Rally Falls Short

Lady Lions first-year coach Carolyn Keiger, formerly with Marquette in the Big East, made her conference debut in a game in which the they struggled early before getting going in the second half.

 Slicing what had been a huge 35-point deficit, they cut it down to single digits, but still fell in an eventual 81-74 Big Ten opening setback.

The Gophers (11-1), coached by former WNBA Minnesota Lynx star Lindsay Whelan at her alma mater, exploded off to a 49-14 lead in the second quarter that provided insurance for an eventual 11^th straight win in a bid to return to the rankings they received earlier in the season.

The Lady Lions (6-6) made it more competitive with a 53-27 advantage in the second half.

Junior Kamaria McDaniel had 31 points for Penn State, her best in conference play, while senior Siyeh Frazier had a career-high 21 points and freshman Makenna Marissa scored 12. Lauren Ebo grabbed 10 rebounds.

The home team closed it out with an 11-2 run, but it was not enough to overtake Minnesota.

The Gophers’ Destiny Pitts had 21 points, while Sara Scalia scored a team-high 22, and Taiye Bello had a near double-double nine points and 10 rebounds.

“It was a tale of two halves today, but I’ll take that second half team to battle any day,” Kieger said. “I’m very proud of our effort, our adjustments, and our composure.

“In the first half, we obviously had a lot to fix, but I definitely saw some growth there in the second half and I’m proud of our team for keeping their heads, for fighting and playing as hard as they did in that second half,” Kieger continued.

“Hopefully, we can put two halves together and we’ll become a team that we all know we can be.”

Penn State next takes off on a conference road swing, visiting No. 23 Michigan on New Year’s Eve at 2 p.m. on Tuesday in Ann Arbor, and then continues to Wisconsin at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Looking Ahead

More teams are back in action Sunday with Villanova at 4 p.m. at the Finneran Pavilion hosting Providence in the Wildcats’ Big East opener and first game since Saturday a week ago when freshman Maddy Siegrist blasted the record books with 41 points.

‘Nova then will host Creighton in a New Year’s Eve matinee Tuesday at 1 p.m. before conference road stops Friday at Seton Hall and next Sunday at St. John’s.

Two other games in the immediate Sunday ahead have Delaware hosting George Mason at 1 p.m. in the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark in the Blue Hens’ final non-conference tilt before opening their Colonial Athletic Association slate on the road next Friday at UNCW in Wilmington, N.C., and then Sunday at Charleston.

Princeton, which has lost just once, finishes up the Tigers’ non-conference slate hosting New Hampshire at 1 p.m. in Jadwin Gym before opening the Ivy slate on Jan. 11 against Penn in The Palestra at 1 p.m. in a game between the two regular-season co-champs who battled for the tournament crown won by Princeton at Yale last March.

On Monday, Drexel in the front end of a doubleheader with the men, hosts injury-riddled Maine at 4:30 p.m. in the Daskalakis Athletic Center before launching its CAA slate next weekend on the same road trip as Delaware, but in reverse, visiting Charleston, Friday, and UNCW on Sunday.

Temple has a Big Five clash at La Salle in Tom Gola Arena at 7 with the visiting Owls still in contention to tie for the City Series at 3-1 if they win and then beat Penn at home later next month.

Saint Joseph’s will finish up at Hagan Arena at home Monday at 7 hosting Navy before opening the Hawks’ Atlantic 10 slate Saturday hosting Richmond at 2 p.m.

Rider concludes its non-conference slate visiting Delaware State at 4 p.m., ahead of opening its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference schedule Thursday against Niagara at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J., before hitting the MAAC road, Saturday, at Iona at 1 p.m. in New Rochelle, N.Y.

Penn is heading to the Pacific, visiting Hawaii on New Year’s Eve in Honolulu at 8 local time and then staying for a game Thursday, playing Chaminade before heading home to prepare for its Ivy opener with Princeton.

Nationally Noted: Yale Upsets North Carolina

The Ivy League scored a nice win Saturday though there was coaching familiarity with Allison Guth guiding the Bulldogs to a 66-63 win at North Carolina in Chapel Hill, which is now headed by former Princeton coach Courtney Banghart.

 Her Tar Heels lost just their second non-conference game ahead of beginning play in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

It was UNC’s lowest output for the season.

“This was a total team win,” Guth said. “We had individuals who stepped up big time.”

Ellen Margaret Andrews scored 24 points in handing the Tar Heels (9-2) their first home loss of the season. She broke a 57-57 tie with a steal and layup with 1:38 left in regulation and Yale (8-3), which has won five of its last six, held on to win.

In another Big Ten opener, Purdue (10-3) topped host Ohio State 66-50 as the visiting Boilermakers’ Ae’Rianna Harris scored 12 points while Dorka Juhasz matched it for the Buckeyes (7-5).

Nebraska, yet another Big Ten team off to a hot start at 11-1, opened conference play at home in Lincoln, beating Iowa 78-69, to drop the Hawkeyes to 9-3 overall.

Still, another Big Ten squad at 11-1 in Northwestern, under Joe McKeown, the Father Judge grad who recently won his 700^th career game, gained a 77-50 win at Illinois (9-3) in Champagne as Lindsay Pulliam scored 27 points.

And in one other Big Ten opener, this one featuring two ranked teams, conference favorite, No. 12 Maryland (10-2), pulled away at the finish at home in College Park to beat No. 23 Michigan 70-55, to drop the Wolverines to 9-3 overall and put them in danger of dropping from the final Associated Press women’s poll of the decade, which will be released Monday.

On Sunday Duke is at Florida Gulf Coast, giving a strong mid-major a chance at beating an ACC squad, though the Blue Devils have not performed traditionally at this point at 7-4, though on a strong schedule.

No. 7 Louisville hosts Syracuse, which had been ranked, in an ACC opener, while No. 18 Arizona visits Arizona State, which was ranked early, in a state-rivalry that also serves as a Pac-12 opener, while also in the PAC-12, cross-town rivals in Los Angeles hook up with No. 10 UCLA (11-0), one of a dwindling number of unbeaten teams, nationally, hosting Southern Cal (8-3).

Another intriguing Ivy adventure has Columbia (7-3) visiting Vanderbilt (9-3) down in Nashville.

Marquette (9-2) in the Big East opens at No. 16 DePaul (10-2).

And that’s the report.