The Guru Report:Saint Joes Falls to Geo Wash but La Salle and Temple Win

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA - There was a time when a Saint Joseph’s/George Washington matchup was a must-attend requirement with women’s basketball supremacy in the Atlantic 10 many times up for grabs.

But Wednesday night here at Hagan Arena on Hawk Hill the home team and the visiting Colonials arrived several levels below what used to be commonplace in the conference standings.

“It will be that way again,” promised George Washington coach Jen Rizzotti after her team fought back from an early eight-point deficit to then build a 10-point advantage late in the third and ultimately escape from a Saint Joseph’s rally late in the game to win 56-50. “Both our teams are very young right now.

“I guess that was different, we both made it to 50,” Rizzotti quipped. “Not what you usually see when we play.”

Only three of the Guru’s 11 Division I teams played but the results were brighter elsewhere with La Salle downing George Mason while Temple edged UCF.

Meanwhile, in the game back here, just two seasons ago, George Washington and Saint Joseph’s knocked off higher seeds to play for the Atlantic 10 championship, which was won by the Colonials.

The Hawks avenged the loss a year ago winning twice, the second time eliminating GWU in the first round of the conference tournament to take a lead in the long-running series between the two that got tied again at 32-32 with Wednesday night’s win by the Colonials.

This was Rizzotti’s team’s second trip here this season after beating Villanova in the non-conference opener for both teams at Finneran Pavilion out on the Main Line in November.

For George Washington (9-11, 3-4 A-10), Wednesday,s result brought the first back-to-back schedule wins since early December in coming off Sunday’s rally at home in the nation’s capital to edge Massachusetts 50-47. That triumph snapped a three-game losing streak.

For Saint Joseph’s (8-12, 2-6), the loss is the second straight following Sunday’s setback at La Salle that was the first at the hands of the Explorers in eight games in the local rivalry.

George Washington’s Alexandra Maund had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Faith Blethen and Sydney Zambrotta each scored 11 points.

Nailah Delinois on Saint Joseph’s had a career-high 14 points while freshman Kaliah Henderson had another strong performance with 13 points and three steals off the bench and reserve Rachel Gartner, a graduate transfer from Boston College also had a career high, scoring 10 points.

A comfortable 51-41 Colonials lead with 2:20 left in regulation suddenly evaporated into an old-time traditional nail-biter in the series on a 9-1 run by the home team as Gartner scored five off a field goal and three-pointer while Henderson and Delinois scored around a Zambrotta foul shot to bring the Hawks within a basket at 52-50 with 46 seconds left in regulation.

But Maund scored in the paint with 20 seconds left to get the Colonials back in front by four points.

Henderson missed a shot with 19 seconds left but Zambrotta turned it over only to have Henderson throw the ball the away with six seconds left.

Forced to foul, the Hawks sent Blethen to the line with five seconds left and she converted both chances for the game’s final points.

The outcome has George Washington in 9^th but the Colonials are tied in terms of conference record with three other teams for sixth, a game behind fourth-place UMass (15-6, 5-3) and fifth-place Fordham (12-8, 4-3).

The Hawks, on the other hand, are in 13^th-place in the 14-team league, a game ahead of George Mason. 

The good news is that below leaders Dayton (14-7, 7-0) and VCU (12-8, 7-0), who have yet to get hit with a conference loss, Saint Joseph’s is close enough to make some headway toward the middle of the standings.

The bad news is next up Dayton visits Sunday at 2 p.m. followed a two-stop road trip next week to Duquesne, which rallied here earlier for a win over the Hawks, and to Saint Louis.

La Salle Beats George Mason to Equal A-10 Win Total From 2019

The Explorers followed up on Sunday’s home win over Saint Joseph’s to return to Tom Gola Arena Wednesday night and beat George Mason 77-65 to match La Salle’s entire A-10 conference win total from last season when Mountain MacGillivray made his coaching debut.

The winners thrived on their early season formula getting a 43-point combination from their freshmen Aussie guard twin sister sensation of Claire and Amy Jacobs as the Explorers (9-12, A-10 3-5) have won three games around a tough two-point loss at Richmond.

La Salle had control most of the way until the fourth quarter when the Patriots (7-14, 1-7), who sit last in the A-10, used a 12-3 outburst to move within four points before the Explorers then stopped the rally with an 18-10 run the rest of the way to grab the win.

MacGillivray had his team push the tempo resulting in 26 points scored in transition. 

Claire Jacobs matched her early season high scoring 29 points, of which 4-of-9 were connected three balls, while on the line she was 7-of-8. Amy scored 14 off 4-of-6 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Shalina Miller, who recently set the La Salle career block record, added five to her collection and she also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Her last two games against the Patriots have resulted in a combination 27 rebounds and 11 blocked shots.

The second half for La Salle was run by Explorers associate head coach Chris Day after MacGillivray was ejected off a series of technical fouls assessed in the front part of the game.

Hilary Cardano-Nicole scored 18 points for George Mason while Marika Korpinen and Jazmyn Doster scored 11 each, and Jacy Bolton scored 10 while Doster made it a double-double with 12 rebounds.

La Salle next hits the road traveling Saturday up to the Bronx in New York City for a 2 p.m. tip against Fordham at Rose Hill Gym. 

The Explorers will then be off eight days until returning home a week from Sunday to host Richmond at 2 p.m.

Temple Tops UCF

Building a 12-point lead that they were unable to hold, nevertheless, the Owls came up with defensive stops at the finish when needed and Temple gained a 67-65 win back home in an American Athletic Conference game in McGonigle Hall.

The victory atoned for Sunday’s conference loss in Cincinnati.

Temple (13-8, 5-3 AAC) bolted from a 30-30 halftime tie to a 48-36 lead in the third period but UCF (11-8, 3-4) answered with a rally to move within a point of the hosts.

The Owls got it done on the boards with a 41-30 advantage to offset 18 turnovers and also outshot UCF from beyond the arc making nine triplets to three.

Temple’s Marissa Mackins had 22 points and five rebounds, while Ashley Jones scored 13, and Lena Niang had a near double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Mia Davis also scored in double figures with 12 points.

In the closing minutes of the fourth and final quarter Temple used four Mackins foul shots and a Davis putback for a six-point lead that reduced to one at 66-65 on the Knights’ response.

The Owls couldn’t score on the ensuing possession, but they then got a stop and went to the line making 1-of-2 foul shots for a two-point lead. 

UCF then went for the tie to force overtime, but the Knights’ shot fell short.

Temple now has a week off until hosting Wichita State, Wednesday, at 7 p.m. in McGonigle Hall looking to avenge a last-second loss to the Shockers earlier this month in Kansas.

Small Colleges: Holy Family-USciences 1-2 CACC Race Continues

Still unbeaten in play in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, Holy Family beat Wilmington University from Delaware 71-63 at home in Campus Center Gymnasium in Northeast Philadelphia for the Tigers’ seventh straight win with a late surge.

In the fourth period, Holy Family (13-5, 11-0 CACC) used a 15-0 run  over six minutes to go up on the Wildcats 67-54 with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left in regulation.

Wilmington (3-16, 3-8) then rallied but couldn’t get close enough trailing 69-61 with 37 seconds left in regulation.

Elizabeth Radley, who recently reached her 1,000^th point and was honored for doing so before the game, had a game-high 26 points, of which 14 she scored in the first quarter. 

Moe More had 15 points, 13 of them in the second half, and grabbed eight rebounds and dealt five assists.

Mia Ehling and Angelai Hayes each scored 10 points for the Tigers, who are in their first year under former Penn associate head coach Bernadette Laukaitis, a Holy Family alumna who played for Mike McLaughlin at the school and then served under him on the coaching staff at her alma mater and at Penn.

LaShyra Williams had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Wilmington, which also got a double-double of 17 points, shooting 8-for-11 from the field, and 13 rebounds from Emily Ansah.

The Tigers, which beat USciences in August for the title of the Philadelphia/Suburban NCAA Certified Women’s Summer League, are playing their best in the CACC in a decade as the last unbeaten team and first time 11-0 in the standings since 2009-10. That season Holy Family started 19-0.

They next play Saturday, heading to Dominican in a CACC game in Orangeburg, N.Y. at 1 p.m. near the Tappan Zee Bridge.

Meanwhile, since its upset loss in the conference opener at home, to Holy Family, USciences has kept pace with the Tigers, the most recent Wednesday night winning 78-62 at Jefferson University in the Gallagher Center in East Falls.

 In winning their 11^th straight game, the No. 24 Devils (17-3, 10-1 CACC) got 21 of her 25 points in the first half from Jess Huber, who shot 9-of-12 from the field, including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Irisa Ye scored 18 points and Jordan Vitelli scored 17 while Taylor Hamm grabbed seven rebounds.

USciences continues its road trip to wrap up the three-game journey Saturday at Nyack in North Jersey at 1 p.m. 

Jefferson (8-11, 5-6), meanwhile, got 19 points from Alynna Williams, who also collected her 1,500^th career point, while Sabria Lytes and Morgan Robinson each scored 14 points.

The Rams next travel to Caldwell Saturday at 1 p.m.

Lincoln Cruises Over Virginia State University

On Monday night, since the Guru didn’t file a report, in catching up, Lincoln continued to soar, this time beating Virginia State University 88-44 at home in a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) contest at Manuel Rivero Gymnasium.

The Lions (19-3, 9-1 CIAA) have now won six straight and are the first team in the Atlantic Region to reach 19 wins, which also ties for second highest in program history with the 2006-07 contingent. 

The Trojans (8-14, 4-6) were held to 14 field goals.

Janya Lilly and Kwanza Murray scored 11 each for Lincoln, while Skyedajah Patterson had ten points and nine rebounds.

Bianca White had 11 points for VSU.

Lincoln is off until hosting Shaw at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Lions women’s coach Darrell Mosley was named WhoopDirt.com NCAA DII Coach of the Week, making him eligible for earning national coach of the year to be announced at the end of the season.

Rowan Streak Ends

The Profs were ambushed at home by The College of New Jersey 70-59 on Wednesday night in Glassboro, N.J., and now Rowan (16-3) and the Lions (13-6) are tied for first at 10-2 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Rachel Gazzola had a game-high 21 point for the visitors while Elle Cimilluca had 19  points for a career high and dealt six assists. Shannon Devitt had nine points and 10 rebounds while Jen Byrne had nine points.

The Profs’ Eliana Santana had 16 points and six rebounds, while Grace Marshall scored 12 points and Nicole Mallard scored 11.

TCNJ led by as many as 13 points in the fourth period, though in the closing minute, Rowan was able to come within eight points before Gazzola sealed it with an old-fashioned three-point play.

She had 14 points for the Lions in the second half and Marshall scored 10 for the Profs.

Rowan hosts Ramapo College Saturday at 3 p.m. while TCNJ hosts Montclair State on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Packer Hall in Ewing, N.J.

Looking Ahead: Rider Looks to Continue Streak

Owning a school-record 12-game win streak and alone in first and unbeaten in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Rider will be looking to taking the second of a three-game homestand Thursday when the Broncs (15-2, 8-0 MAAC) host Manhattan College (8-10, 5-4) at 7 p.m. at Alumni Gymnasium in Lawrenceville, N.J.

Marist, the preseason favorite who trail Rider by a game, will be at Fairfield, which fell two games off the pace resulting from the loss to the Broncs in Lawrenceville on Tuesday.

Quinnipiac, the recent long-time champion who now have three MAAC losses, will be at St. Peters.

Meanwhile, besides Rider, the other two of the Guru’s 11 Division I teams playing Thursday, are the Big Ten duo of Rutgers and Penn State.

Rutgers (15-4, 5-3 Big Ten), which has fallen to fifth after a two-game losing streak, will be hosting Illinois (10-9, 1-7) at 7 p.m. in the RAC in Piscataway, N.J.

Penn State (7-13, 1-8), mired in 14^th and last place, will be hosting first-place Iowa (17-3, 8-1) at 7 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa.

On Friday, in the Colonial Athletic Association, Drexel hosts Towson at the Dragons’ Daskalakis Athletic Center trying to extend a win streak and stay at the top of the standings when the teams meet at 7 

It will be their first clash since last March when Towson rallied in the closing minutes to deprive Drexel of the conference championship and second trip to the NCAA tourney.

Delaware, at 7 p.m. in the Blue Hens’ Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, will be hosting James Madison, the preseason favorite, which is tied with Drexel for first in the CAA. The Dragons and Dukes meet Sunday.

Villanova, coming off a weekend losing sweep to defeat at DePaul and Marquette, will be hosting St. John’s at 7 p.m. in the Wildcats’ Finneran Pavilion, looking for a series sweep after beating the Red Storm in overtime in Queens earlier this month.

And that is the report for now.