The Guru Report: Rider Returns to First While Rutgers’ Stringer Gains Milestone

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Rider is back in the driver’s seat moving forward. Another notable achievement is in the resume of Hall of Fame Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer. Penn State is still struggling.

 And in small colleges, Lincoln got stung in the quarterfinals of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) tournament. 

That was all there was on a lite but important slate from Thursday’s docket involving three of the Guru’s local Division I teams and the area small colleges. There was also a national note or two.

Friday night, however, has some important stuff among several of the five Guru teams who will see action.

So, let’s get started.

Rider Deadlocks Marist at the Top of the MAAC

It was easy at the outset up in Connecticut where Rider visited Fairfield, then it became another grinder in their two-game series in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. But when it ended, Rider had 68-60 victory at the Stags’ Alumni Hall.

What the Broncs (22-4, 15-2 MAAC) also had was a first-place deadlock with Marist, the preseason favorite, with three games left on the regular season slate, and if they finish toe-to-toe, by virtual of sweeping Fairfield (13-13, 10-7) they also possess the tie-break for the number one seed in next month’s MAAC tourney.

Rider has also swept long-time ruling MAAC champion Quinnipiac, which Marist plays Saturday for the second time.

In many respects, the regular season championship, either  outright or shared finish, is more about continuing accomplishment these past four years in terms of the Broncs.

Baring upsets to the Red Foxes, if Rider stays on its game the next two weeks it is going to have to deal with Marist in the championship, which has moved from a long stay in Albany, N.Y., to Jim Whalen Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

The Broncs can finish no worse than second and if not the NCAA, which is the goal, they are virtually assured of landing a berth in the WNIT for the third time in four seasons.

As for dealing with the Stags, to run the current overall win streak as well as series win streak to five straight, after the Broncs went zipping to a 22-7 lead through the opening quarter, Fairfield came right back leaving the visitors just a point ahead at the break.

The third became a closely fought affair but the Broncs went up 47-46 before the buzzer courtesy of Tracey Goodman’s three-point shot from the wing.

Rider then relied on its defense the rest of the way, holding Fairfield to 26 percent shooting from the field to eke out the victory.

“Solid February road win against a really good team,” said veteran coach Lynn Milligan, who recently became the winningest coach in the program’s history. “Our defense came through again and kept us in flow. I’m proud of our effort and how we had a lot of different players make big plays.”

Stella Johnson, the nation’s leading scorer, had 20 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. 

It was her 20^th game this season scoring 20 or more points, bringing her all-time program-leading career total to 2,061 points.

Amanda Mobley scored 18, Lea Favre scored 13, and Goodman off the bench for the Broncs scored eight. Amari Johnson had seven points and seven rebounds.

Rider is back home Saturday in Alumni Gymnasium at 4 p.m. in Lawrenceville, N.J, hosting Canisius.

The Broncs finish up next  week hosting Saint Peter’s, Thursday, looking for a split after their upset loss earlier this season, and then travel to Monmouth, next Saturday.

Rutgers Routs Wisconsin in Landmark Win for Stringer

Twenty seemed to be a magic number Thursday night. 

Besides Stella Johnson on Rider getting at least 20 points for the 20^th time, Rutgers (20-8,10-7 BigTen) at home in Piscataway, N.J., made it a 20-point victory, 63-43, over Wisconsin in a Big Ten game that brought the overall win total to 20.

That became the 37^th time Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer in combined three programs, including Cheyney and Iowa, has had a minimal 20-win season, breaking a tie with the late and legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt for an all-time high in women’s basketball.

“This was a Rutgers win, a true Scarlet Knight victory,” Stringer said. “I love Pat dearly, so it’s great company to be in. In the end, it’s a milestone. The important thing, we took care of business tonight in a whole-team and defensive win, beating a team by 20 that we only beat by three early this season.

“We needed this.”

It was another big night for Arella Guirantes on the heels of her 36-point performance last time out.

 She scored 26 and set a Knights record shooting 14-for-14 from the line, for most free throws made in a perfect game shooting them without a miss. Rutgers was 20-for-23 as a unit.

Mael Gilles scored 13, while Jordan Wallace scored 12.

Rutgers remains in a three-way tie for fifth with just a home game Sunday at noon against No. 18 Iowa on the schedule. 

If the Scarlet Knights, Michigan, and Ohio State are still tied at the finish, then Rutgers will have the fifth seed for the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis next month.

Penn State Downed on Frazier’s Career Night

Siyeh Frazier had a career-high 28 points, shooting 12-for-17, on Penn State’s final home game of the season at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College but the Lady Lions fell to Michigan 80-66 in a Big Ten game that kept the visiting Wolverines (19-9, 10-7 Big Ten) in a three-way tie for fifth with Rutgers and Ohio State.

Kamaria McDaniel had 16 points, while freshman Makenna Marisa scored 10 for the Lady Lions (7-21, 1-16). Frazier’s performance came in her final home game, which was on senior night.

“We didn’t get the ‘W’ for her but what a transformation she’s made this season not only as a player, but as a leader,” said first-year coach Carolyn Keiger, formerly with Marquette, of Frazier. ”Hopefully, that’s one for her to remember.

“As a team, we have to keep chipping away, and we have to keep getting better,” Kieger said. “We have to learn to play 40 minutes as hard as we can. I’ll say this, I thought it was a drastic better difference, huge difference from the first time we played them at their place, and we can tell our team is getting better.

“We don’t have the wins that we want, but I can tell we’re chipping away.”

Nationally Noticed: Tide Swamps Another Top 15 Team

In the Southeastern Conference, Alabama upset No. 12 Texas A&M 76-63 on the road in College Station, Texas, making it the first time the Crimson Tide (17-11, 7-8 SEC) women have beaten Top 15 opponents back-to-back.

It’s also the first time Alabama has beaten the Aggies (22-6, 10-5) in their 10-game series.

Jasmine Walker had 24 points for the Tide.

In other news, seeds were set for the Mountain West Conference tournament, which begins Sunday and for the first time in conference history Fresno State will be the top seed. Also getting byes are No. 2 Boise State, No. 3 Wyoming, No. 4 San Jose State and No. 5 UNLV.  

Small Colleges: Lincoln Upset in CIAA Quarterfinals by Winston-Salem State

After getting a bye, No. 2 Lincoln, which had lost its last two following attaining a record 23 wins on the season, was upset by Winston-Salem State 63-59 in overtime in a quarterfinal of the Division-II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) tournament in Charlotte, N.C.

The winning Rams (14-15) were the No. 3 seed from the South behind the Lions (23-6).

Despite the loss, there’s still a chance Lincoln could get an at-large bid to the Division II NCAA tournament.

Lincoln’s Kwanza Murray was the only Lion in double figures with a game-high 16 points, while Brandi Segars had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the only Rams player to score likewise.

Lincoln could have won it at the end of regulation, but Kenzie Spencer made just one of two foul shots, but still good enough to force the overtime to remain briefly alive.

The Lions were held to just three foul shots, however, in the extended five-minute period.

Championship Weekend: Centenial, Atlantic East, and NJAC Determine D-III NCAA Qualifiers

Friday night, top-seed Rowan (23-3) will be hosting No. 2 Montclair State (21-5) in Esby Gym at 7 p.m. in Glassboro for the New Jersey State Athletic Conference championship.

The two teams split their series during the season with the Red Hawks winning big over the Profs 70-59 in their first meeting in North Jersey and then Rowan taking a close one 67-65 down here later to go ahead in first again.

Rowan advanced Tuesday at home beating The College of New Jersey, 82-62, while the Red Hawks downed New Jersey City University 57-45.

Should the Profs lose, it’s possible they could still gain an at-large bid.

Rowan last won the title in 1998-99. The Profs are ranked second in the NCAA Atlantic Region.

Meanwhile, top-seeded Haverford will be at home in Gooding ’84 Arena when the Centennial Conference semifinals get under way Friday night with the Fords (21-4) meeting fourth-seeded Dickinson (16-10) at 6 p.m. before No. 2 Gettysburg (21-4) meets No. 3 Johns Hopkins (17-8) at 8 p.m.

The championship will be at the same site on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.

In the first Atlantic East championship, No. 2 Cabrini will be at No. 1 Marymount Saturday at noon in Arlington, Va.

The D-II Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference pairings for next week will be announced after Saturday’s regular season wraps up.

The four slots and seeds out of the South have been determined.

 USciences, which is 16^th in the coaches’  poll and third in the NCAA East Region rankings, is the top seed, Holy Family is second, Jefferson is third, and Chestnut Hill is fourth.

USciences is on a record-tying 18-game win streak heading into Saturday’s 1 p.m. final at Chestnut Hill.

Jefferson is hosting Holy Family at 2 p.m. in the Gallagher Center. Jefferson coach Tom Shirley is going after career win number 794 and 645 coaching the Rams..

Looking Ahead: Showdown Friday in Separate Places for Penn, Princeton, Drexel and Villanova

Drexel can virtually clinch top seed in next month’s Colonial Athletic Association tournament at Elon but the Dragons, on a 13-game win streak, have a tall order Friday night, visiting preseason favorite James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va.

The Dragons ripped the Dukes in their first meeting at the Daskalakis Athletic Center and are holding a one-game lead so standings-wise a loss Friday brings them to a tie. The Guru is not sure of the tie-break off the top of his head, but if Drexel wins at Towson, Sunday, that could be the determining team, unless another system is in play.

JMU’s other loss is to Towson. 

Delaware is making the same trip in reverse, visiting Towson in suburban Baltimore, Friday night, and then JMU on Sunday.

Penn, trying to shake off Tuesday’s demolition, is still in second a game in front of Yale and Columbia, heading into hosting Yale, Friday, at 7, at The Palestra, and then Brown at 6 on Saturday.

The Quakers can clinch a berth in next month’s Ivy tourney at Harvard by winning this weekend.

Princeton, which hosts Brown at 6 in Jadwin Gym Friday, and Yale at 5 p.m. Saturday, just needs one win to clinch another regular season title.

In the middle of all this, making strides, is Columbia, a game ahead of Harvard in a third-place tie with Yale, and playing Harvard, going for a sweep, on the road Friday night. The Lions then head to Dartmouth Saturday.

Villanova, meanwhile, which can place anywhere from second to seventh in the Big East tourney, finishes by playing at difficult Creighton Friday night in Omaha, Neb., and then on Sunday in Providence, R.I.

Nationally, a sellout crowd will be at No.  3 Oregon, Friday night, when Washington State visits as the Ducks go for clinching a third-straight outright Pac-12 crown.

As for the other Guru D-1 locals not mentioned above, on Saturday, Temple finishes the home schedule hosting Tulsa at 2 p.m. in McGonigle Hall, trying to snap a two-game losing streak in the American Athletic Conference.

La Salle, on the road, finishes the A-10 schedule visiting George Mason, Saturday, at 2 p.m., in Fairfax, Va., while the same goes for Saint Joseph’s on Saturday, as the Hawks wrap their A-10 business at Fordham at 2 p.m. in Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx.

And that’s the report.