Guru’s WBB Report: La Salle Races to Win at Monmouth

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

After being coronavirus-stymied to one practice in recent weeks and then having suffered a lopsided season and home-opening loss on Monday night, La Salle turned things around quickly in 48 hours and took a decisive 64-46 win Wednesday evening at Monmouth of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference at the Hawks’ OceanFirst Bank Center in West Long Branch, N.J.

 

Monmouth is becoming the band-aid for the Guru’s locals’ schedules that are being ripped apart by Covid-19 positive test results on their side or the sides of originally-scheduled opponents triggering quarantine protocol procedures.

 

The Hawks (0-2) on a two-day delayed start with Rutgers on the road last Friday, got chewed by the Scarlet Knights prior to the meeting with La Salle (1-1) and will host Drexel Saturday while earlier Wednesday as part of Saint Joseph’s schedule revision, Monmouth will be at Hagan Arena in the afternoon on Dec. 22 at 1 p.m.

 

“It’s the coronavirus carousel,” jested Drexel coach Amy Mallon earlier in the day playing on the term applied in the offseason when a multitude of coaching changes take place.

 

Elsewhere on a light local schedule, for that matter also on a night that was also light on significant or noteworthy national games, Rider dropped to 0-3 overall off being home in Alumni Gymnasium in Lawrenceville, N.J. As Army arrived and left with a 70-55 win pulling away from a 29-29 tie at the half.

 

The Broncs previously lost at Villanova and at home to Drexel.

 

The Delaware game at nearby rival Delaware State was cancelled due to Covid-19 safety protocols as was the Blue Hens’ game at home against Georgetown next Thursday due to a positive test case in the Hoyas’ tier one delegation.

 

Suburban Division II power Lincoln, which has been playing a bunch of nationally-regarded D-1 schools, had a non-virus issue knock out a game at Syracuse over a leaky roof situation that sent the two programs over to a nearby alternate venue as the two programs agreed to turn the event into one of those normally preseason private scrimmage affairs.

 

Lincoln also got officially on what will be for now Saint Joseph’s season opener on Hawk Hill on Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. besides meeting La Salle on Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. at home in the first of the two home-and-home contests involving the Atlantic 10. Coach Cindy Griffin’s teams has been in lockdown off a tier one positive test.

 

So which one also counts as the Big Five game, a question we always ask of the Hawks-Explorers matchups when putting our local/national comprehensive schedules together.

No need to go there this time. 

That went out the window when the Ivy League shut down its winter sports taking Penn out of the city mix and Princeton out of the regional mix.

 

Moving in opposite directions, a game of Big Five rivals got re-inserted on Wednesday when Temple announced it will now open its season two days earlier Friday at noon home in McGonigle Hall hosting Villanova that had been scheduled to meet the Owls earlier but got erased when the NCAA declared a start of basketball delayed by two weeks.

 

Temple then hits the road Sunday to return a game from last year, visiting Florida Gulf Coast, and then on Dec. 17 visits top-ranked South Carolina in what has become an annual coaching rivalry renewal between the former Virginia teammates of the Owls’ Tonya Cardoza and the Gamecocks’ Dawn Staley, also the USA Women’s Olympic coach as well as Cardoza’s predecessor.

 

Meanwhile, for those of you not paying attention, the preceding paragraph may cause you to ask, isn’t Villanova supposed to open the Big East slate at home against No. 20 DePaul, Friday? 

They’ll still play, but later, a move so the Blue Demons can play in Friday night’s Jimmy V game on ESPNagainst No. 5 Louisville at 6:30 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., an event which at halftime will defer to the WNBA to announce next spring’s draft lottery order involving the New York Liberty, Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings, and Indiana Fever.

 

DePaul is filling in for No. 3 Connecticut against the Cardinals since the Huskies are still going through protocols off several positive tests at the tier one level.

 

Villanova will now open the Big East on Sunday at St. John’s at the Red Storm’s Lou Carnesecca Arena on Long Island 6 p.m. on the Big East Network.

 

On the women’s side, the Jimmy V games are now a two-night event as No. 8 North Carolina State visits South Carolina at 7 on Thursday night on ESPN2, a game that had already been on the books prior to the addition of the Jimmy V brand in the fight against cancer on the event.

 

OK, now that we got our nightly Covid-19 digression in, back to La Salle’s triumph in which one of last season’s local top rookies Claire Jacobs got 16 points while Molly Masciantonio scored 14 to combine for 30 in the game for La Salle while Kayla Spruill grabbed seven rebounds and her first basket of the night brought her to 500 career points.

 

“Very pleased,” said La Salle third-year coach Mountain MacGillivray called in from the team bus making the short ride back to town from central New Jersey.

 

“And we did some stuff we don’t spend a lot of time and the kids did great. We’re not a pressing team but we didn’t like the pace of the game so we sped it up and forced Monmouth into 31 turnovers.”

 

The Explorers blasted the game open with a 27-11 third quarter.

 

Lucy Thomas was the sole Monmouth player scoring in double figures, collecting 11 points.

 

La Salle next is back home Saturday afternoon to host Saint Francis, Pa., in Tom Gola Arena.

 

Rider Still Winless After Army Setback: Though the losses are piling early, it’s all about the rebuild from graduation departures that forged the Broncs’ landmark 2019-20 that saw  a regular season title in the MAAC and the graduation of star player Stella Johnson to become a WNBA draftee.

 

So Lynn Milligan remains upbeat, happy to get whatever she can in non-conference competition.

 

“Tonight was another step for us,” said Milligan after the 70-55 loss which Army hung on the Broncs. “We are starting to see things come together but we are still looking for our consistency.

 

The Black Knights put the game away in the fourth quarter.

 

“We were able to get some great looks, but unfortunately we didn’t shoot the ball well. We will continue to put our puzzle together and get better,” Milligan said.

 

Alisa Fallon and Kate Murray did the damage for Army with Fallon scoring 25 points and grabbing eight rebounds while Murray produced a high double double of 18 points and 18 rebounds. 

 

Amanda Mobley was the sole Rider player in double figures with 14 points.

 

The Broncs next visit Delaware State Saturday in their final non-conference game but that may be off the books off the action Wednesday in which the Delaware game with the Hornets was cancelled out of precaution.

 

Looking ahead to Thursday and the other days locally not mentioned, Rhode Island will be at Penn State at 6 p.m., while on Sunday the Nittany Lions will be at Syracuse at 2 p.m., and Delaware will be at Pittsburgh at 6 p.m.

 

Nationally Notable: A game played in Austin, Texas, is worth highlighting not so much the outcome but the rematch of a rivalry of yesteryear as the host No. 25 Longhorns beat Louisiana Tech 84-57.

 

Back in the 80s and early 90s, the two programs were Top 10 regulars and one of the most memorable Women’s Final Fours came in 1987 when the Techsters beat the ‘Horns in a mild upset in Austin and then went on to lose in the championship to Tennessee, giving the Lady Vols their first of eight national titles.

“Our championship was Friday night,” La. Tech coach Leon Barmore said of having nothing left to give on a short turnaround playing another ongoing national rival then in Tennessee.

 

The Techsters have since fallen by the wayside while Texas has remained competitive and made one of the biggest offseason coaching moves snatching Vic Schaefer from Mississippi State to try to get back to the top level.

 

In Wednesday’s game, prime WNBA prospect Charli Collier collected 22 points and eight rebounds, while Audrey Warren scored 19 points.

 

Brianna Harris had 25 points for Louisiana Tech.

 

Besides the South Carolina/N.C. State game Thursday, Notre Dame will try to make a case to get back into the AP Women’s Poll when the Irish visit No. 24 Michigan at 6 p.m. in Ann Arbor.

 

And that’s the report.