Guru’s WBB Report - I- Local: La Salle, Drexel, Penn State, and Rider Come Up Big While Saint Joseph’s Short in Overtime, Delaware Streak Ends, Temple Nipped

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru 

Milestones of sorts were achieved Sunday afternoon by La Salle, Penn State, and Rider, while Drexel prevailed at the finish with eight of the nine locals in action. 

On the flip side, Saint Joseph’s came up just short of at least forcing another overtime, Temple got edged, though the Owls were better by differential in their second day in New Orleans, and the shocker wasn’t as much as the loss but in the lopsided manner Delaware’s winning streak was abruptly ended in the second of two weekend meetings down at Elon.

Nihill Saves Drexel at the Finish: Following Saturday’s easy win over Northeastern, the Dragons found the Huskies more arduous 24 hours later in the Cabot Center in Boston but senior Hannah Nilhill saved the day at the finish, scoring with 1.6 seconds left in regulation for a 58-56 win and weekend sweep in the Colonial Athletic Association.

It was the 14th straight win over Northeastern (3-8, 2-6 CAA), and in the process, Drexel (9-4, 6-2) moved within a game of catching Delaware ahead of their home-and-home showdown in two weeks.

“From the scoring side, it was a tale of two games,” said Drexel coach Amy Mallon of the weekend and Sunday’s result. “But we found a way to fight and put ourselves in position to win it. A sweep on the road is a big step for this team.”

At the outset, the Dragons quickly fell behind, trailing as much as 13 points into the second period before exploding with a 14-3 run to move within four points at the halftime break.

With the score knotted 40-40 going into the final quarter, Drexel then dropped five points down with six minutes left in regulation before pushing ahead on a 7-0 run with Nihill hitting a kay three-ball.

Still, the Huskies, who have combined for some interesting meetings in their long series, like the famous six overtime affair won by the Dragons in Philadelphia, got to a tie and seemed headed for overtime until Nihill hit the winning shot.

Although Drexel didn’t have as good a shooting day from the field as Saturday, with a 30.9 percent mark from the field, the compensation came by way of season bests in nine made three-pointers and 15 connected foul shots.

Defensively, the Dragons forced 20 turnovers and gained a season-best 30 points for their efforts in that category.

The frenetics at the finish began with the score tied and a Northeastern miss sent out of bounds that reversed a call in Drexel’s favor to take possession with 8.5 left in regulation. 

The Dragons advanced the ball and Nihill was fouled with 2.4 left. The ball was then inbounded to her racing to the basket and she then hit the winning layup.

Nilhill’s winning shot became her 18th and 19th point on the afternoon, coming off three shots from deep, four on the line, while she also had three steals, two assists, two rebounds and a block to disrupt a Northeastern three-point attempt to steal the game as time expired.

Maura Hendrixson finished the weekend with nine threes, of which five were in Saturday’s win, and four more on Sunday to account for all 12 of her points in the second meeting. She also dealt six assists.

Keishana Washington had nine points and three steals.

Reserve Kayla Bacon scored seven, of which 5-of-6 came on free throw attempts.

Next up back in Philadelphia on Saturday, also homecoming day, Hofstra is the weekend visitor, for the 1 p.m. tip that will air on NBC Sports Philadelphia. On Sunday, the game also will air at 1 p.m. with the Pride and both games are also available on the Flohoops Streaming Apps.

La Salle Ends UMass Drought: What didn’t start well in a Friday loss at Rhode Island, became a splendid finish 48 hours later with a 69-63 win in an Atlantic 10 game at UMass in the Minutewomen’s Mullin Center in Amherst as the Explorers snapped a four-season losing streak in the series, dating back to La Salle’s last win on Jan. 25, 2017.

Kayla Spruill and Claire Jacobs combined for 37 points for the Explorers (9-8, 5-5 A-10), who inched above .500 again overall. 

Spruill, individually, had a game-high 21 points, while Jacobs scored 16 against UMass (10-5, 6-4), which won the first meeting back in Philadelphia.

Molly Masciantonio had a well-rounded boxscore performance with five points, four rebounds, six assists, four steals, and was unblemished by turnovers.

“We were a quarter away from a (weekend) sweep,” said La Salle coach Mountain MacGillivray, in dual reference to Friday’s loss to the Rams. “Any time you can go on the road against teams at the top of the standings and get a split, I guess it’s good but we wanted both.

“But I am so proud of the way these ladies are defending holding a team to 34 percent and force 19 turnovers, you’re playing pretty well.”

The Explorers are off until this weekend, hosting Saint Louis in the Tom Gola Arena at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

Penn State Completes Road Sweep: The weeks ahead will tell whether the youthful roster that is the Lady Lions is turning the corner, but they’ll take this week for sure as a sign of possibly making progress. On the heels of Thursday’s win at Illinois, they followed up Sunday with a 64-44 win at Purdue in the Big Ten in a game at the Boilermakers’ Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Overall, it’s three straight on the road, including a triumph over Minnesota in the Gophers’ Williams Arena in Minneapolis several weeks ago, and the win Sunday is the first at Purdue in six seasons.

Penn State (6-7, 3-6 Big Ten) got a third straight double double from Johnasia Cash, a first in the program since the last string occurred 14 seasons ago by Amanda Brown in 2007.

Cash’s totals saw a career-best 28 points and 12 rebounds against the Boilermakers (6-8, 3-7), who got 16 points from Tamara Farquhar, a double double 14 points and 18 rebounds from Fatou Diagne, and 11 points from Brooke Moore.

Besides the work of Cash, Penn State’s Niya Beverly had 14 points and dealt seven assists, while Anna Camden scored 12, and Maddie Burke scored nine, Makenna Marisa scored eight.

“Second game in a row that we kept our composure and fought back,” said Penn State coach Carolyn Kieger, who previously built Marquette into a force in the Big East. “I’m extremely proud of everyone and this is a total team win from top to bottom.

“Everybody contributed, everyone was focused, and everyone was `we above me.’ Cash has been a woman on a mission lately. Our team has done a great job finding her and her second jump has been phenomenal on rebounds. She’s just playing within herself and letting the game come to her and being very successful with that. I think our team has started to learn how to play together, and we’ve passing the ball really well, which I think has allowed her to have a lot of success in the paint.

“When she plays like that, she’s very hard to guard and hard to stop on the boards. Niya’s presence has been huge. She had some sweet assists in transition tonight for shooters and had her head up and she’s been a huge difference maker for us.”

The Lady Lions now head home for a two-game stand, beginning Thursday night when Nebraska visits the Bryce Jordan Center for a 6 p.m. tip in State College on the Big Ten Network.

Villanova Does it to Butler:  The Wildcats hit the road, recovering from the setback at home to Marquette, and blasted their way over the Bulldogs 90-53 in a Big East game at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, making a season-best 14 from deep to bolster the offensive attack.

Maddy Siegrist had a game-high 26 points and produced her eighth double double on the season with 10 rebounds for for Villanova (10-3, 5-3 Big East), which with Sunday’s game hit these season’s minimal 13-game requirement for consideration for the NCAA tournament as an at-large team if not gaining automatic entry through a conference championship.

Freshman Lior Garzon had a personal best 19 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field against Butler (1-12, 1-11). Brianna Herlihy scored 11 while Garzon’s total was helped by five from deep.

Overall, the visitors shot 52 percent on 33-of-63 from the field. The Wildcats got this done quickly, opening with a 30-11 lead after the first quarter. Coach Denise Dillon’s team hit five threes in the period.

The output was the seventh time Villanova scored 30 or more points in a quarter since the sport reverted from two 20-minute halves to present four 10-minute quarter system that began in 2015-16.

At one stage, the Wildcats built a 44-point lead at 88-44 near the end of the game.

Defensively, Villanova made good with a 17-3 advantage in points off turnovers and was 16-0 in fast-break points. 

In the previous four Hinkle visits, the teams split 2-2 in narrow differentials.

On Sunday, Butler’s Okako Adika and Jaia Alexander each scored 14 points.

After going 2-1 on the week coming out of a 19-day pause due to the coronvavirus, the Wildcats are back home Wednesday hosting Providence in Finneran Pavilion at 4 p.m. on the Big East Digital/Flohoops apps streaming network.

Rider Sweeps Monmouth, Wins Third Straight: The Broncs completed a wire-to-wire lead and weekend sweep of hOURglass rival Monmouth, 45-31, winning a third straight including the upset of Quinnipiac a week ago, in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at the host Hawks’ OceanFirst Bank Center in West Long Branch, N.J.

On the heels of Saturday’s win, Rider (5-14, 4-10 MAAC) returned 24 hours later, took a 9-0 opening lead and never trailed the rest of the way against winless Monmouth (0-8, 0-4).

The visitors’ Daija Moses was the lone player in the game, scoring double digits as she collected 14 points.

The Broncs have won six straight and nine of the last 10 in the series with the central New Jersey school.

Defensively, Rider registered eight blocked shots, the sixth straight game with five or more, if one is looking for signs of awakening on a young roster following the mass graduation from last season of a group which earned the top seed in the MAAC tourney in Atlantic City, but didn’t get passed the quarterfinals when the men’s and women’s event was shutdown as the sports world began to react to the onset of the virus.

That group included Stella Johnson, who became a WNBA draft pick and through a trade and then free-agent signing became a member of the Washington Mystics.

After Moses, Amanda Mobley came close with nine points, and also dealt seven assists, while Victoria Toomey pulled down nine rebounds and blocked four shots.

“I’m very pleased that we were able to take two hard fought road games,” said Rider coach Lynn Milligan. “It is a big step in our growth to put two strong days together, especially on the defensive end.

“We were a little out of flow on offense today but held very strong in defense. We have to be able to rely on our D when we are not shooting as well as we like.”

Rider is back on the road this weekend, traveling to the Buffalo area to play Canisius on Friday on ESPN+ and Saturday on ESPN3 with tip times yet to be announced.

Saint’s Joseph’s Just Short at Rhode Island: If La Salle was just a bad-quarter short of a weekend sweep on the same New England road trip, but in reverse order, in the Atlantic Ten, then Saint Joseph’s was that much closer, falling at Rhode Island 50-48 in overtime in the Ryan Center in Kingston.

The Hawks (5-2, 3-2 A-10) were unable to get off a decent shot and force another period as the clock expired in the first additional period.

Catherine Cairns’ three from down deep became the dagger for the Rams (7-5, 5-2), under second-year coach and former Dawn Staley backcourt Virginia star Tammi Reiss, who won their fifth straight.

Saint Joseph’s was able to thrive, defensively, on its three-point defense, but, unfortunately, couldn’t cash in the other way, shooting just two from beyond the arc in 11 attempts.

“We had a rough shooting day, but our defense put us in position to win the game,”  said veteran coach Cindy Griffin. “Unfortunately, it was not enough today, but there are certainly a lot of takeaways that we will learn from.”

The home team thrived on the boards, outrebounding the Hawks, 44-35, including 16 on the offensive end.

Gabby Smalls, who had not played since January 10, returned for Saint Joseph’s and scored 11 while also passing her 200th rebound to 203 in 34 games.

Katie Jekot scored nine, including all four of the Saint Joseph’s overtime scores. Katie Mayock had seven points and seven rebounds.

League-leading Dayton visits Friday at Hagan Arena at 6 p.m. on ESPN plus while Saint Louis visits Sunday at 2 on the same network.

Temple Edged by Tulane: The Owls fared much better 24 hours later in New Orleans but not enough to get a split with Tulane, which got enough ahead to blunt a rally and win 71-69 for a weekend sweep in the American Athletic Conference at home in Avron B. Fogelman Arena at the Devlin Fieldhouse.

The second and third quarters were the undoing of Temple (5-7, 5-4 AAC), being outscored 16-8 in the former following a 10-point lead in the first that became erased and then 28-19.

Turnovers were again deadly for the Owls, the Green Wave (10-5, 6-4) forcing 16 and gaining 19 points off the miscues.

Mia Davis had 22 points for the visitors, while Asonah Alexander had nine rebounds and seven assists to lead the team in both categories.

Freshman Jasha Clinton had 17 points and dealt five assists, while Alexa Williamson scored 15 and grabbed seven rebounds. Emani Mayo scored 10.

In the final period, in what had been a relatively close game, Tulane built a 10-point lead before the Owls rallied to within three 69-66 with 0:39 seconds left.

Tulane’s two foul shots from JerKaila Jordan built the advantage to five with 26 seconds left.

Rayniah Walker’s second-chance layup at the end of the regulation for Temple narrow differential in the final outcome.

Temple remains on the road heading to Cincinnati Wednesday trying for a series split. The tip is at 6 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN+.

Delaware Streak Comes to Shattering Stop: The Elena Delle Donne era junior and senior season marks in 2012 an d 2013 are safe following the Blue Hens’ overall nine-game win streak and perfect 9-0 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association coming to a stunning end to host Elon 83-61 as the Phoenix gained a series split in the Schar Center.

Jasmine Dickey performed well again for the visiting Blue Hens (12-2, 9-1 CAA), scoring 22 points, her fourth straight with 20 or more and 11th overall, while Jewell Smalls had three from deep to gain nine points and she also grabbed nine rebounds.

The first half was close with lead exchanges, though Elon (7-5, 3-3) was up three at the half, 37-34.

Then proverbial roof fell in, following an easy win 24 hours earlier, as the Phoenix had a thumping 22-11 third quarter performance and 46-27 overall.

Delaware had not lost since Dec. 20, perhaps only outperformed by famed alum and now President Joseph’s R. Biden Jr. It’s the first CAA setback since March 1 a year ago, though there is mitigating factors considering the CAA tourney at Elon got cancelled before the quarterfinals as part of the national sports shutdown reacting to the onset of the coronavirus.

A cure for more basketball damage may be on the way, however, since this weekend Northeastern visits the Bob Carpenter Center Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. each day in Newark.

Checking the CAA standings leaderboard is interesting, Delaware remains on top at 9-1, followed by Drexel at 6-2, followed by Towson at 2-1, and then by preseason favorite James Madison at 4-3.

The Blue Hens and Dragons won’t see JMU, barring disruptions, till near the end of the regular season, while in two weeks, and allowing home and home action because of their geographical proximity, Delaware will host Drexel on Friday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m., while the teams will then travel Sunday on Valentines Day back to Drexel to play at 1 p.m. in the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

All CAA games are on the Flohoops streaming apps.

As for how Delaware will have a four-game season series with Northeastern, a league official said Sunday night, the previous games played in Boston on Jan. 4-5 were inserted when simultaneously a Charleston shutdown postponed the Delaware series while an Elon pause did likewise to the Northeastern series, making Northeastern and Delaware available to play each other.

(It’s all about getting the minimum 13 games played).

This weekend’s Northeastern pair were part of the original Delaware schedule.

And that’s the local report, the national one to come in a few hours.

Guru’s WBB Report: Drexel, Delaware and Rider Hit the Victory Column With Ease But Temple Falls at Tulane

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru 

On a light Saturday schedule across the board, the four locals who played were all on the road, and three came up with lopsided winning results while Temple was on the other end of the same kind of result.

Just two ranked teams were in action, compared to what is coming Sunday, and each grabbed a triumph, with No. 24 West Virginia prevailing at TCU in the Big 12 and No. 18 Gonzaga winning at St. Mary’s in the West Coast Conference.

Rutgers, which hadn’t played since a Big 10 loss at Nebraska on Jan. 3 because of adherence to COVID-19 protocol procedures, announced the Scarlet Knights will resume play next Thursday at No. 16 Indiana and then host Nebraska, Sunday, trying to get a split in their series.

Attempts to reschedule games postponed will be made but news of those game dates are still unknown, plus they must be slotted in tandem per the Big Ten Network.

Per scheduling setups dealing with the coronavirus, the four local teams who played Saturday will be back at the same sites on Sunday, joined by four others on road trips, in the Atlantic 10, La Salle at UMass, Saint Joseph’s at Rhode Island, in the Big Ten Penn State at Purdue, and in the Big East, Villanova at Butler.

Drexel Sets Season Highs: The Dragons used a balanced attack and powered their way to several season highs, including the score at their end, winning 79-64 in Boston at Northeastern in a Colonial Athletic Association game at the Huskies’ Cabot Center. 

Drexel (8-4, 5-2 CAA) also had season bests, shooting 56.6 percent from the field, connecting with 30 field goals, and dealing 24 assists.

“Twenty-four assists on 30 made shots is a stat I would like to see every game,” said Drexel first-year coach Amy Mallon, previous the associate head coach in now Villanova’s 17 seasons guiding the program in West Philadelphia. “We came out ready to go and set the tone with our defense in the first quarter.”

Hannah Nihill had 21 points, shooting on 7-of-13 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line, while dealing four assists to move into 10th place on the program’s career assists totals at 317. She’s also ninth on the steals list, passing her 200th to reach 201 on three against the Huskies (3-7, 2-5).

Keishana Washington made her season mark with 17 points and a career-best eight assists, while also grabbing three steals, and Maura Hendrixson had rode 5-of-9 shots from down deep to 15 points, while dealing seven assists, four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.

Mariah Leonard was also hot, hitting 6-of-8 from the field for 12 points.

Game honors for scoring, however, went to Northeastern’s Kendall Currence, who was 10-for-12 and finished with 23 points, while helping with five assists.

Drexel looks for a weekend sweep when the teams return Sunday, tipping off at noon on the Flohoops apps streaming network.

Delaware Still CAA Perfect: The Blue Hens got to preview, as of now, the site of the CAA women’s tournament in March, returning to Elon where the event last spring was halted in the quarterfinals as the sports world began shutting down from the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Delaware is hoping that all can continue like the team did Saturday in the Schar Center, romping to a 74-55 win over the Phoenix (6-5, 2-3) in the Schar Center.

Replicating the last great Blue Hens era on the front end of the previous decade when Elena Delle Donne, now with the WNBA Washington Mystics, was lighting the scoreboard, Delaware (12-1, 9-0) won its ninth straight, the best overall start since Delle Donne’s junior season in 2012, and the 9-0 conference mark is keeping to the senior season when the team was a perfect 18-0 and conference tournament champions.

Jasmine Dickey got her 10th game of the season with 20 or more points, scoring a game-high 25, including 17 in the third period where the visitors’ 24-7 performance created plenty of separation to ride to another triumph.

Dickey didn’t see much action in the first half, getting into early foul trouble, which set the stage and opportunity for reserve Chyna Latimer, who scored 10 in the second quarter and reached a career-best 16 points for the game. She was 6-for-11 from the field, including nailing 4-of-8 three-balls.

Ty Skinner also scored in double figures with 10 points, while Paris McBride delivered seven assists, and Ty Battle had a game best 10 rebounds.

Battle has reached double figures in rebounds for 10 straight games and in 11 of Delaware’s 13 games, a total that enabled the Blue Hens to reach the minimum requirement for at-large consideration this season by the NCAA tournament committee, though it might be possible to be picked with a waiver application.

Elon got 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from Jaylin Powell.

On Sunday, the two teams will tip at at 1 p.m., with Delaware chasing its fifth weekend sweep. The game will air on the Flohoops Apps streaming network.

Rider Blasts Monmouth: It was off to the races for the Broncs, and not at the nearby track in West Long Branch, N.J., but instead inside the host Hawks’ OceanBank Center in what was the only Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game played Saturday.

After a season of struggle following Rider’s landmark run 12 months ago to the top seed in the MAAC tourney, before it was cancelled, the Broncs have won two straight, in this one beating their hOURglass rival 61-35.

Freshman Makayla Firebaugh hit 6-of-8 threes for Rider (4-14, 3-10 MAAC), scoring a career high 26 points after the team had stolen the backend of a weekend series at home last Sunday on conference power Quinnipiac. While dealing with postponements along with the rest of Division I, the Broncs’ 18-games played leads the nation.

Saturday’s schedule had 30 postponed games or cancellations though some of the teams involved not in virus shutdown got re-slated.

Defensively, the Broncs held Monmouth (0-7, 0-3) to fewer than nine points in each of the final three quarters after yielding 15 causing a three-point deficit at the end of the first.

Though Rider picked up the pace, it took Maya Hyacienth’s three-pointer before the second period buzzer to send the Broncs into the break with a 22-21 lead.

Monmouth, still looking for its first overall win, took the lead one more time on an opening shot in the third and then the Broncs exploded with a 13-0 run. Rider then went into a lockdown defense in the final 10 minutes, holding the Hawks to six points on 3-of-15 shooting.

Amanda Mobley also scored in double figures for Rider with 10 points as the Broncs have won five straight in the series and eight of the last nine between the two central New Jersey schools.

“Really proud of the way we bounced back after a slow start today,” said veteran Rider coach Lynn Milligan. “We continue to grow and it is showing in our trust in one another particularly on the defensive end. Our offense is very balanced right now and everyone is doing their part.”

As a team Rider threw down 11 threes,, shooting 52 percent from beyond the arc. It’s the second straight and fourth time this season the Broncs have gotten into double digits shooting the long ball.

In the offseason the Broncs roster got decimated through graduation, including the loss of NCAA-leading scorer Stella Johnson, who was a WNBA draftee and currently with the Washington Mystics.

Saturday was the first time the team had more assists than turnovers this season, a 13-11 ratio on the day. Rider also blocked five shots, the fifth straight game with five or more blocks.

It’s the least amount of points allowed by Rider since holding Monmouth to 25 last February at home in Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville.

The two teams return to the court Sunday as Rider looks for is first weekend sweep when they tip off at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

Temple Swamped by Green Wave: New Orleans was certainly not the land of the dreamy scenes for the Owls in their two-game weekend encounter, so far, visiting Tulane and losing 80-44 in an American Athletic Conference game in the Green Wave’s Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse.

Mia Davis had 14 points for Temple (5-6, 5-3 AAC), while back in Philadelphia the school was in campus morning for the Owls’ retired legendary Hall of Fame men’s coach John Chaney, who died after a short illness Friday after a short illness.

Alexa Williamson scored 13, and Rayniah Walker scored 10 for the visitors, who were outrebounded 40-29 by Tulane (9-5, 5-4), being handed a season-low..

Temple held a 35-34 competitive lead at the half before the Green Wave became a scoring wave on the Owls the rest of the way, 30-6 in the third period, 16-3 in the fourth for an overall second-half differential of 46-9.

Despite the loss the Owls are still third in the conference behind No. 13 South Florida (10-1, 7-0), which has been in a pause, and UCF ( 9-2, 7-1), which Temple beat at home.

Tulane’s Jerkaila Jordan scored 22 points, while Mia Heide scored 13, Dynah Jones scored 12, and Arsula Clark scored 10.

For the game, Temple got outshot 55.7 percent (34-for-61) to 30.2 percent (16-53).

Temple will attempt to pick itself back up and go after a split when the two teams return to the court Sunday at noon on ESPNU

No. 24 West Virginia and No. 18 Gonzaga Win: The two ranked teams that played each won, with West Virginia being worked a little harder for its 79-70 triumph in the Big 12 over Texas Tech in Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth than No. 25 Gonzaga was in its 79-52 victory at Saint Mary’s in a West Coast Conference game in University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.

In the victory by West Virginia (13-2, 7-2 Big 12), the Mountaineers triumphed for the eighth straight time as Kysre Gondrezick scored a career-high 30 points, while a career-high was also achieved by Esmery Martinez with 23. Blessing Ejiofor grabbed 11 rebounds against the Horned Frogs (7-8, 2-8).

The Mountaineers are back home in WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, Wednesday, hosting Iowa State at 7 p.m. on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ network.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga (15-2, 10-0 WCC) won its 14th straight and stayed perfect in the West Coast Conference in a wire-to-wire win with Jenn Wirth getting 14 points and 14 rebounds for her eighth double double on the season. Jill Townsend got 18 of her game-high 20 points in the first half, while Cierra Walker scored 11. Kayleigh Truong dealt a career-high nine assists.

“I’m really happy with the way our team responded,” said Bulldogs coach Lisa Fortier. “We wanted to play a more complete game, and we did that today. 

“When we were not shooting as well, we really rebounded the ball. When we were beat on defense, we usually had someone in help-side. The transition offense got us going and made for a very fun game.”

Madeline Holland had 15 points for Saint Mary’s (5-12, 3-8), and Taycee Wedin scored 12, while Brianna Simonich grabbed nine rebounds for the Gaels.

The Bulldogs next play home in Spokane, Wash., Tuesday, 9 p.m. hosting BYU in the McCarthy Athletic Center.

Collier Leads Texas: Bouncing back from a defeat at Oklahoma State earlier in the week, unranked Texas handled Texas Tech 72-53 at home in a Big 12 game in the Frank Erwin Center in Austin to split the season series as Charli Collier dominated with 30 points and 19 rebounds, putting her back in front by one leading the nation with 12 double doubles. 

It was Collier’s best scoring production in a Big 12 game, and second 30-point game overall for the Longhorns (12-4, 6-3 Big 12), who are 10-1 at home this season. In her last four games she averaged 18.8 rebounds grabbing an overall total of 75.

Celeste Taylor had 10 points and a career high 11 rebounds, while Joanne Taylor-Allen had nine points and four assists against the Red Raiders (8-9, 3-8).

“I’m really proud of my team, especially that second quarter when we made our run (19-0),” said first-year Texas coach Vic Schaefer, who previously built Mississippi State to a powerhouse in the SEC. “That was special and that’s what I envisioned for our program for 40 minutes.”

The visitors got 12 points each from Khadja Faye and Vivian Gray, though Gray was held scoreless the first 19 points and ultimately 7 below her 19.3 average prior to the game.

Texas next is at Oklahoma (5-7, 2-5) Wednesday, a prior meeting in Austin was postponed off COVID-19 concerns.

Elsewhere, Middle Tennessee, which rallied from seven down in the fourth quarter to win at UAB in overtime Thursday, had it easier at home in Murfreesboro for a 95-68 win and series sweep in the C-USA matchup as Anastasia Hayes followed her career-high effort with 42-points and six steals against the Blazers (7-7, 2-6 C-USA) with 35 in this one with eight rebounds and six assists for the Lady Raiders (11-4, 9-1). The nation’s scoring leader (28.1), also has a leading streak of 20 or more points in 19 straight games.

“I read the defense really well,” she said. “If I had the shot, I had it; if I had the lane, I took it; and if it was crowded, I found my teammates. That’s been my main thing this year is reading the defense and making smart choices on the court.”

Her sister Aislynn Hayes is averaging 15.3 as the team’s second leading scorer.

Looking Ahead: A heavy slate Sunday, beginning locally with the teams besides the ones mentioned above, tipping off, in the Atlantic 10, Saint Joseph’s will be at Rhode Island at 1 p.m. while at the same time La Salle will be at UMass, both games on ESPN+. 

In the Big East, Villanova is at Butler, tipping at noon on the Big East/Flohoops streaming apps network, while Penn State is at Purdue at 1 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

Nationally, at 1 p.m. a first ever main FOX network women’s telecast has a Big East battle, No. 3 UConn coming out of its upset loss at No. 19 Arkansas now in Chicago looking for a sweep of No. 17 DePaul, playing at the Blue Demons’ Wintrust Arena.

In the multi-ranked Southeastern Conference, No. 15 Kentucky hosts Missouri at 1 p.m., No. 20 Tennessee hosts Florida at 2 p.m. on ESPNU, No. 4 South Carolina hosts Alabama at 3 p.m.,  Arkansas hosts  Auburn at 3 p.m., and No. Texas A&M hosts No. 22 Georgia at 5 p.m. Except for the Tennessee game, all these are on the SEC network.

In the Big 12, at 4 p.m. on ESPN2, No. 9 Baylor visits Iowa State trying to break a two-game losing streak to the Cyclones, while elsewhere in the Big Ten, No. 16 Indiana hosts Michigan State.

Finally, in the PAC-12, No. 6 Stanford is at Washington at 4 p.m. before the Cardinal heads to next weekend’s games in its own arena for the first time this season now that coronavirus protocols in Santa Clara Country. Unfortunately No. 11 Oregon is in a pause causing the Colorado game to be postponed, likewise No. 10 Arizona, thus postponing the Wildcats’ visit to No. 5 UCLA to attempt a sweep of the Bruins.

And that’s the report. 

  

Guru’s WBB Report: Fourth Quarters Big For Saint Joseph’s But Bad for La Salle in A-10 Road Win and Loss; No. 6 Stanford Still Perfect at 69-0 Over Washington State

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

On their dual weekend road trips that had first stops Friday to New England in the Atlantic 10 Conference, the fourth quarter was thrived by Saint Joseph’s in a 76-69 victory over UMass in the Mullin Center in Amherst while La Salle’s defense fell apart in the Ryan Center in a 75-60 loss to Rhode Island that gave the Rams a season sweep on the Explorers following the win in Philadelphia at the start of this month and the new calendar year.

The games were the only ones involving local teams on a day light all around in the wake of the previous heavy 24 hours despite the numerous ongoing cancellations and postponemdents caused by the COVID-19 protocols.

While La Salle is completing a set of series on this trip, the games back home were postponed for the Hawks (5-1, 3-1 A-10), who themselves were in shut down quarantine at the time.

In Saint Joseph’s game Friday, the Hawks were tied 51-51 with UMass (10-4, 6-3) after three quarters and then erupted for a 13-2 run to grab the victory.

“This is a great road win against a very talented UMass team,” Saint Joseph’s veteran coach Cindy Griffin said. “We played, really smart, tough, and gritty.

“Our offensive efficiency was a combination of inside and outside production, which is growth from our last game. We need to keep growing as a team, and I know we will.”

This is Griffin’s squad’s first road trip of the season, the Hawks were shut down two weeks ago off a positive result within the Tier 1 category from daily testing and when the two host teams were in Philadelphia, the squad was in the middle of a three-week shutdown.

For all of this and the fact before a different future hit everyone and Saint Joseph’s was picked at the bottom of the 14-team conference at 13th ahead of just George Mason in the preseason coaches’ poll, the Hawks at the moment are near the top in the A-10 standings, though they have a ways to go to reach the 13-game requirement to be eligible for the NCAA tournament.

However, if they keep winning and become close enough they could be in position to gain a waiver if all the other traditional numbers produces a tournament-worthy profile as an at-large pick if they don’t win the conference.

As for the numbers out of Friday, grad forward Alexis Santarelli, shooting 7-of-12 from the field, and grad guard Alexis Gribble, shooting 6-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, each scored 15 points, while Lovin Marsicano, propped by 7-of-8 from the line, scored 12, and reserve Katie Mayock was 4-of-5 from the field, scoring 11 points.

Kaliah Henderson just missed scoring in double digits, collecting nine points while Katie Jekot dealt six assists.

In the third period, the Hawks were trailing 44-38 when they unleashed an 8-0 run to get back into contention heading into the final quarter.

Destiny Philoxy gave the Minutewomen a one-point lead before Saint Joseph’s then broke away on the decisive run and finished holding the home team to 3-of-8 from the field and no threes in three attempts in the closing 2:20 of regulation in the contest.

Saint Joseph’s will look to gain a weekend sweep Sunday when the squad finishes the trip at Rhode Island in the Ryan Center in Kingston at 1 p.m., televised on the ESPN+ streaming apps.

That’s the same place where things did not go as well Friday for La Salle (8-8, 4-5 A-10), which entered the contest winning 5-of-8 but had a close contest get away, yielding 31 points in the final period to Rhode Island (6-5, 6-2), which is under second-year coach Tammi Reiss, the backcourt mate of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley in their days in the early 1990s playing for the Virginia powerhouse squad.

La Salle seemed to be going great when the Explorers reached the half with a 33-26 advantage and managed to end the third period still ahead by a point.

But the mythical roof fell in over the final 10 minutes in terms of the defense.

Kayla Spruill scored 18 for La Salle, shooting 8-for-14 and scoring 18 points, while grabbing seven rebounds, while Claire Jacobs scored 15 points, and Molly Masciantonio’s night gave her 10 points, fueled by 4-of-7 from the field. Haleigh Hill had a team-high eight rebounds.

Rhode Island got a double double 21 points and 10 rebounds from Emmanuelle Tahane, while Marie-Paule Foppossi scored 19, Catherine Cairns scored 17, and Marta Vargas scored 13.

Coach Mountain MacGillivray’s squad will try to gain a split on the weekend Sunday when La Salle visits UMass at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

National View: Stanford Sweeps Washington State:  All the action of note was in the PAC-12 where No. 6 Stanford in the afternoon won at Washington State 77-48 in the Cougars’ Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, completing a sweep to run the Cardinal’s all-time perfect record in the series to 69-0. That includes a lopsided win Wednesday at the same site, the first time since 1988 coach Tara VanDerveer’s squad played the same opponent consecutively.

Though Anna Wilson only had three points for Stanford (14-2, 11-2 PAC-12), VanDerveer lauded her defense for holding Washington State’s star freshman Charlisse Leger-Walker out of New Zealand to two points, which is 17 off her average.

“Anna Wilson’s defense was phenomenal,” VanDerveer said. “She;s a lockdown defender ... Her defense really sets the tone for our team.”

Haley Jones and Kiana Williams each scored 16 points in the latest game in the series that dates back to 1983. Ashlen Prechel had 11 in the third straight win for the Cardinal since losses of two straight dropped them out of the top five in the rankings.

However, if they win in Seattle at Washington Sunday, they are likely to return in the wake of the upset losses Thursday night to No. 2 North Carolina State and No. 3 Connecticut. 

“Our three-point shooting was really good this afternoon, “ said VanDerveer of the nine-of-19 from deep.

Washington State (8-6, 6-6) got a career high 17 points from Bella Murekatele. Ula Moluga scored 10.

Cameron Brink for the visitors blocked five shots, grabbed five rebounds, and scored six points.

VanDerveer, who passed the late legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt last month, extended her all-time Division I women’s record win total to 1,108. Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma also passed Summitt earlier this month and is currently at 1,101, having been stalled Thursday night in the upset loss at No. 19 Arkansas. The Huskies will be at No. 17 DePaul  in Chicago Sunday returning to their Big East slate.

Summitt was at 1,098 victories when she retired at the end of the 2012 season, fighting Alzheimer’s Disease, which ultimately claimed her life several years later.

Stanford has not  been on campus all season due to what had been stringent protocols combating the virus in Santa Clara County in the Bay Area of Northern California.

The Cardinal recently had been using Santa Cruz as an adopted home site but Governor Gavin Newsom eased the restrictions this week so Stanford will be back in Maples Pavilion for the first time this season next Friday hosting Utah, barring further disruptions.

Elsewhere in the PAC-12, No. 11 Oregon announced Friday the program had entered a pause off testing and the weekend games at Utah and Sunday at Colorado have been postponed. Apparently likewise for for No. 10 Arizona, which was to be at Southern Cal, Friday, and at a showdown go for a sweep game at No. 8 UCLA Sunday.

No. 25 South Dakota State, which returned to the Associated Press rankings this week, was to be agt Denver Friday night but that game is now listed as cancelled.

UCLA did play Friday night and narrowly turned back an upset bid from Arizona State, winning 60-57 at home in Pauley Pavilion in the Westwood section of Los Angeles.

Charisma Osbourne, who came up huge in last week’s Bruins upset of Stanford, had 27 points for UCLA (10-2, 8-2 PAC-12) against the Sun Devils, scoring 13 of them in the fourth quarter after the home team had squandered away an 18-point lead in the second and third quarters.

Reserve Emily Bessor contributed 12 points.

Taya Hanson was the sole player in double figures for Arizona State (8-5, 4-5), scoring 12 points.

Near the end of the third quarter the entire huge lead had been erased on Hanson’s shot to give the Sun Devils a 40-38 lead with 1:59 remaining in the period until Michaela Onyenwere tied it going into the final 10 minutes.

The Bruins ultimately won their fifth straight when Hanson missed a shot on Arizona State’s final possession.

With the Sunday Arizona game postponed, UCLA next heads to Pullman Friday at 3 p.m. to play Washington State, which recently forced overtime before losing to the Bruins in their previous meeting. 

Arizona State, however, will on Sunday gets to play a game, completing the trip to Los Angeles by visiting Southern Cal at 4 p.m. at the Galen Center.

Looking Ahead: Locally, several teams begin back-to-back same opponent weekend games Saturday per the way their respective conferences have either scheduled or using the same to plug in previous proposed meetings.

In the Colonial Athletic Association Delaware, which is unbeaten in conference play, visits Elon at at 1 p.m. in North Carolina and then returns to the Schar Center Sunday at 1 p.m., while Drexel is in Boston playing Northeastern at noon on the Solomon Court at Cabot Center and then back Sunday at noon, all four games on the Flohoops apps streaming site.

In the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Rider in a switch is now at Central New Jersey rival Monmouth in the OceanFirst Bank Center in West Long Branch at 2 p.m. on ESPN3 and then on Sunday also at 2 p.m. is back the same time but on ESPN+. The Broncs, who have struggled this season, are coming out of an upset win over Quinnipiac.

In the American Athletic Conference, Temple to promulgate a previous postponed game on the part of the opposition is in New Orleans to meet Tulane, Saturday in the Green Wave’s Aaron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse at 1 p.m. on ESPN+ and then back Sunday at noon on ESPNU.

In the Big East, Villanova Sunday is at Butler in Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis at noon on the Big East Digital Network/Flohoops Apps streaning site.

In the Big Ten, Penn State is at Purdue at 1 p.m. in Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. Rutgers continues to be in pause, though so is No. 12 Michigan, which had been scheduled to visit the Scarlet Knights on Monday night.

As previously mentioned in the game stories, on Sunday in the Atlantic 10, La Salle is finishing its New England road trip at UMass, while Saint Joseph’s is at Rhode Island.

Penn and Princeton, of course, have been shut down all winter, per the Ivy decision to cancel the season for the Ancient Eight and all other sports on the winter calendar.

With No. 13 South Florida in the American hosting Cincinnati and the second No. 25 South Dakota State at Colorado also shut down, the only two games Saturday with ranked teams has No. 24 West  Virginia making a Big 12 visit to TCU at 2 p.m. in Fort Worth, Texas, in the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena on the Big12/ESPN+ apps, and No. 18 Gonzaga in a West Coast Conference game at St. Mary’s at 4 p.m. in the University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.

On Sunday among the ranked teams, in besides DePaul hosting UConn in a first-ever women’s game on the main FOX sports network at 1 p.m., in the Southeastern Conference, No. 4 South Carolina hosts Alabama at 3 p.m.; No. 15 Kentucky hosting Missouri at at 1 p.m.; No. 20 Tennessee hosting Florida at 2 p.m.; No. 19 Arkansas fresh off its non-conference upset of UConn, hosting Auburn at 3 p.m.; and No. 8 Texas A&M hosting Georgia at 5 p.m.

In the Big Ten, there’s a one-day delay till Monday when No. 23 Northwestern hosts No. 14 Ohio State, the visiting Buckeyes playing their fourth straight ranked team in the conference, having gone 3-0 in the stretch.

In the Big 12 Sunday, No. 9 Baylor at 4 p.m. on ESPN2 is at Iowa State, playing the Cyclones squad that beat the Bears at the end of the regular season, snapping a Big 12 win streak of 35 games, and then beating them again earlier this month to snap a 61-game home court win streak.

Also on Monday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which will no longer be a 1-2 matchup by then with the next poll released early in the afternoon top-ranked Louisville, the last unbeaten ranked team, and one of only three left in Division I, will host North Carolina State at  p.m. on ESPN 2.

And that’s the report.

 

Guru’s WBB Report: No. 2 N.C. State and No. 3 Connecticut Upset While Penn State Takes a Victory

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

The unbeaten list in Division I dropped to three Thursday night after No. 2 North Carolina State was felled at Virginia Tech 83-71 just four days after escaping the opposition Sunday night in Raleigh while in another suspense-filled game down south, No. 19 Arkansas ended its string of four closes to ranked teams, upsetting No. 3 Connecticut 90-77 as Chelsea Dungee exploded with 37 points.

In the one game involving a local, Penn State grabbed its second Big Ten victory of the season, edging host Illinois 80-76 in Urbana-Champaign.

No. 22 Georgia was an upset victim in the Southeastern Conference to LSU, while No. 20 Tennessee just nipped Mississippi by a point. Everyone else in the Top 25 who played Thursday held serve, not counting head-to-head matchups.

UConn Upset by Arkansas: In a game of runs, the No. 19 Razorbacks had final say and the No. 3 Huskies lost valuable seconds at the finish, not taking a timeout quick enough for a better chance to force overtime in the game played before a limited sellout crowd of 4,000 in Bud Walton Arena.

The two schools have played twice, the Razorbacks, then under current Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, losing to the Huskies back in November, 1998. 

Arkansas (12-6) had lost four straight to ranked teams, including a shot at the end of regulation Monday night at No. 22 Georgia, which in turn was upset at home Thursday night by LSU 60-52 in Stegemen Coliseum in Athens.

The non-conference attraction was put together game was put together just recently, with Connecticut Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma looking for an added attraction in the wake of several dropped from the schedule  because of COVID-19 protocols while Arkansas had just lost playing Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference when the Commodores decided to end their season, joining such traditionally high profile programs as Virginia and Duke, besides the entire Ivy League.

Retaining its top seven players for the contest, Arkansas was able to overcome the absence of six players sidelined under the coronavirus protocol.

Auriemma and Razorbacks coach Mike Neighbors have had a long friendship.

“Our kids wanted to play when we asked them, they could have easily said, nah, let’s take a break,” Neighbors said. “Geno could have very easily said no. But that’s why they’re a championship  program, and we’ve learned a lot from them today that will carry over.

“We actually won this one in the middle,” Neighbors referred to the third period in which his squad blasted UConn 31-19, firing 6-of-7 shots from down deep. The Huskies (10-1), however, then answered with a 17-5 rally and regained the lead by two with 5:28 left in regulation before Arkansas regained the momentum.

“If we hadn’t put in some of our young ones in that third quarter we might have been down by 25 points,” Auriemma said.

“I think we’ve become a littled calloused playing these teams,” said Neighbors, whose team upset Baylor early in the season when the Bears were ranked fourth. “We’re not just been playing Top 25 teams, we’ve been playing teams in the Top 5. I still feel we have stuff to prove.”

By comparison, UConn, which returned to the Big East this season, have had games against top powers go by the wayside, the biggest win to date a week ago in Knoxville, edging then-No. 25 in the final minute on freshman Paige Bueckers shot.

The Huskies rookie had 27 against Arkansas while newcomer Evina Wesbrook, a transfer from Tennessee, scored  19 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

“I thought Evina was really good the whole game; that’s the best I’ve ever seen her play since she’s been at Connecticut,” Auriemma said. “Paige took over the game for a long stretch.

“When you’re trying to come back like that, you need more from more people. And we just didn’t have enough. But certainly those two were above and beyond what we needed them to be.”

Dungee connected on 13-of-21 from the field, including a 7-of-10 from the line. Amber Ramirez scored 22.

“I knew what a big opportunity it was for our team,” Dungee said. “I wanted to come to come at it with as much energy as possible to fuel our team. Our whole team had a great game. It was just a huge win.”

Christyn Williams, who had 16 points and was making a homecoming appearance with UConn, grabbed a key rebound on a missed shot to set up UConn’s last possession but she dribbled the ball first instead of calling a quick timeout that would have allowed the Huskies to advance the ball and have a better chance to launch a three to tie instead of having less than a second to work with.

Auriemma’s plan going in was to negate three pointers and foul shots “and then let the chips fall where they may. But we missed a lot of shots we needed to make, a lot of open shots, and they made a lot of tough shots.”

Connecticut heads to Chicago Sunday and back in the Big East to play the second of the home-and-home with No. 17 DePaul at the Blue Demons’ Wintrust Arena, with the game to be the first women’s basketball game to air on the main FOX sports network.

Arkansas will be back in the SEC playing Auburn.

“We’re going to lift our 24-hour moratorium and celebrate this one a little longer before getting ready,” Neighbors said.

Asked about beating Auriemma, Neighbors harkened back to his previous job coaching Washington in the PAC-12, and quipped “I once beat Tara VanDerveer in ping pong on media day. That was pretty neat but I guess that doesn’t count in the resume.”

VanDerveer passed the late legendary coach Pat Summitt last month and is currently the all time Division I women’s career leader with 1,107, while Auriemma passed the Summitt 1,098 total this month and is second at 1,101.

Virginia Tech Upsets N.C. State: After narrowly missing upsetting No. 2 N.C. State in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Sunday in the Wolfpack’s Reynolds Coliseum, the Hokies came back four days later and this time prevailed at home as Aisha Sheppard scored 18 of her 28 points in overtime for an 83-71 victory. 

Prior to Sunday, the Wolfpack (11-1, 6-1 ACC) had not played since Jan. 3, shut down under COVID-19 protocols.

It’s the first win for Virginia Tech (8-7, 3-7) over a Top 5 opponent since beating No. 5 Old Dominion in 1985 and the highest-ranked opponent the Hokies have prevailed on the winning side.

“You like the Sundae, but sometimes the cherry on top is really good,” said Hokies coach Kenny Brooks, who in 2016 left a thriving James Madison program in the Colonial Athletic Association to move down the road to the ACC member and revive their fortunes, where he has won 63 % of their games.

“We needed the win. The fact it was the No. 2 ranked team in the country was the cherry on top.

“Where we were and just the way the season has gone for us, I didn’t care if we were playing the Globetrotters. We needed the win — it feels really good to just be gritty, gutsy, and come through with a big win.”

N.C. State’s Camille Hobby scored a career-high 19 points, with her three-ball as time expired forced a 57-57 tie and the extra period.

All seven losses for Brooks’ team have been by ten or less points.

Hobby hit one from down deep at the start of overtime and the home team never trailed again.

Elizabeth Kitley had 17 points and 11 rebounds, while the Hokies also got 16 points from Azana Baines to snap a three-game losing streak.

The Wolfpack were without their star performer Elissa Cunane, sidelined under COVID-19 protocols, a situation that factored into the end of the team’s 16-game win streak.

“The whole game they played great defense and we just didn’t get it done,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. “I’ve got to figure out a way to help our players maybe get better looks and stress a little bit more about how important rebounding and having urgency is.”

Elsewhere in the ACC, No. 1 Louisville had it a bit easier than their recent wins over Wake Forest Sunday and Miami Tuesday  by beating visiting North Carolina 79-68 in the Cardinals’ KFC Yum Center to remain unbeaten at 16-0 overall as six players scored in double figures. 

They next host N.C. State Monday night but the Wolfpack’s upset loss makes it unlikely the game will be as a national 1 vs. 2 showdown, though it will still be that way within the conference with the Cardinals at 9-0 and the Wolfpack 6-1.

The only two Division I teams still yet to lose are Bucknell at 6-0 overall in the Patriot League and UC-Davis at 3-0 out west.

The Cardinals stormed out of the gate against the Tar Heels (8-6, 3-6), making 8-of-10 opening shots for a 21-9 and by late in the third quarter it was 67-35,

However, second-year coach Courtney Banghart’s squad came to life with a 17-0 run in the second half and closed within eight in the final minute.

Freshman Olivia Cochran had 14 of her 17 points in the first half for the home team, while North Carolina’s Petra Holesinska scored 26 points.

Cardinals coach Jeff Walz pointed to himself as the cause of the slippage from the seemingly insurmountable lead.

He cited some “bad combos” and not calling a timeout when a drought extended to over six minutes.

“I was trying to see if they could figure it out and try to come up with a couple of stops,” he said of his team.

Banghart thought the opening burst was inspired by news of the the top two poll teams being upset.

“I think they felt like they could have some separation,” the former Princeton coach said. “And they played like it that first quarter, holy moly, and throughout the game. Obviously, once we got through the onslaught, we were fine, but that onslaught was a little hard to gather from.”

The Tar Heels have little time to rest, heading to Virginia Tech Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, in another ACC game, Syracuse, which dropped out of the poll this week for the first time this season, snapped a two-game losing streak, using a closing 20-2 run to beat visiting Pittsburgh 80-57 in the Carrier Dome.

“They came out and they responded so I have to give them credit,” Orange coach Quentin Hillsman said.

Before the scoring explosion, the Panthers (4-5, 2-4 ACC) closed a 15-point halftime deficit to two early in the final period against the Orange (8-3, 5-3).

A few scare tactics might have done the trick for a team that recently ended a 28-day shutdown and then had to play four games in eight days with another similar four-in-eught stretch beginning Sunday when Notre Dame visits.

“I told our players if we don’t win this game, season’s over. We’re going to the NIT. Period,” the Syracuse coach said. “We’re done because you cannot start stringing three-game losing streaks. You don’t know how many games you’re going to play because anything can happen next week.”

Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi scored 17 for Syracuse, while Emily Engstler had a double double of 12 points and 13 rebounds, Kamilla Cardoso and Priscilla Williams each scored 11, and Kiara Lewis scored 12,

Pittsburgh’s Dayshanette Harris scored 14.

Penn State Tops Illinois: Trying for a two-game road sweep in the Big Ten, the Lady Lions knocked the first one down, beating the Illini 80-76 as the trio of sophomores combined for 52 points.

Shay Hagans scored six of her career-high 18 points in the final two minutes for Penn State (5-7, 2-6 Big Ten), while Maddie Burke’s three-ball brought the visitors from a deficit to a four-point lead. Makenna Marisa had a team-high 24 points, and while senior Johnasia Cash had a double double of 14 points and ten rebounds. Anna Camden had 10 points and Burke finished with nine.

“Our composure was the difference tonight,” said second-year coach Carolyn Kieger. “We weathered the storm when they made a run. We stayed in the huddle, we took deep breaths, and the team did a great job keeping each other composed. When you do that, great things happen.

“I thought the sophomores all played phenomenally. Anna Camden’s toughness is something she’s been working with our strength coach  and our post coach and it definitely showed tonight.

“Shay Hagans with five steals and phenomenal free throws down the stretch. And then Makenna — once she figures out that no one can guard her she is going to be very scary going downhill and hitting her pull-up,” Kieger said. “Just overall extremely proud of our fight and our composure, and we needed that one. Very happy for the team.”

Jeanae Terry had a double double with 21 points and 16 rebounds for the Illini (2-9, 0-8), who are still seeking their first conference win, while  Jada Peebles scored 19.

The Lady Lions next head to Purdue Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. in West Lafayette, Ind.

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, in a battle of ranked teams, No. 14 Ohio State made it three straight wins over ranked conference squads, coming out of the two-point win over No. 7 Maryland at home Monday to beat No. 16 Indiana 78-70 on the road in Bloomington.

Considering the Hoosiers (9-4, 7-2 Big Ten) are No. 15 in the coaches’ poll, it’s the second time in program history the Buckeyes (10-1, 6-1) have beaten three straight Top 15 opponents. The other was in 1993 when the team advanced to the Women’s Final Four.

Braxin Miller led the visitors, scoring a season-high 25 points, shooting 9-of-6 from the field with five rebounds and five steals, while Dorka Juhasz had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Back from a shoulder injury costing her two games, Aaliyah Patty scored 13 points.

Grace Berger had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the host Hoosiers, while while Mackenzie Holmes scored 17.

“Coming together, our kids showed some toughness and some grit,” Ohio coach Kevin McGuff said. “They played really well.”

The Buckeyes rallied from an 11-0 opening burst from Indiana.

“She was really efficient,” McGuff said of Miller. “Our team really executed well in the second half and she was a big part of that.”

Ohio State next on Monday goes to No. 23 Northwestern, which beat host Iowa 87-80 on the road in Iowa City.

The Wildcats (9-3, 7-3 Big Ten) rallied late in this one with an 8-1 run for the squad coached by Father Judge grad Joe McKeown, who previously coached George Washington in the Atlantic 10.

In getting a season sweep over the Hawkeyes (9-4, 5-4), Northwestern gained 23 points from 28 Iowa turnovers and also had a lopsided 34-8 advantage on the foul line on attempts leading to 17 points..

“The turnovers, so many of them were self-inflicted,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “Their pressure didn’t bother us at all, but the self-inflicted mistakes we have to overcome.

“I’m not sure I’ve been involved in a game where one team shot 26 free throws in a quarter,” Bluder cited the 13-of-26 attempts in the fourth quarter.

Lindsay Pulliam scored 27 for Northwestern, while Veronica Burton scored 20, Sydney Wood scored 14, and Jordan Hamilton scored 10.

Monika Czinano hit her first 15 shots and finished with 34 points and 11 rebounds for Iowa while freshman Caitlin Clark scored 23 and connected with four deep.

No. 7 Maryland bounced back from its narrow loss at Ohio State, crushing Michigan State 92-52 at home in the XFINITY Center in College Park.

The win was the 498th for coach Brenda Frese with the Terrapins (12-2, 8-1 Big Ten), bringing her one short of tying the program record of Hall of Famer Chris Weller. 

Frese is 498-130 at College Park since succeeding Weller in 2002, and 555-160 including two seasons at Ball State and one at Minnesota.

Maryland has now won 100 conference games since switching from the ACC in 2014-15 over seven seasons to make them 100-13 in the Big Ten.

“I could tell we were locked in from the moment we stepped on the practice court yesterday to the tip today. It was one of our most dominating performances to date,” Frese said.

Diamond Miller and Ashley Owusu each scored 20 points for the Terrapins and Miller grabbed 10 rebounds., while Chloe Bibby and Faith Masonius each scored 13 points.

The game as a safety valve was moved up from Feb. 10th since both teams had an open date due to postponements caused by COVID-19.

Nia Clouden had 15 for Michigan State (9-3, 4-3), which has had three postponements and played just twice since Jan. 10.

Maryland is next set to host Wisconsin next Thursday at 4 p.m. on the Big Ten network.

Tennessee Escapes But Not Georgia: No. 20 Tennessee in the SEC escaped at home in Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville by having enough points to withstand Donetta Johnson’s three-pointer as time expired to ruin Mississippi’s upset bid 68-67.

Rennia Davis had 21 points for the Lady Vols (11-3, 5-1 SEC), Rae Burrell scored 17, and Jordan Horston scored 13, while Johnson had 19, Shakira Austin scored 16, and Snudda Collins scored 13 for the Rebels (7-6, 1-6).

‘They’re much improved from last year,” Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said of the opposition. “And obviously, they have some dynamic players. They played well. Down the stretch we made free throws. I’m proud of our team.”

Mississippi held a 13-point lead in the second quarter before the Lady Vols rallied.

Next up Florida visits Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.

No. 22 Georgia was not as fortunate, becoming the second ranked SEC team to fall to LSU, losing 60-52 at home in Stegeman Arena in Athens four days after having upset No. 19 Arkansas at home at the buzzer.

“I think if you look at key stats, it’s offensive rebounds,” Georgia coach Joni Taylor said. “When you’re playing a team that wants to limit possessions, we’ve got to value basketball a little more than we did.”

LSU ( 7-7, 5-3) used a 13-5 run in the last five minutes to secure the win over the Bulldogs (13-3, 5-3) and outscored them overall 25-11 in the fourth quarter.

Georgia shot a mediocre 35 percent and committed 19 turnovers.

Jenna Staiti had nine of her 19 points for the Bulldogs in the final period, while Que Morrison scored 11.

Tiara Young scored 17 for LSU, while Awa Trasi had 13 points and eight rebounds and Faustine Aifuwa scored 12.

“”To be able to hold a team like Georgia in the 50s, have a big fourth quarter like we did, it started with our defense.,” said LSU coach Nikki Fargas.

LSU next hosts Mississippi Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Center in Baton Rouge 

Georgia heads to No. 8 Texas A&M, the other ranked SEC team LSU has upset, Sunday in College Station.

The Aggies were at Auburn Thursday night snd easily beat the Tigers 84-69 in Auburn Arena in Alabama as N’dea Jones had 23 points and 11 rebounds, tying for first in Division I with 11 double doubles at Texas A&M (15-1, 6-1 SEC). Ciera Johnson had 14 points and nine rebounds with the Aggies, while reserve Destiny Pitts scored 14, and sub Kayla Wells scored 12.

Auburn (5-10, 0-7) has yet to win in conference this season while A&M is off to its best SEC start in in seven seasons. They are also 15-0 in their series with the Tigers.

“The end of the second quarter when we got separation, that was fine because we had let them hang around in the there. Second half we got 51points and that was coach (Kelly) Bond mixing our zone offense up because if we didn't turn it over we got a great shot.”

Blair is 823-331 with three combined programs but 420-168 through his eighth season in College Station.

On Sunday when Georgia visits Reed Arena at 3 p.m., the Aggies will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their 2011 national NCAA championship.

The other two SEC ranked teams also were victorious.

No. 15  Kentucky sed a balanced attack for an 81-68 win over visiting Alabama as Rhyne Howard scored 16 points in Rupp Arena in Lexington. Robyn Benton scored 15, while Dre’una Edwards and Chasity each scored 10 for the Wildcats (12-4, 5-3 SEC). 

Jasmine Walker had a double double 27 points and 11 rebounds for the Tide (12-3, 5-3) while Jordan Lewis scored 15.

“Any time you have four players in double figures, you shoot 52 percent from the field, 55 percent from 3,” said first-year coach Kyra Elzy, promoted at the beginning of the season when veteran Matthew Mitchell retired for medical reasons not related to the coronavirus. “Yeah, we’ll take that every night if we could.

Missouri visits Memorial Coliseum, Sunday, at 1 p.m.

South Carolina Eyes Rankings Climb: No. 4 South Carolina, the SEC frontrunner, dropped in on No. 21 Mississippi State and sentimentality took a pause between Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley and her former assistant, Bulldogs coach Nikki McCray-Penson, as the visitors blitzed the home team 75-52 in Statkville.

With the upsets of the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the nation, all South Carolina (13-1, 8-0 SEC) needs is a win over Alabama at home Sunday (3 p.m.) on the SEC Network in Columbia and the Gamecocks will move to 2nd, just one below the No. 1 ranking they held early in the season before the upset at hone claimed by North Carolina State.

Staley’s group struggled early against the Bulldogs (8-6, 3-4), trailing by a point after the opening period.

Then suddenly it was boom, lights out, and the Gamecocks own Starkville the rest of the way.

Zia Cooke scored 14 for the visitors, while Victaria Sexton collected 13 and doubled with 11 rebounds. Though Aliyah Boston was held to six points, she still grabbed 12brebounds.

South Carolina was 19-of-22, their best night from the line this season.

Mississippi State (8-6, 3-4) hired McCray-Penson from a successful three-year rebuilding job at Old Dominion to succeed Vic Schaefer who was lured by Texas in his native state. 

Now the Bulldogs are going through a three-game losing streak, the first since the 2014 season.

The Gamecocks lead the nation with six wins over ranked teams and have tied a program record with 24 straight SEC wins set earlier in the Staley era from Jan, 3, 2016 through Jan. 2017, the same season they won their national title.

South Carolina held sophomore all-SEC player Rickea Jackson to two first-half points before she got untracked to finish with a team-best 15.

The only other ranking team in action was out west where No. 18 Gonzaga gained a West Coast Conference road win in Stockton, Calif., over Pacific 77-65 st the Alex G. Spanos Center.

The Zags (14-2, 9-0 WCC) have won 13 straight, fourth longest in the nation.

Jenn Wirth scored 15, shooting 7-gor-8 from the field, while LeeAnne Wirth scored 14 and grabbed a team-best nine rebounds, and Kayleigh had 10 points and eight assists, 

Pacific, which got 16 points from Ksylin Radhawa, fell to 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the WCC.

Gonzaga Saturday is at Saint Mary’s in Moraga, Calif., at 4 p.m.

Looking Ahead: Locally, La Salle and Saint Joseph’s are traveling in tradeoff destinations on an Atlantic 10 road trip to New England destinations beginning Friday with the Hawks at UMass in Amherst at the Mullins Center at 1 p.m. while the Explorers are at Rhode Island’s Ryan Center in Kingston at 5 p.m.. On Sunday, Saint Joseph’s is at Rhode Island at 1 p.m. while La Salle is at UMass at also at 1 p.m. All four games are on ESPN+.

In the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in a traveling switch this week Rider is at Monmouth for a pair of central New Jersey hOURglass Series games Saturday in the OceanFirst Bank Center in West Long Branch at 2 p.m on ESPN3 and same time and place Sunday but on ESPN+

In the American Athletic Conference in a rescheduled set of games in New Orleans, Temple is at Tulane Saturday at 1 p.m.on ESPN+ and Sunday at noon on ESPNU.

In the Big East, Villanova is at Butler at noon Sunday on the Big East Digital/Flohoops streaming aps in Indianapolis.

In the Colonial Athletic Association, front running and CAA unbeaten Delaware is at Elon in North Carolina in the Schar Center 1 p.m. each day Saturday and Sunday  while Drexel is in Boston at Northeastern at noon each day on Saturday and Sunday. All four games will be on the Flohoops streaming apps.

In the Big Ten as mentioned, Penn State is at Purdue 1 p.m. Sunday but the Michigan at Rutgers game for Monday is postponed.

Nationally on Friday, in the PAC-12, No. 6 Stanford, which beat Washington State handily on Wednesday returns to Beasley Coliseum at 3 p.m. trying to make it 69-0 against the host Cougars. No. 5 UCLA hosts Arizona State at 9 p.m. in Psuley Pavilion in Westwood, Calif., while No. 11 Oregon is at Utah in the Huntsman Center at 5 p.m. in Salt Lake City.

Elsewhere No. 25 South Dakota State is at Denver at 6 p.m.

And that’s the report.

  

 

 

Guru’s WBB Report: Villanova Overwhelmed by Marquette While No. 6 Stanford and No. 24 West Virginia Win But Texas Upset at Oklahoma State

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

With the Temple trip to No. 13 South Florida in the American Athletic Conference postponed due to COVID-19 protocol procedures on the part of the host Bulls, that left Villanova hosting Marquette Wednesday night as the only local in action in a Big East game that resulted with a lot of inaction on the part of the Wildcats in Finneran Pavilion.

The Golden Eagles shook off the short notice of the schedule rearrangement and plane ride from their campus in Milwaukee and zipped their way to a thunderous 95-77 victory that wasn’t that close.

Marquette, which has a league-high seven road wins under second-year coach and former Notre Dame star Megan Duffy, erupted from the outset with a 27-14 opening quarter, hitting 12 of 18 shots, and though Villanova held the opposition at bay the next period, a 30-15 third period became the finishing touch with at least winning the quarter was achieved in the final period with the Wildcats holding a 23-15 advantage.

“At the start of the game, we didn’t come in ready and they took full advantage,” said Villanova first-year coach and former Wildcats star Denise Dillon, who previously coached Drexel down in West Philadelphia for 17 seasons. “You’re climbing uphill to keep pace with what they were doing. It makes for a long night.”

With the numerous teams in the Big East that have been hit by the coronavirus causing cancellations, postponements, and short-notice reshuffles, in some instances, Wednesday night did not go on the books until Sunday, replacing an original Wildcats matchup with Xavier.

Marquette (10-2, 7-1 Big East) was able to dominate the inside outscoring the home team 46-34 in the paint.

“It was an area of focus,” Dillon noted. “I said to our group as hard as it can be to match up with our three in Maddy (Siegrist), Sarah (Mortensen), and Brianna (Herlihy), that would be the biggest challenge for us against Marquette, asking those three to make it as hard as possible to work in the post, to front, and looking to double. But we certainly did not execute the game plan.”

Selena Lott lead the Golden Eagles’ attack, scoring 27 points, including her 1,000th career point, shooting 8-for-17 from the field, including 5-of-7 from down deep, while also dealing 11 assists. All five Marquette starters collected points in double figures, with Camryn Taylor scoring 16, Chloe Marotta registering 13, Jordan King scoring 12, and Lauren Van Kleunen scoring 10.

Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist and Brianna Herlihy combined for 38 points, each collecting 19, while Sarah Mortensen scored 13, and freshman Bella Runyan scored eight. The Wildcats (9-3, 4-3) also got six from reserve Samantha Carangi, who had not played for a while due to a foot injury and the team’s 19-day shutdown that ended with a comeback win in overtime at home against St. John’s in overtime Monday night.

Two of the bigger team offensive threats in the league, each connected with 10 three-pointers.

But don’t bring up the play in the previous game and short turnaround to Dillon as a potential justification for the letdown.

“These kids want to play,” she said. “And don’t talk about the short time between games. If things in the league were normal, we’d be playing on Friday and Sunday with one day in between. On defense, we have some work to do. And we can’t have some playing well one night and others the next. We need everybody together and develop consistency.”

The one positive was getting the game in, bringing the Wildcats’ overall total to 12, one short of the special low minimum requirement of 13 games to be eligible for this year’s NCAA tournament, all of which will be played likely in Texas, mostly near San Antonio, where the Women’s Final Four was originally selected for this season.

“Yeah, well, we didn’t take advantage of it,” Dillon said of the games count.

While it was just Villanova’s third overall loss, one could say it was the Wildcats’ first clunker, considering the other two were to conference heavyweights  No. 3 Connecticut at home, and No. 18 DePaul on the road in Chicago.

Marquette is considered one of the better teams in the league and if one wanted to be philosophical, one could count this loss as a stand-in for the return UConn game at the Huskies’ Gampel Pavilion, which likely won’t be replaced because the calendar is becoming devoid of dates. 

In fact anything that goes off the books in the league moving forward will be difficult to replace, heading into the Big East tournament, still set for early March at the Mohegan Sun near New London, Conn.

Villanova next heads to Butler in Indianapolis on Sunday at noon.

The National Scene: Unlike Thursday night, just ahead, there wasn’t a bunch going, though in the Big 12 West Virginia lived up to its return to the rankings, the No. 24 Mountaineers taking a 73-53 win over host Texas Tech at the Red Raiders’ United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock. Texas, however, which ended a rankings run last week, was upset at Oklahoma State, 68-51, in Stillwater.

Out West, maybe it was the news that with a loosening of COVID-19 protocols for Santa Clara County in Northern California, No. 6 Stanford will be allowed to return home for the first time since Dec. 1, but, nevertheless, the Cardinal slammed host Washington State, 71-49 in a PAC-12 game in Pullman, to extend their perfect record in the series to 68-0.

In the win by West Virginia (12-2, 6-2 Big 12), Kysre Gondrezick scored 24 points on the strength of 4-of-5 three-pointers for the visitors, while Esmery Martinez had 16, Jasmine Carson scored 12, Kari Niblack scored 10, while Blessing Ejiofor grabbed 10 rebounds, and Niblack and Martinez each pulled down nine against the Red Raiders (8-8, 3-7), who got 18 points and 10 rebounds from Vivian Gray.

The Mountaineers, who are at TCU Ssaturday, have won seven straight.

In the Texas game in Gallagher-Iba Arena, the host Cowgirls (11-5, 7-3 Big 12), snapping a 12-game losing streak in the series, got 21 points and 15 rebounds from Natasha Mack, who was 8-for-16 from the field and also blocked six shots, while Ja’Mee Asberry scored 18 and dealt five assists, and Lauren Fields scored 13.

Charlie Collier had a Division I-leading 11th double double for the Longhorns (11-4, 5-3), scoring 10 and grabbing 17 rebounds, while Karisma Ortiz and Joanne Allen-Taylor each scored 11 points. She has grabbed 56 rebounds over the last three games for an 18.7 average.

Calling his team “soft,” first-year coach Vic Schaefer, who left a dominate Mississippi State program to revive the Longhorns, expressed displeasure over the Texas defense.

"Against a team like this, that is physical, that's aggressive, that plays hard, we struggled," he said. "It's been that way all year. It won't always been like this. But this is who we are right now. Having a competitive spirit is not something you can teach or instill or ingrain. You are who you are."

Texas next hosts Texas Tech Saturday night at home in the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, while Oklahoma State heads to Kansas to play the Jayhawks at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Lawrence.

In the Stanford game, Lexi Hull and Kiana Williams each scored 17 points for the visiting Cardinal (13-2, 10-2 PAC-12), while Cameron Brink had 12 points and 14 rebounds and blocked five shots, and  dealt five assists, and Haley Jones scored 10.

Coach Tara VanDerveer, who passed the late and legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt last month, extended her Division I all-time women’s victory total to 1,107 victories. No. 3 Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma, who also passed Summitt earlier this month to move into second, has 1,101 victories heading into Thursday night’s game at Arkansas.

Prior to Wednesday night, in wins and losses, Washington State (8-5, 6-5) in wins and losses had become a thorn in the side of PAC-12 opponents, sweeping Oregon State, for one, and upsetting then-No. 7 Arizona in overtime to earn a first-ever ranking in the Associated Press women’s poll. Unfortunately, the Cougars lasted a week, dropping their next two on the road in overtime at Southern Cal, and then at then-No. 8 UCLA, making them the first team in the conference to play three straight games beyond regulation.

In this one, however, it was over quickly, though since Wednesday was a special makeup from the original schedule at Stanford, the two teams will come right back Friday in Beasley Coliseum and play again at 3 p.m. in the regularly scheduled game. It’s the first time since 1988 the Cardinal is playing the same opponent in consecutive games.

 "I think we just got beat by a really good team,” Cougars coach Kamie Ethridge, said. “They taught us a lot about what some of the best teams in the country look, and play, like. 

“They're resilient at what they do, and obviously we got off to a bad start in the first quarter, and even worse in the second quarter. We turned the ball over and let them dictate things a bit. I think we got a little rattled. When you let (Stanford) score 44 points in a half, you're not going to beat them.

 “They are a good team and they're long and hard to guard. They really make the game hard and we didn't respond well tonight."

Stanford will finish the weekend Sunday at Washington in Seattle, and then will finally be in the Cardinal’s real home in Maples Pavilion next weekend hosting Colorado on Friday and Utah on Sunday.

"Our team is ecstatic,” VanDerveer said. “We have been living in a hotel since basically November.

"The wear and tear on people, the being in hotels and being on buses, practicing in high school gyms, no power in the gym and it is dark. No other team except for maybe our men's team has been dealing with what we are dealing with and we are absolutely thrilled to go back to Maples and it is just we want to play well this weekend so we can be back in our gym and enjoy it."

Meanwhile, in Washington State’s first attempt to end the perfect drought against Stanford, Ula Motuga had 10 points and 10 rebounds for a double double, while Johanna Teder scored 12. But sensational freshman Charlisse Leger-Walker was held to six points and seven rebounds.

“Our defense really stepped it up,” VanDerveer noted. “That was really key for us.’

Looking Ahead: Locally, Penn State is at Illinois at 7 in the Big Ten, but the Rutgers-hosting No. 7 Maryland is postponed, the seventh game the host Scarlet Knights have had delayed by COVID-19 protocol details. The Terrapins, coming off a two-point loss at No. 14 Ohio State, instead will host Michigan State at 4 p.m. on the Big Ten Network at the  XFINITY Center in College Park.

Nationally, in a game scheduled recently No. 3 Connecticut will visit No. 19 Arkansas at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.

“Anyone not willing to schedule anyone, at anyplace, at anywhere, at anytime this season, if do-able, there’s something wrong with you,” Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said earlier this week.

The game has become an advance homecoming for Huskies star Christyn Williams, who originally thought next season would be that event. Auriemma said it’s possible that game could still happen but that “we lost four games we have to make up, contractually, and we others coming on the schedule, so we’ll see.”

The Southeastern Conference, loaded with ranked teams, besides, Arkansas, has a reunion of sorts with No. 4 South Carolina and coach Dawn Staley heading to No. 21 Mississippi State and first-year coach Nikki McCray-Penson, Staley’s assistant for 10 seasons with the Gamecocks before heading to Old Dominion the past three seasons prior to being hired to replace Vic Schaefer, who is now at Texas.

No. 15 Kentucky hosts Alabama, while No. 20 Tennessee hosts Mississippi, No. 22 Georgia hosts LSU, and No. 6 Texas A&M visits Auburn.

In the Big Ten, besides games already mentioned, No. 23 Northwestern visits Iowa, Ohio State visits No. 15 Indiana, the fourth straight ranked team in the conference the Buckeyes have faced.

In the Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 2 N.C. State visits Virginia Tech having just escaped them at home Sunday by two points, while No. 1 Louisville hosts North Carolina.

No. 18 Gonzaga visits Pacific in the West Coast Conference.

Guru’s WBB Report: Villanova Avoids Upset From St. John’s While No. 14 Ohio State Fells No. 7 Maryland and No. 22 Georgia Takes Down No. 19 Arkansas

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Villanova was back on the court Monday night on the Big East circuit for the first time in 19 days, forced into a pause by Tier 1 Positive tests of the coronavirus, but when the action in the Wildcats’ Finneran Pavilion finally concluded they had escaped a blown 17-point lead late in the game and prevailed over St. John’s 81-78 in overtime for a season’s sweep of the Red Storm.

Penn State wasn’t as fortunate earlier at home in the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, falling to Minnesota 85-76 for a season split in the Big Ten with the Gophers.

Nationally, No. 14 Ohio State upset No. 7 Maryland 88-86 in the Buckeyes’ Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, while No. 22 Georgia took down No. 19 Arkansas, 75-73, in a Southeastern Conference game at home in Athens in Stegeman Coliseum, the winning shot as time expired from Gabby Connally.

Villanova Overcomes Blown Lead: Having been sequestered for most of this month in the Villanova Inn, but not even with each other, adhering to COVID-19 protocols, the Wildcats finally reunited Friday for a team practice and were thrilled to take the floor three days later to host St. John’s to the extent that they were able to spend a large portion of the night riding their mainstay sophomore Maddy Siegrist to an 18-point lead in the second quarter,.

Two quarters later all seemed safe and sound with the advantage still seemingly insurmountable at 17 points over the visitors (4-9, 1-7 Big East).

Suddenly, however, led by Leilani Correa, the Red Storm became part of a perfect storm, picking up the tempo, while fatigue on ‘Nova’s side became a bit of a factor, causing turnovers and missed shots, resulting in a 22-5 run carrying St. John’s to a 65-65 tie just before the end of regulation on Kadaja Bailey’s shot.

Not to worry, however, in the extra five minutes.

Freshman Lior Garzon from Israel quickly snapped the the deadlock from deep, though the Red Storm weren’t totally through, moving back to a 70-70 tie with just under three minutes left.

Garzon then struck with another three-ball for ‘Nova (9-2, 4-2) followed by a Siegrist score for a five-point lead before fouling out but freshman Bella Runyon hit some timely foul shots as did Brianna Herlihy to send the Wildcats into the victory lane.

‘I’m obviously really pleased with the win and finding a way,”said first-year Villanova coach Denise Dillon, the former Wildcats star who previously had a 17-year successful run downtown coaching Drexel in West Philadelphia. “Especially losing a lead significantly and then getting into overtime and gutting it out. 

“The biggest thing we’ve been trying to do was push pace on the offensive end and we weren’t able to do that to continue. St. John’s made some speed adjustments and understood they could get the ball down and score quickly.”

On Garzon’s three-ball, Dillon said, “That was huge. Things weren’t going our way and St. John’s had momentum going into overtime.”

Raven James had eight assists while Herlihy dished six.

“They’re a really talented team and they can score quickly,” said Siegrist, last season’s Big East freshman of the year,  explaining how things fell apart and who had 24 points and 10 rebounds in this one.  “Part of it was a little bit of rust and toward the end you could see we were getting a little bit tired. We made some silly errors in those last six minutes or so.”

The freshmen duo combined for 31 points, Garzon scoring 16 points and Runyon 15. Herlihy and Sarah Mortensen also had double doubles, the former with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while the latter with 

 12 points and 11 rebounds.

“Lior and Bella Ryon had career highs, we’re playing the young ‘uns,” Dillon said. “I told the team when I got here, I don’t care what year my players are, if you are ready to go and do whatever we need to be successful, you’re going to be out on the floor. So you’re going to learn on the fly.”

Dillon talked about the unknown in the first game back, the same feeling her men’s counterpart Jay Wright experienced when his team returned from a long pause.

“I don’t like that feeling. You kind of want to know what you can rely on out there. But I will say that you know with this group, Maddy is always going to set the tone and the others are going to follow. And any chance she steps on the floor she is embracing that opportunity. 

“The biggest thing is not having a lot of time. It’s amazing when you get away from each other how quickly things you have forgotten. I was pleased conditioning-wise. They did things when we weren’t together to keep themselves in shape. We’re going to refreshen the basketball IQs. Real quick turnaround for Wednesday night.”

Marquette will visit at 7 p.m. The game will air on the Flohoops/ Big East Digital network apps streaming service.

“It’s brutal,” Siegrist said of the long break. “But this is the reality of the situation. “Every team in our conference has been hit by it. You just try to learn from it and do everything right and get in as many games as you can.

“It was great. I was so glad to get back on the floor today. Especially after the pause you just can’t wait to play a game. We were so fortunate we had this game tonight. You feel normal. You’re not wearing masks. The other team is not wearing masks. Then you look to the sidelines and all the coaches have masks on. Then you remember.”

Correa scored 29 for the opposition, while Unique Drake had 21, shooting 8-for-10 from the field, and Bailey had 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Penn State Falls to Minnesota: In a game with 13 lead changes and 12 ties, the Lady Lions were overcome in the fourth quarter by the Gophers (4-7, 3-6 Big Ten), scoring 13 of the final 17 points, and had to settle for a split in their Big Ten series.

Johnasia Cash had 22 points and 15 rebounds while Makenna Marisa had a game-high 25 points for Penn State (4-7, 1-6), which had won its sole conference game earlier this month in Minneapolis.

Sara Scalia hit five treys on the way to 21 points for Minnesota, while Gadiva Hubbard topped two other teammates scoring in double figures, collecting 18 points.

“We had a great third quarter that I was really proud of,” said Penn State coach Carolyn Kieger. “I thought it was one of our best third quarters followed by one of our worst fourth quarters.

“We have to toughen up, we have to have a team that can command and direct and slow the pace down when we need to.

“We have to keep learning and growing the basketball IQ for our team. A lot of things to fix. Credit Minnesota for their tough finish. We have to learn from it and be ready to play four quarters against Illinois.”

The Lady Lions visit the Illini Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Ohio State Upends Maryland: A rally from the No. 7 Terrapins fell just short as the No. 14 Buckeyes (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) in their Value City Arena in the Schottenstein Center in Columbus tagged Maryland (11-2, 7-1) with its first conference loss and won their second straight off a Big Ten team ranked in the Top 15.

Last week  Ohio State overcame 50 points from Michigan’s Naz Hillmon while on Monday night it survived a 55-combo from Ashley Owusu, who had 23 of her 33 points in the second half, and former Harvard standout Katie Benzan, who scored 22, built from 7 3-pointers. Chloe Bibby added 13 while Diamond Miller was held to 10.

Ohio State countered with 24 points and seven assists from Madison Greene, 21 from Jay Sheldon, and 18 from Braxtin Miller, while Dorka Juhasz pulled down 16 rebounds.

It’s the first time since 2006 the Buckeyes have won two straight against Top 15 squads.

Maryland had won 21 straight conference games.

“I knew it was going to be a challenge,” said Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff. “It was a great game. Both teams played really well. Both teams made big plays, I just thought we made a couple more down the stretch to give us a chance to win.

“The key for us is just go day-by-day,” he said of a current four-game stretch with two more ranked teams ahead. “I just told them, celebrate the win, it’s a great win, you guys really earned it, but then tomorrow turn the page. Our competitive character is as good as it’s been since I’ve been here, These kids fight and scratch and claw for each other. That’s how you have to play to beat a team like Maryland.”

Ohio State heads to Bloomington Thursday night to face No. 16 Indiana at 8 p.m. on the Big Ten network.

“We always have great battles with Ohio State,” said Maryland coach Brenda Frese. “These kind of games prepare us for what lies ahead, postseason.”

The Terrapins’ Thursday game with Rutgers is postponed because of the current virus-caused pause on the Scarlet Knights, which will now keep Maryland idle until Wisconsin visits the XFINITY Center a week from Thursday with the tipoff time to be determined.

Georgia Edges Arkansas: The Bulldogs’ domination of the Razorbacks continued, making it seven of eight courtesy of Gabby Connally’s 20 points and the game winner as time expired. Jenna Staiti also scored 20 and completed a double double with 13 rebounds for Georgia (13-2m 5-2 SEC) in the Southeastern Conference meeting. Reserve Sarah Ashlee Barker scored 10.

“They are so battle tested and their record does not reflect how good they are,” Georgia coach Joni Taylor said afterwards. “I wanted to have the last shot. I’ve always said when you’re playing Arkansas you have to score with them, and whoever can score with them is going to win the game, and that’s a tall task because they average almost 80  points a game, but we were able to find some different ways to score tonight.”

Jordan Isaacs’ offensive rebound put Georgia in position to go for the game winner.

“I don’t think I  should actually be sitting here, “ Connally said. “She grabbed the board which was probably the biggest rebound of the night.”

Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors said of the final moments, “We played good defense on the initial possession, gave up the offensive rebound. We were hoping to get that thing back tied. We forced the first miss and didn’t come up with the rebound.

“She made a great play, hit that shot.”

Chelsea Dungee scored 25 for Arkansas (11-6, 2-5) while three others scored in double figures and Taylah Thomas grabbed 10 rebounds.

Georgia next hosts LSU at 7 Thursday night while Arkansas in a game put together in the last week will host No. 3 Connecticut at 5 p.m. Thursday in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

On Tuesday No. Louisville hosts Miami in an ACC game at 4 p.m. while No. 9 Baylor hosts TCU at 8 p.m. in a Big 12 game.

On Wednesday Temple is at No. 13 South Florida at 4 p.m. in an AAC game in Tampa with the conference frontrunner. No, 6 Stanford is at Washington State in a PAC-12 game at 9 p.m.

And that’s the report.