Guru’s March Madness WBB Report: Lehigh Wild-Eyed and Willing Prepping for Sunday’s NCAA Opener With West Virginia; Villanova and Delaware Start WNIT

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Being placed in the Hemisphere Region of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament has turned out to be an appropriate setting for a Lehigh squad that seemingly darted from nowhere and is feeling quite high even as the 13th seed opening Sunday night (ESPNU-TV,  8 p.m.) at St. Mary’s University’s Bill Greehy Arena against fourth-seeded West Virginia (21-6), the Big 12 runnerup, that was 17th in the final Associated Press poll.

The winner will meet the winner between 12th- seeded Stephen F. Austin (24-2, the Southland champion, and fifth-seeded Georgia Tech (15-8), an at-large entry playing beforehand at 4:30 p.m., also on ESPNU-TV.

The only other time the two schools met, Lehigh was known as the Engineers back on Dec. 27, 1999, which was 21 seasons ago, and they drilled their way to an 89-73 victory in the Tulane/Doubletree Classic in New Orleans. In fact, West Virginia was then an Eastern power, having played in the Atlantic Ten and then moving to the Big East.

“They’re a very good team,” said coach Sue Troyan during a zoom software call with media up here Thursday afternoon as she nears the end of her 26th season. “Obviously, we have to play well. But if we do, we can be in the game with them. They’re not invicinble.”

Lehigh has had three previous NCAA appearances, all one-and-done affairs, the last being in 2010 at Ames, Iowa, against the host Cyclones, also in the Big 12.

The one before that a year earlier, the Mountain Hawks got to make the short trek from the campus in Bethlehem, Pa., at the foot of the Poconos, Eastward across I-78 to Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J., where second-seeded Auburn applied the exit switch. The first one in 1997, the setback came at the home of UConn to the No. 1 Huskies in Storrs.

This time, however, the team and the rest of the 64-team field is getting a trip to the shadow of the Alamo in San Antonio.

“Yes, everything is bigger in Texas, you can see that,” said junior guard Clair Steele. “We got on this big charter and there were just 20 of us. I kept looking out my bus window after we landed to try and take it in. Even in our hotel rooms there are some outdoor space.

“And to see this many people on such a big stage. It’s been a while.”

And thanks to the some of what has been wreaked by the coronavirus, the closest Lehigh is getting to local flavor are perhaps the meals being brought to their rooms and, of course, the names the NCAA committee decided to name the four region sectors to apply local landmarks because just as the men are sequestered in Indianapolis with their event, in the interest in caution has landed the entire event is in the San Antonio area that was set to host just the women’s Final Four.

“They’ve taken every precaution,” Troyan said. “I give the NCAA a ton of credit. They’ve done everything the right way.

“If there’s any silver lining, at least the kids are now in a different setting more engaged in their schoolwork than if they were back in their dorms in quarantine. But you can’t chat with anyone. It’s funny, North Carolina was done with their practice before us or after us, and (assistant coach) Addie (Micir) saw ‘Court (Courtney Banghart) and they high fived each other from ten feet away.”

Micir, a native of Bucks County, the daughter of one-time Penn quarterback Pancho Micir, played at Princeton and later served on Banghart’s staff at her alma mater before the Tigers coach filled the Tar Heels vacancy and Micir was hired by Troyan.

The program has a noteworthy connection in its history as the first collegiate head coaching stop for future Hall of Famer Muffet McGraw on her way to the Notre Dame hire and while in Bethlehem, one of her players was current WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

Though Lehigh has been a power in the Patriot League, this season, which never began until just after the New Year, the Mountain Hawks were in the shadow of then-unbeaten Bucknell, losing four times to the Bisons, and Boston U., whom they never met until Sunday’s upset at Chase Arena after the upset four days earlier of the Bisons in Lewisburg, Pa.

“Our defense kept getting better and that’s what won it for us,” Troyan said, noting, “I think it will help that of the four-pod system set by the league, we saw more of the best teams, so we played good teams. What we couldn’t do, which is what we always do during the non-conference phase, is play a couple of teams above us.

“Mary has always stepped up in big games and that has given confidence to our younger players.”

Two other key scorers for Lehigh are junior forward  and co-captain Emma Grothaus, averaging 11.1 points a game, and sophomore Frannie Hottinger, averaging 14.32 points. Both are Minnesotans.

West Virginia continues to be coached by Mike Carey, a veteran of 19 seasons in Morgantown, who drew attention back at the front end of her era in a season that not much was expected, he brought one suit expecting an early knockout in the Big East tourney and the team made a deep run.

This time, the Mountaineers got ranked early and stayed in national focus as the next best Big 12 team after the ongoing iron rule of No. 5 Baylor, which, technically, is still the reigning national champion in the wake of the cancellation of last season’s NCAA tourney as the onset of the pandemic occurred.

West Virginia’s three main stays are redshirt senior Kysre Gondrezick, averaging 19.9 points a game and 4.5 assists, 5-8 sophomore Kirsten Deans, averaging 13.6 points, and Esmery Martinez, a 6-2 forward also averaging 13.6 points.

Villanova and Delaware Begin Separate Paths Friday in the Charlotte Regional of the WNIT

Following the inspiring upset of then-No. 25 DePaul in overtime two weeks ago in the Big East tournament at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut that then led to the crushing semifinals ouster by No. 1 UConn., Villanova is back on its feet.

While not in the NCAA tourney, the Wildcats (15-6) begin play Friday in the Women’s NIT, that’s also revamped because of the coronavirus and Delaware (21-4) is also looking for a run following its upset loss to Drexel in the championship of the Colonial Athletic Association. The entire tournament will be on the Flohoops streaming service that carried the bulk of the women’s packages in both the Big East and CAA.

Just like the NCAA, the WNIT has gone away from early home court action and also reduced the field from for this season from 64 teams to 32.

Each of four regions in bubble-style settings will continue eight teams with added consolation rounds in each. The winning survivors will then advance to Memphis in Tennessee.

In Charlotte, N.C., Villanova at 8 p.m. will wrap up Friday’s four games by playing Atlantic 10 tournament runnerup UMass. (14-7)  following three others that begin with Delaware meeting Fordham (12-4) at 11 a.m.

Ohio U. (14-8) out of the Mid-American Conference will meet Clemson (11-13) at 2 p.m. and those to winners go to Saturday’s 5 p.m. semifinal.

Charlotte (10-10), a former A-10 member now in Conference-USA, meets Florida (11-13) at 5 p.m. and that winner Saturday meets the Villanova winner at 8. The two losers meet in a consolation game Saturday at 2 p.m.

Villanova in Bojangles Coliseum features Maddie Siegrist, one of five finalists for the Katrina McClain power forward award co-sponsored by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Wildcats have been a regular when not in the NCAA field and made a deep run several years ago.

Siegrist, already fastest to 1,000 points in Wildcats history, is within 12 of hauling 500 rebounds, which if she achieves them mark before her season ends she will be the third to grab them combining freshman and sophomore years behind Shelly Pennefather and Lisa Angelotti.

Other key performers under first-year coach Denise Dillon are Brianna Herlihy (14.1 ppg.) and Sarah Mortenson (11.5 ppg.) along with Raven James and freshmen Lior Garzon and Bella Runyon, as well as Mackenzie Gardler and sophomore Brooke Mullin.

Dillon returned to her alma mater following the retirement of the legendary Harry Perretta after 42 seasons with the Wildcats and she spent 17 building Drexel into relevancy.

UMass made a Cinderella run in the A-10, escaping Saint Joseph’s in overtime in the first round and getting to the title round against a VCU squad, playing on its home court in Richmond, Va.,  that upset top seed Dayton in the semifinals.

Delaware had its best season since the senior year end-of-an-era rule Elena Delle Donne, now with the WNBA Washington Mystics, paced by Jasmine Dickey, the CAA player of the year.

The Blue Hens face a Fordham team that its side grapples with COVIC-19 but stayed in the conference hunt. The Rams are coached by former Villanova star and Saint Joseph’s coach Stephanie V. Gaitley.

Elsewhere in the field, in the Rockford regional, DePaul (14-8) is opening at 6 p.m. playing Atlantic 10 third-seed Saint Louis (12-4) at 6 p.m., while Dayton (14-3) meets Northern Iowa (14-12) at noon, Eastern. Creighton (9-11) meets Bowling Green (20-6) at 3 p.m.).

The Fort Worth Region is keyed by Western Athletic Conference champion Cal Baptist (24-0), the lone unbeaten team. The Lancers, still transitioning to Division I, are ineligible for the NCAA but, as several in the same stance in the past, are eligible to play in the WNIT.

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The Guru has added some names familiar and unfamiliar who will be revealed who will help with the massive remote/zoom accessibilities either being provided to credentialed NCAA media and from schools participating in the WNIT, whose website will also have information on the progress of the tournament.

And that’s the report.