The Guru Report: Black/Jefferson Holds First As Top Three Win In The Philly/Suburban Women’s Summer League

By Bob Heller and Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

HATBORO, Pa. — Team Black stayed perfect and alone in first place Thursday night though the Division II Jefferson squad (5-0 faced a battle from Orange before turning back their Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference rival Chestnut Hill contingent 45-38 in the Philadelphia/Suburban Women’s Summer Basketball League at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades.

In a two-way tie one game behind, Maroon, the undergrad USciences group which got crushed last week by CACC rival Black, recovered for a 61-50 win topping Royal Blue/D3-Ursinus while Kelly Green/D2-Kutztown edged the Pink/D2-Usciences alums 56-52.

With two weeks left in the eight-team league of the seven-game summer schedule ahead of the playoffs Black can clinch the top seed outright next Thursday beating Kelly (4-1) in the nightcap game on Court 1 at 7:45 p.m. and Maroon (4-1) loses to Orange (2-3) playing on Court 2 in one of the two 6:30 p.m. openers.

Sky Blue/D2-Holy Family (2-3), off a 61-33 triumph over winless Red/D3-Arcadia (0-5) in the other game jumped into a three-way tie for fourth with Orange (2-3) and Pink (2-3) but the trio all got eliminated in the race for the top seed courtesy of Black’s win. All three were also 1 by Jefferson.

However there are still chances to move to a higher seed since trailing Maroon by two games, Orange plays the USciences undergrads next week, as mentioned, and then finishes with the Devils alums on July 29 while Maroon closes with Sky Blue.

Likewise, Pink is in the hunt to move up playing Red next week on Court 2 at 7:45 and finishes as mentioned with Orange. 

And Sky Blue completes next week’s schedule playing Royal (1-4) on Court 1 in the other 6;30,p.m. opener and then closes in two weeks as mentioned meeting Maroon,

Royal, with help, could move out of seventh but mathematically at this hour could get caught by a Red move out of the basement though Arcadia’s finish is with Pink and Kelly.

SEED TRACKING

As to how ties got snapped this week, your run through the standings has Black outright number one. 

Once again in the two-way runner up breaker, Maroon’s head-to-head win over Kelly lands the second seed for now leaving Kelly third.

The three-way for fourth causes a creation of a mini league among the trio and Pink jumps to fourth off a 1-0 beating Sky Blue, while Holy Family settles for fifth getting a 1-1 off the Orange win, and Chestnut Hill at 0-1 is left at sixth.’

Royal and Red round it out with outright slots at seventh and eighth.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS

No one hit the individual performance standard of 20 or more points this week but we can use the space to speak of classroom achievement.

Every summer the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) ranks team grade point average across all the divisions in the NCAA as well as schools competing in NAIA and junior college.

This time the organization handed out honorable mentions to schools who fared well but did not play last winter because of the coronavirus.

Lehigh, which used to send several players to the league (D-1s are not allowed to compete as a unit) and is coached by Sue Troyan who guided the Mountain Hawks to an upset Patriot League tournament title, earned a 3.670 for 14th place.

Kutztown or Kelly Green was given an honorable mention for 3.852, but had the team been allowed to play under longtime coach and former Rutgers star Janet Malouf, that GPA would have topped the winning 3.783 earned by Lubbock Christian in Division II.

Likewise East Stroudsburg, now under Stephanie Del Preore, which used to field a unit, got a Division II mention for  3.743, which combined would be 11th, and another special mention went to Jackie Hartzell’s USciences at 3.667 though that would be outside a combined group of 25.

This will be the Devils’ last winter with the school merging with Division I Saint Joseph’s next summer.

Though Team Red in Division III and coached as Arcadia in the winter by Rose Katz Gobeli has struggled in the league, the GPA of 3.652 was good enough to land at 25th.

Now here’s Bob with the four-game details.

RECAPS

Black 45   Orange 38

Team Black (Jefferson University) faced a tenacious Team Orange (Chestnut Hill College) in one of the two late games at the Philadelphia/Suburban Women’s Basketball Summer league Thursday night.  Jefferson and Chestnut Hill are also division II CACC rivals during the winter season.  

Orange battled throughout but despite holding Black to its lowest point total in five games this summer fell to their area rivals 45-38.  

Black improves to 5-0 while Orange drops to 2-3.   

Neither team placed an individual player in double figures with Bridget Arcidiacono and Cassie Murphy leading Black with nine points apiece while Brianna Hewlett and Trinity Brittingham had eight points apiece to pace the Orange squad.

Black held a five-point lead early in the game before Orange used a 6-2 run late in the first quarter to pull within one 15-14 as the period ended.

  An Arcidiacono basket early in the second quarter put Black back up by five before the orange team scored six straight points to take a brief 20-19 lead.

  Black regained the advantage on their next possession and held it for the remainder of the quarter and took a slim 26-24 lead at the break.

Brittingham scored the first two baskets in the third quarter as Orange regained the lead 28-26.

  After both teams exchanged baskets, Ryleigh Parson’s traditional three-point play put Black back on top 31-30.

  Murphy and Morgan Robinson scored Black’s final two baskets of the third quarter to extend Black’s lead to five, 37-32 heading into the final quarter.

The two teams exchanged baskets over the first three minutes of the period before both squads went on a scoring drought.  

Black’s Allie Warren broke the drought some five minutes later with a three-point basket to give black a 44-36 lead.  Arcidiacono added a free throw and Emily Chmiel scored for Orange to make the final tally 45-38.

 

Maroon 61   Royal Blue 50

Team Maroon (USciences) kept pace with Black as they used a solid second half to cruise to a 61-50 win over Team Royal Blue (Ursinus College) in the other late game.

Maroon improves to 4-1 while Royal falls to 1-4.  

Jess Huber and Harlem Jennings scored ten points apiece to lead Maroon while Dana Bandurick led Royal with 15 points.

Six lead changes and three ties highlighted the opening quarter as both teams battled to a 17-17 tie through the first ten minutes.  

The lead changed hands two more times in the opening minutes of the quarter before Maroon used a 9-0 run to go ahead 28-20.  

Baskets by Alyssa Martin and Jennings followed before Royal scored the final seven points of the quarter to cut Maroon’s lead to one at the half.

Bandurick’s layup-and-one tied the game at 37-37 before Maroon scored the next 12 points to open up a 49-27 lead.  

Free throws by Tamia Wessels broke the run.  Kerry Patterson added a basket to end the third quarter giving Maroon a 51-39 advantage.

Neither team scored in the first three minutes of the quarter before Maria D’Aulerio connected on a long jumper to cut Maroon’s lead to ten.  

Allison Waters then gave Maroon their biggest lead of the game, 54-41 with a three-pointer from the corner.  

Two quick three-point baskets by Bandurick and Martin cut the lead to seven and forcing a Maroon timeout with 2:08 left before retaking the floor to outscore Royal 7-3 over the final two minutes to seal the win.

 

Kelly Green 56   Pink 52

Kelly Green (Kutztown University) also kept pace with first place Black with a hard-fought physical win over Pink (USciences alumnae), 56-52 in one of the two early games at Kelly Bolish Gym.

Kelly improved to 4-1 while Pink drops to 2-3.  

Leah Johnson, a junior from West Chester University, led Kelly with 17 points. 

 Sarah Abbonizio a 2018 USciences graduate led Pink with 15 points.

Casey Remolde and Annie Whalen got the scoring going as Kelly jumped out to an early 10-4 lead. 

 Pink rallied with eight straight points, capped by an Abbonizio basket to take their first lead of the game at 12-10 before Kelly scored five of the next six points to end the first quarter with a 15-13 edge.

Abbonizio sank a three-point basket to open the second quarter as Pink regained the lead 16-15.

  Irisa Ye’s two free throws pushed Pink to 21-17 before Kelly scored seven of the next nine points, capped by a Kelly Kowalik (Tufts’24) three pointer to retake the lead 24-23. 

 Kelly added to their lead with two Noelle Baxter free throws before Shannon May scored to pull Pink with one at the half, 26-25.

Kelly opened up a seven-point lead in the third quarter, 34-27 an appeared to be in control.  

Pink battled back closing within three twice and then scoring the final six points of the quarter to retake the lead 41-40.

Melia Kolb’s basket to open the fourth quarter gave Pink a 43-40 advantage. 

 Kelly followed with six straight points to flip the lead to their advantage 46-43.  

A 7-4 run by Pink, capped by a Jordan Vitelli bucket knotted the score at 50-50 with 2:15 left.  Kelly then put the game away with five straight points taking a 55-50 lead with 25 seconds left before settling in for the 56-52 win.

 

Sky Blue 61   Red 33

Sky Blue (Holy Family University) used a strong second half to pull away from winless Red (Arcadia University), cruising to a 61-33 triumph for their second win of the season.

Sky Blue improves to 2-3 while Red remains winless at 0-5.  

Nine different players scored for Sky Blue with Lindsay Tretter, Kyliah Singletary and Dakota Schultice leading the way with 12 points apiece.

  Kylie Meredith was the lone Red player in double figures with ten points.

Red held the early lead before Tretter triggered a 13-2 Sky Blue run with a three-ball giving her team a 17-7 lead heading into the second quarter. 

 Both teams scored 11 points in the second quarter as Sky Blue held a 28-18 lead at the half.

Sky Blue continued to maintain a double-digit advantage throughout the second half, expanding their lead to 17, 45-28 after three quarters. Sky outscored Red 16-5 in the fourth quarter to take home the 28-point win. 

Standings

 

(Thru Week 5 Games Played Thursday, July 15)

 

Team  W  L  PCT.   GB    PF  PA

 

Black  5  0  1.000  —  321  204

Maroon 4  1 .800 1.0 346 239

Kelly  4  1  .800 1.0 341 247

Pink  2  3  .400 3.0 246 257

Sky Blue 2  3  .400 3.0  268 268

Orange  2  3   .400 3.0 234 274

Royal  1  4  .200 4.0 201 252

Red  0  5  .000  5.0  196 314

 

Players Scoring 20 or More Points

 

26-Leah Johnson, Kelly, W, vs. Royal, July 8

23-Anna McTamney, Maroon, W, vs. Kelly, July 1

22-Dana Bandurick, Royal, L, vs. Pink, June 17

21-Irisa Ye, W, vs. Sky Blue, July 8

21-Jordan Vitelli, Pink, L, vs. Black, July 1

20-Bridget Arcidiacono, Black, W, vs. Red, June 24

20-Taylor Hamm, Maroon, W, vs. Red, June 17

Phila/Suburban Women’s Summer Basketball League Schedule

 

Thursday, June 17

 

Results

 

Black (D2-Jefferson) 73, Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family)  49

Pink (D2 – USciences Alumnae) 64, Royal (D3-Ursinus) 55

Maroon (D2-USciences) 73, Red (D3-Arcadia) 32

Kelly (D2-Kutztown) 80, Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill) 42

 

Thursday, June 24

 

Maroon 38, Pink 32

Black 78, Red 44

Orange 53, Royal 44

 Kelly 60, Sky Blue 50

 

Thursday, July 1

 

Maroon 63, Kelly 60

Sky Blue 60, Orange 51

Royal 52, Red 37

Black 78, Red 44

 

Thursday, July 8

 

Kelly 85, Royal 40

Black 65, Maroon 26

Pink 51, Sky Blue 48

Orange 50, Red 45

 

Thursday, July 15

 

Sky Blue 61, Red 33

Kelly 56, Pink 52

Black 45, 38 Orange 

Maroon 61, Royal Blue 50

 

Thursday, July 22

 

Early Games (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Sky Blue (2-3) vs. Royal (1-4)

Court 2: Orange (2-3) vs. Maroon (4-1)

 

Late Games (7:45 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Kelly 4-1) vs. Black (5-0)

Court 2: Pink (2-3) vs. Red (0-5)

Thursday, July 29

 

Regular Season Ends

 

Early Games (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Pink vs. Orange

Court 2: Red vs. Kelly

 

Late Games (7:45 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Sky Blue vs. Maroon

Court 2: Royal vs. Black

 

Tuesday, August 3

 

Playoffs Quarterfinals

 

Early Games (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: 8th seed vs. 1st seed

Court 2: 6th seed vs. 3rd seed

 

Late Games (7:45 p.m.)Court 1: 7th seed vs. 2nd seed

Court 2: 5th seed vs. 4th seed

 

Thursday, August 5

 

Playoffs Semifinals

 

Early Game (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Highest Quarterfinal Survivor vs. Lowest Quarterfinal Survivor

 

Late Game (7:45 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Remaining Surviving Seeds

 

Thursday, August 12

 

Playoff Championship

 

Tipoff: 6:30 p.m.

 

Court 1 : Semifinal Winners

 

 

Playoff Seed Tracker 

 

Black (5-0) vs. SB-W; vs. Rd-W; vs. Pk-W; vs. M-W; vs. O-W; vs. Ky; vs. Ry

 

Maroon (4-1) vs. Rd-W; vs. P-W; vs. Ky-W; vs. Bl-L; vs. Ry-W; vs. O;  vs. SB

 

Kelly (W-1) vs. O-W; vs. SB-W; vs. M-L; vs. Ry-W; vs. Pk-W; vs. Bl; vs. Rd

 

Pink (2-3) vs. Ry-W; vs. M-L; vs. Bl-L; vs. SB-W; vs. Ky-L; vs. Rd; vs. O

 

Sky Blue (2-3)  vs. Bl-L; vs. Ky-L: vs. O-W; vs. Pk-L; vs. Rd-W; vs, Ry; vs. M

 

Orange (2-3) vs. Ky-L; vs. Ry-W; vs. SB-L; vs. Rd-W; vs. Bl-L; vs. M; vs. Pk

 

Royal (1-4) vs. Pk-L; vs. O-L; vs. Rd-W; vs .Ky-L; vs. M-L; vs. SB; vs. Bl

 

Red (0-5) vs. M-L; vs. Bl-L; vs. Ry-L; vs. O-L; vs. SB-L; vs, Pk; vs, Ky

 

Codes: BL-Black; Ky-Kelly; M-Maroon; O-Orange; Pk-Pink; Rd-Red; Ry-Royal; SB-Sky Blue

 

Team By Team Regular Season Schedules/Results

 

Red (D3-Arcadia) 0-5

 

June 17: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads), L 32-73

June 24: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 1-0), L 44-78

July 1: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 0-2), L 37-52

July 8: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 1-2), L 45-50

July 15: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 1-3), L 33-61

July 22: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 2-3), 7:45 p.m., Court 2

July 29: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown), 6:30 p.m., Court 2

 

Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill) 2-3

 

June 17: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown), L 42-80

June 24: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 0-1), W 53-44

July 1: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 0-2), L 51-60

July 8: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-3), W 50-45

July 15: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 4-0), L 38-45

July 22: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 4-1), 6:30 p.m., Court 2

July 29: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae), 6:30 p.m., Court 1

 

 Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family) 2-3

 

June 17: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson), L 49-73

June 24: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 1-0), L 50-60

July 1: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 1-1), W 60-51

July 8: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 1-2), L 48-51

July 15: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-4), W 61-33

July 22: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 1-4), 6:30 p.m., Court 1

July 29: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads), 7:45 p.m., Court 1

 

Black (D2-Jefferson) 5-0

 

June 17: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family), W 73-49

June 24: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-1), W 78-44

July 1: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 1-1), W 60-47

July 8: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 3-0), W 65-26

July 15: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 2-2), W 45-38

July 22: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 4-1), 7:45 p.m., Court 1

July 29: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus, 7:45 p.m., Court 2

 

Kelly (D2-Kutztown) 4-1

 

June 17: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill), W 80-42

June 24: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 0-1), W 60-50

July 1: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 2-0), L 60-63

July 8: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 1-2), W 85-40

July 15: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 2-2), W 56-52

July 22: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 5-0), 7:45 p.m., Court 1

July 29: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia), 6:30 p.m., Court 2

 

Royal (D3-Ursinus) 1-4

 

June 17: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae), L 55-64

June 24: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 1-0), L 44-53

July 1: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-2), W 52-37

July 8: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 2-1), L 40-85

July 15: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 3-1), L 50-61

July 22: vs. Sky Blue  (D2-Holy Family 2-3), 6:30 p.m., Court 1

July 29: vs. Black (Jefferson), 8:15 p.m., Court 2

 

Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads) 4-1

 

June 17: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia), W 73-32

June 24: vs. Pink (USciences Alumnae 1-0 ), W 38-32

July 1: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 2-0), W 63-60

July 8: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 3-0), L 26-65

July 15: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 1-3), W 61-50

July 22: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 2-3), 6:30 p.m., Court 2

July 29: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family), 7:45 p.m., Court 1

 

Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae) 2-3

 

 June 17: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus), W 64-55

June 24: vs. Maroon (D2-Usciences, L 32-38

July 1: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 2-0), L 47-60

July 8: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 1-2), W 51-48

July 15: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 3-1), L 52-56

July 22: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-5), 7:45 p.m. Court 2

July 29: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill), 6:30 p.m., Court 1