The Guru Report: Rutgers Rally From Deep Deficit Leads to Overtime Win Hosting Harvard While Delaware and Lehigh Gain Easy Triumphs

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -  With an upset loss to visiting Stony Brook in the immediate rear-view mirror and a deep 18-point deficit after three quarters to visiting Harvard Friday night at Rutgers’ newly renamed Jersey Mike’s Arena one could say things certainly were beginning to look unglued among the collection of newbies that are this year’s edition of the Scarlet Knights.

But Rutgers suddenly went on to stick together the rest of the way and what had been a rocky evening turned into a Rocky Balboa finish with the team rallying with a key three-pointer near the end of regulation to force overtime and pull out a 68-65 victory.

The comeback if you were a Rutgers fan or fade if you were a disappointed Harvard (1-3) supporter began with a 12-0 run at the outset of the fourth quarter that got the Knights (4-1) within competitive distance and the heroine role of the night then went to Lasha Petree, who fired a game-tying three-pointer with nine seconds left to force overtime, her to reach 11 points in the final regulation period.

Petree, who had 17 points, than connected on two foul shots in the extra period for a Rutgers lead that last occurred by two in the second quarter. 

Osh Brown then produced an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 66-61, and Sayawni Lassiter reached 13 points, a career high, with two free throws and the Knights  then held their breaths in the final seconds as Harvard’s attempted game-tying three dropped off the rim.

Awa Sidibe scored 12 for the home team and Brown had a monster night on the boards with 19 rebounds, the most for a Scarlet Knights star in seven seasons since WNBA New York Liberty star Betnijah Laney grabbed 24 against North Carolina.

“Rutgers teams have done this before,” interim coach Timothy Eatman said of the comeback, “but this team hadn’t done it.”

Eatman is filling in this season with Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer staying way as a precautionary measure involving COVID-19. All wins and losses are being accredited to him per a Rutgers decision just before the tipoff in the season opener.

“I think our kids played with great spirit and heart,” Eatman said opening the postgame press conference. “They never gave up, kept their composure, andf kept fighting. We’re proud of the tenacity when things got tough. 

“We grew up a little tonight,” which come at the right time, considering next heads to the Paradise Jam next week at St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands, playing DePaul on Thanksgiving Day, Vanderbilt on Friday, and NCAA runners up Arizona on Saturday, the games to be televised on ESPN+ or ESPN3.

“We have a ways to go, but we’re thankful where we are tonight,” Eatman continued. “We are 4-1 playing five games in ten days. For a veteran team that would be difficult, and we have eight new players.”

Describing her key three-ball as the end of regulation approached, Petree said, “We tried to post up, but it wasn’t opened. Osh swung it to the corner, and I wasn’t open initially. I came off a ball screen and thought I may need to shoot it. I was confident in my shot, coach Eatman believed in me, and so did my teammates.

“When it went in, I went blank, and kind of didn’t know what was going on, but I know there was time on the clock and we needed a stop.”

Added Lassiter, “Aside from the shots going down on defense, in the fourth especially. We followed scores with stops and it started on defense, first. It opened things up in transition on the offensive end.”

The comeback stopped Harvard of the Ivy League from an impressive win that would have got the Crimson to .500 at 2-2.

Four of the visitors scored in double figures, Maggie McCarthy with 16 points, Lola Mullaney with 15, Harmoni Turner with 11, and Tess Sussman with 10.

Harvard, which will play in Saint Joseph’s tournament the end of December and then returns to Philadelphia later to visit Ivy opponent Penn in The Palestra, was in the news recently with the announcement of Kathy Delaney-Smith, the longest serving Ivy coach, retiring at the end of the season.

In the third quarter, it looked like Harvard as the Ivy squad playing Power Five Rutgers of the Big 10 would be the Rocky Balboa surging with a 25-7 advantage in the third quarter to an 18-point lead.

But then Rutgers began the comeback, outscoring the Crimson combined 34-13 in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Harvard next goes to rising Atlantic 10 power Rhode Island on Tuesday in Kingston and returns back home in Cambridge, Mass., the following Saturday to host area rival and Patriot contender Boston U., which recently upset Boston College.

Delaware Downs State Rival Delaware State: It was the Blue Hens of the Colonial Athletic Association coming up easy with a 79-48 win over the Hornets of the MEAC, winning what was billed as the Route 1 Rivalry, sponsored by DE529, in Memorial Hall Gym in Dover.

“Coming down here is a rivalry,” said Delaware coach Natasha Adair. “We told them they’d played hard. We wanted to dictate the tempo and get off to a good start. We knew that we’d get Delaware State’s best and that’s what we expected.

“Jasmine Dickey, I can’t say enough about her, but we also can’t do it without a supporting cast,” Adair noted the CAA reigning player of the year and preseason player of the year. “Ty Skinner has grown game by game. For her to be able to lead and manage.

“Makayla Pippin stepped up. Ty Battle is so consistent. For me to be able to walk in the locker room with the Route 1 Rivalry trophy makes me super proud of this group and how we fight.”

Dickey collected her second season double double with 31 points for the Hens (3-1), going 30 or better back-to-back, and 10 rebounds, while Battle got her third straight double double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Lizzie Oleary scored 10 and grabbed seven rebounds.

“We want to make sure we take care of the ball and execute,” Adair said. “We want to make sure we keep getting better offensively and defensively. We’re very goal oriented. When we put them all together  , the win column will take care of itself.”

Delaware leads the series with the Hornets, 12-1. Delaware State (0-4) is still looking for its first win of the season.

Joy Watkins scored 13 points and Unique Miller added 11 points and nine rebounds for the home team.

The Blue Hens will be back in action, returning home to the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark to host Charlotte at 1 p.m.

Career Nights Highlight Lehigh Win:  Making it a sweep night for the three Guru locals who played, Emma Grothaus had a personal best 31 points and 12 rebounds by the Mountain Hawks’ Emma Grothaus while Frannie Hottinger had 26 points and eight rebounds, as Lehigh at home in Stabler Arena cruised over Northeast Conference favorite Mount Saint Mary’s 91-72.

The home team shot 51.5 percent from the field (35-for-68), including 12-for-16 for 75 percent in the third quarter, and connected on 11 three-point attempts.

“Emma and Frannie are our two captains and I thought they did a great job in terms of setting the tone on both ends,” veteran Lehigh coach Sue Troyan said. “In the second half we made an adjustment to put Emma on (Kendall Bresee) and I thought she did a great job defending her and taking her out of her comfort zone for the second half.

“Both of them, offensively, we knew we had a mismatch inside and knew we wanted to take advantage of that. Our guards did a great job of looking for them inside and I thought both Frannie and Emma both played with a lot of composure.”

Lehigh (3-1) was hot at the outset with a 10-0 lead on the Mount (1-3), which in the second quarter rallied to tie 26-26 before the Mountain Hawks reasserted themselves with Hottinger andMegan Walker making shots for a 39-35 lead at the half.

While the Mount moved within four early in the third, that was as close as the visitors would get the rest of the way with Lehigh forging a 20-point differential before finishing with the spread at 19.

Walker, fueled by three from beyond the arc, scored 11.

Lehigh, which visits Villanova on December 1, forced 16 turnovers.

“We knew we had to be grittier on the defensive end of the ball,” Troyan said. “I thought we were better there and I thought we were better on the offensive end in terms of really focusing on getting the ball inside taking advantage of that mismatch. So, the execution on the offensive end was stronger and we played with a little more grittiness and toughness on the defensive end.

“We’re going to give up points, but we’re a high-scoring team and there’s a lot of possessions in a game because of the pace that we play.”

Bresee had 20 points for Mount St. Mary’s, while Michaela Harrison scored 12 and Jessica Tomasetti scored 10.

Lehigh remains in Stabler Sunday hosting Merrimack at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

The National Scene Shows Iowa Disrupted by COVID-19: The old times of starts and stops last season due to positive tests of COVID-19 has reared its ugliness early in the season after proclamations of returning to normalcy with cheerleaders, bands, and fans at games.

Just 24 hours after Horizon favorite IUPUI gave up a 2-0 conference forfeit to Cleveland State, No. 8 Iowa has shut down, first cancelling Sunday’s game hosting in-state rival Drake and secondly pulling out of next weekend’s appearance in the Cancun Challenge.

“We’re obviously disappointed but understand this is the right decision,” Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder said in a statement. “Our team and staff have followed best practices. But, unfortunately, a number of  individuals experienced symptoms and tested positive.

“We will continue to follow the guidance of our medical staff and look forward to returning to the court.”

The Cancun Challenge in Mexico with each round featuring predetermined matches televised on Flohoops had Iowa facing Seton Hall and Southern Cal.

In the new matchups, Fordham will meet Baylor Thursday at 11 a.m., followed by Arizona State meeting Houston at 1:30 p.m., USC facing Seton Hall at 4 p.m., and Idaho State playing Toledo at 6:30 p.m.

On Friday, Baylor meets Arizona State at 11 a.m., followed by Houston and Fordham at 1:30 p.m., Toledo and Seton Hall at 4 p.m., and Idaho facing UCF at 6:30 p.m.

On Saturday, Fordham and Arizona State play at 11 a.m., followed by Baylor and Houston at 1:30 p.m., and USC meeting UCF at 4 p.m.

IUPUI gave up another forfeit losing 2-0 at Purdue Fort Wayne. 

N.C. State Completes Preseason WNIT Sweep: Following in a revamp format for this year Kansas State hosting three rounds at home in Manhattan and No. 5 N.C. State doing likewise in Raleigh, the Wildcats traveled from the Midwest to face the Wolfpack and hung tight for three quarters until the home team pulled away to a 90-69 win in Reynolds Coliseum.

Ayoka Lee made it three straight double doubles with 19 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five blocked shots for Kansas State (4-1), which suffered its first loss.

“I believe N.C. State had to play really well to beat us,” said Wildcats coach Jeff Mitte. “And they knew they were in a fight and give them credit for raising up and playing well. If we can build off this game, this will be a real positive force, no doubt about it.”

Elissa Cunane paced four home team players in double figures with 18 points and six rebounds to improve to 4-1, the lone loss on opening night hosting No. 1 South Carolina.

Diamond Johnson scored 13, Kayla Jones had 12, as did Raina Perez.

The Wolfpack join the crowd heading to the tropics for tournaments next weekend, in their case, the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship in Nassau, Bahamas.

They’ll face No. 3 Maryland, their former rival in the ACC before the Terrapins jumped to the Big Ten, on Thursday at 11 a.m., televised on Flohoops, and Washington State, Saturday at 6 p.m., same streaming network.

In other games of interest Friday night, Florida Gulf Coast, the ASun champs, hosted MAAC contender Manhattan, producing an 88-57 win at home in Fort Meyers, after claiming wins previously over Temple at home and at LSU. The other game in the ASun/MAAC challenge had Fairfield beating Stetson 59-50. On Saturday in Orlando, Fairfield and Florida Gulf Coast meet at 12 p.m., followed by Manhattan and Stetson at 2:30 p.m., both games on ESPN3.

No. 22 West Virginia beat visiting Kenesaw State, 78-58, at home in Morgantown, while No. 11 Arizona, the NCAA runners up, beat MAAC contender Marist at home 78-36.

The Bank of Hawaii Classic got under way in Honolulu with Portland beating Hawaii 91-77, 

Looking Ahead: The Guru stands corrected upon further review with the overall Big Five slate opening Saturday at 3 p.m. when Villanova visits Saint Joseph’s at 3 p.m. on ESPN+ before the Wildcats go to The Palestra Monday night to face Penn at 7 p.m.

Ivy favorite Princeton has a key match at Rhode Island at 1 p.m. on ESPN+, while Temple will be hosting Patriot contender Bucknell at 2 p.m. in McGonigle Hall on ESPN+. 

La Salle will host Niagara of the MAAC at 1 p.m. in the Tom Gola Arena in Trumark Center on ESPN+, while MAAC member Rider hosts Saint Francis of Brooklyn at 2 p.m. on ESPN3.

Drexel will be at Md.-Eastern Shore at 2 p.m.

Locally, Sunday, besides the Delaware game, which will air on Flohoops, Penn State travels to Clemson at 2 p.m. on the ACC Network.

Nationally, Saturday, the widely anticipated Battle for Atlantis in on Paradise Island in the Bahamas gets under way with No. 2 UConn meet Minnesota at noon followed by Syracuse and and No. 23 South Florida at 2:30 p.m.

Those winners and losers will meet in the semifinals and consolation brackets Sunday.

In the other bracket, on Saturday No. 1 South Carolina faces Buffalo at 7:30 p.m., while No. 9 Oregon faces Oklahoma at 5 p.m. Flohoops will carry all the games.

The championship on Monday, which could see a 1 vs. 2, will air at noon on ESPN2. The third place game will air at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU, while the other games for fifth and seventh place will air on Flohoops.

Other games of note Saturday has No. 4 Indiana visiting MAAC favorite Quinnipiac at 4 p.m. on on ESPN3, the highest ranked opponent the Bobcats have ever faced.

And that’s the report.