The Guru Report: Temple Comeback Shines on a Dismal Night for the Locals While UConn’s Buzzer-Beater Saves Long-Running Conference Streak

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA — In political parlance the daily score tracking aps Wednesday evening was already indicating a landslide blowout defeat for the Guru’s local D-I squads on the night’s card.

And with a 15-point deficit in the first half, star player Mia Davis on the bench in foul trouble, Temple seemed well on the way to joining all but Delaware in the loser’s room.

But off the NCAA karma following last March’s tournament controversy of more equality between the genders, the female Owls replicated the men’s Tuesday night comeback on Cincinnati by handling the Bobcats 68-64 in the American Athletic Conference.

“There was a feeling and we knew there was no way we were going to lose this game,” said Caranda Perea, a forward and transfer from George Washington. “At no point did I think we were going to lose. At halftime everybody was in it and saying, ‘we got it, we got it.’ It was just the way we stayed together. There was no way we were going to lose.”

Just a month ago, veteran Temple coach Tonya Cardoza was wondering what happened to the team she saw that excited her during the summer workouts. Now she agreed that she’s seeing a group that excited her when the outside temperature was much warmer. Depth is the big X factor at the moment.

Temple (9-7, 4-1 American) with the win takes the two-game series with Cincinnati (9-10, 2-5) and has now won 4 of 5 — the lone loss being last Saturday in overtime at South Florida at Tampa, the defending conference champions and preseason picks.

Just ahead things heat up even more as the Owls head to Memphis on Saturday and then to UCF, the other heavy hitter with the Bulls who are a half-game ahead.

And when they return home next Wednesday to host Wichita State here in McGonigle Hall, unless it happens on the trip which would temper celebratory plans, the Guru radar among that of others now indicates early in that contest Davis will become the new all-time career scoring leader, eclipsing the mark set in 1984 by All-American and Gratz High alum Marilyn Stephens 2,194 points.

The Baltimore native scored 22 against Cincinnati, though in this one the bulk came on the line, shooting 12 of 14. That leaves her with 49 needed to rise above Stephens.

Cardoza lavished more praise on Davis for Wednesday’s action.

“The way they were playing, they were not going to let Mia get touches where she wanted to get touches,” Cardoza said. “But she found a way to be aggressive and put the ball on the floor. 

“And they they were fouling her. She kept moving, didn’t frustrated, and trusted her teammates, making extra passes. She was the one who kept them together,” Cardoza continued.

“And made sure those younger guys know exactly what we needed to get done. She kept communicating. That’s what great players do.”

Jasha Clinton scored 14 for Temple, while Perea had 10 and Aniya Gourdine dealt seven assists and grabbed seven rebounds.

Cincinnati’s Jillian Hayes double doubled her way to 16 points and 10 boards, while Caitlyn Wilson and Arame Niang each scored 12 points.

Cardoza spoke of the defense that turned things back in her team’s direction, especially late in the game when there was an ongoing exchange of points in the fourth quarter until Temple broke out just enough with a small cushion to grab the win.

“We had to get shots at the basket, but more importantly we had to defend,” she said. “We had to make sure we were getting stops, boxing out and not giving them second chance opportunities.

“We did that … we defended them. We held them to 13 points in that fourth quarter. That was their lowest output. We bared down when we had to and we were able to capitalize on the other side, too.”

Meanwhile two of the four games postponed because of COVID protocols — the conference ones — are back on the books — the UCF game down South on Monday originally scheduled Jan. 2 and instead of originally a home game hosting SMU Jan. 5, the Owls will play the Bulls in Texas Feb. 28 ahead of the regularly scheduled SMU visit in Dallas, March 2.

Still being discussed are the Big 5 hosting game of La Salle on Dec. 29 and visit to Penn Jan. 11. Villanova has clinched a tie at 3-1, La Salle could join the tie beating Temple, but the Owls could join the tie beating the Explorers and Penn.

Delaware Bounces Back: In the wake of Sunday’s loss at Drexel in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) that snapped a tie at the top in what were the two remaining teams with unbeaten conference records, the Blue Hens struck back with a win in a COVID protocol makeup game in the conference, beating host N.C.-Wilmington 78-69 in Trask Coliseum.  The event was the first of three over the next five days.

As traveling partners with Drexel, the two will be down South this weekend, the Dragons at Elon and Delaware (11-5, 5-1 CAA) at William & Mary at 7 on Friday night, both on Flohoops, and then switching opponents Sunday — Delaware at Elon, Drexel at William & Mary, both at 2 p.m.

In this one against UNCW (3-12, 0-5), Jasmine Dickey, the reigning and preseason CAA player of the year, scored 23 points with nine rebounds, three assists, a blocked shot and a steal. She moved into Delaware’s top five section of all-time scorers with ,562 points.

Ty Skinner had 20 points and seven assists, while Ty Battle had 16 points and 13th rebounds for her 11th double double of the season.

Sierra Dacosta had 23 points for the home team, while Micah Hoggatt had 14 points and Dazia Powell scored 10.

“We challenged our team — coming out of our last game, I wanted us to play harder, I wanted us to play Delaware basketball, with energy and effort,” coach Natasha Adair said. “I think from start to finish we saw that today. I love the fact that we are sharing the ball and got everyone involved.”

Penn Fades in Columbia Rally: If you’re a fan of the Quakers, as Nicki Minaj might sing, Sound the Alarm, but if Columbia drives your spectator passion, drop some money in the nearest jukebox playing songs of yesterday and push the button to start playing At Last.

That’s the story of Wednesday night’s COVID Protocol make up Ivy League contest in New York City’s Upper West Side, where the host Lions topped Penn 61-56, coming back in the second half, particular grabbing the lead for good in the fourth quarter at Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium off Broadway.

It was the first win for Columbia (14-3, 5-0 Ivy) over the Quakers (7-10, 2-3) since 2011, snapping an 18-game losing streak in the series.

For the home team, as one of two remaining groups with Princeton unbeaten, the Lions are upper echelon for the moment. In Penn’s case it’s the third straight loss in the Ancient Eight, making this Saturday afternoon’s game at The Palestra at 2 p.m. hosting Harvard a must, to at least get into upper hand territory for the fourth spot in the league tourney in March at Harvard.

Schedule-wise there is time to right the ship but can they?

Columbia has certainly become a reborn or feel free to call it a first-born since former Lion star Megan Griffith of King of Prussia in the Philly Western Burbs returned to her alma mater from then-Princeton coach Courtney Banghart’s championship pedigree Tigers to send the program in a rocket projection.

“This was a big game for our program,” Griffith said. “Since I’ve been here, we had not beaten Penn.

“That’s no secret and it’s something we talked about pretty openly … It was good to get that first one.

“Defensively, it was really great to see us respond and get stops that we need. That was a huge run that we made in the fourth quarter and a huge credit to (Jaida Patrick) … People make plays on good teams. It was a great day and I’m excited that we can build off this one and keep going.”

At halftime, it was like old times for Penn, leading 24-16. Ten minutes later the Quakers were clinging to a two-point lead and then quickly fell behind the rest of the way.

Mia Lakstigala had 18 points and 6 boards for the visitors. Kayla Padilla scored 14, and Jordan Obi scored 10, while Kennedy Suttle off the bench grabbed 13 rebounds.

The Lions exploded twice in the second half 20-6 out of two 9-0 runs.

Jaida Patrick, who had been at Duke, scored 13 points for Columbia in the final 11 minutes and 12 seconds.

Abbey Hsu had 22 points for the Lions and dealt a career-high six assists.

Saint Joseph’s Pounded and La Salle Edged in Atlantic 10 Setbacks: On the road in league action in the Bronx section of New York City and upstate in Western New York did not go well for either the Hawks in the former or Explorers in the Latter.

It was close in the first period, Saint Joseph’s behind 11-8. But Fordham pulled away from there leading 22-10 at the half and ultimately 55-35 at the finish.

Tayla Bruger had 11 points, and six rebounds for the Hawks (6-11, 2-3 Atlantic 10) and Laila Fair scored seven.

Fordham (14-5, 5-2), which is in the upper portion of the conference standings, got 22 points from Anna DeWolfe, the only Ram in double figures at home in Rose Hill Gym. Asiah Dingle was next high with nine points, while Kaitlyn Downey scored eight.

Next is a home game Saturday on Hawk Hill at Hagan Arena for Saint Joseph’s is a visit from UMass, which Wednesday night got routed at home by Rhode Island 60-46 as the Rams of Kingston (16-3, 6-0 A-10) completed a sweep of the Minutewomen (15-5, 3-3) staying unbeaten in conference play as is Dayton.

La Salle, meanwhile, in three separate moments pulled ahead by six points completing rallies and then fell 61-57 off a closing 6-0 finish by host St. Bonaventure..

Kayla Spruill had 22 points for the visiting Explorers (11-7, 4-2 A-10), while Molly Masciantonio scored 11, and Gabby Crawford grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Bonnies (10-8, 2-5) got 21 points from Asianae Johnson, while Tori Harris and Taylor Napper each scored 13 points and Harris also had 11 rebounds for a double double.

La Salle stays on the road Sunday visiting Duquesne in Pittsburgh.

Fourth Quarter Deluge Dooms Lehigh to Army: Down a point after three periods, the Mountain Hawks then got overwhelmed 21-9 over the final 10 points for a 70-57 loss to the Black Knights (9-8, 4-4 Patriot League), which swept the series after Wednesday night’s second game, played at Christl Arena in West Point, N.Y.

Lehigh (13-6, 5-3) got 21 points from Mackenzie Kramer while Megan Walker scored 15.

Kate Murray scored 22 for Army and Sabria Hunter scored 16, and Alisa Fallon scored 15 and grabbed 11 rebounds for a double double.

“We were not able to get a lot of defensive stops in the fourth quarter tonight, which limited our transition game greatly,” said Lehigh coach Sue Troyan. “Give credit to Army’s defense in the fourth quarter. They played with a toughness that we did not match on either end.”

Lehigh is back home in Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., Saturday at 2 p.m. hosting Holy Cross.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert, a native of South Jersey who played for the host Mountain Hawks when now retired Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw led the program, will speak at halftime.

National Report: UConn Ruins Upset Bid by DePaul: Facing the end of a long combined three-conference win streak of  now 167 games in the old Big East, American Athletic Conference and current Big East, the No. 10 Huskies’ run dating to 2013 is still alive, saved by freshman Caroline Ducharme’s inside layup with 1.5 seconds left in regulation for an 80-78 win over DePaul at the Blue Demons’ Wintrust Arena in Chicago in a game that was made up from its original postponement on New Year’s Eve.

The date was made possible when Thursday night’s second meeting of the season and original scheduled contest at No. 1 South Carolina in Columbia was called off so coach Dawn Staley got play a replacement Southeastern Conference date with Ole Miss, which this week moved back into the AP Women’s Poll for the first time in 15 years.

“You can come up with all the plays you want, but you’ve got to get the ball into people’s hands that you trust, who can make a bucket under pressure and there’s nobody better at going to the basket than Caroline,” said Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma.

That was a different tone struck by Auriemma than at halftime when after his squad was pounded on a 21-2 run by DePaul (16-5, 8-2 Big East), remarked to the sideline interviewer on the telecast, “We suck.”

Auriemma recorded career win number 1131, within eight of the Division I record for women held by Stanford’s Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer, who is at 1139. Her defending NCAA champion Cardinal is set to host Arizona State Friday in a PAC-12 game.

“DePaul came at us in the second quarter, gave us a punch and we took a step back,” he said. “Our players were surprised they were going to fight back.”

UConn is scheduled to visit Providence in the Big East at Rhode Island at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Durcharme, who has been the mainstay on keeping UConn’s (12-4, 7-0) overall record from being worse during the Huskies’ slew of either COVID protocol-caused absences or injuries, including consensus national player of the year, sophomore Paige Bueckers, who has now missed 10 games rehabbing a knee injury and ensuing surgery, had 19 points to up the visitors to 20 straight wins over DePaul.

Two of the absentees returned here Wednesday in Christyn Williamson (COVID), who scored 17 points, and freshman standout Azzi Fudd,who hadn’t played since a right foot injury on Nov. 22, but scored 15 points.

“Caroline got in some foul trouble, so if those two didn’t play, there’s no way that we could have won this game today,” Auriemma said.

Williams shot 7-for-12 from the field in her 32 plus minutes.

“I tried to hide it well, but I was a little winded today,” she said. “But it felt good really good to be back.”

The loss wasted another outstanding performance by DePaul freshman Aneesah Morrow, who had 30 points and 14 rebounds, but also had deal with some pain in her right knee that caused her to head to the dressing room during the third quarter.

“Aneesah Morrow is incredibly good at everything,” Auriemma observed. “I don’t know if there’s another player in our league who is playing any better right now.”

Sonya Morris scored 19 points for the Blue Demons, while Lexi Held and Darrione Rogers each scored 12 points.

“Just knowing that my teammates would need me, I had to push through,” said Morrow. “And then I’ll just have to be in recovery later.”

Said Morris of the loss, “We had them. We really missed the opportunity. So I think we’re really just going to learn from it and grow from it individually and as a team.

“We didn’t get stops at the end of the game. That’s a really tall and talented team, so it came down to heart over height. We all know we had this game and let it get away.”

DePaul was the more physical and aggressive team for 40 minutes, Auriemma noted.

“We’re in a place where we have a chance to be a very good team,” said DePaul coach Doug Bruno, who recently was announced as a finalist for the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductions this June in Knoxville, Tenn. “But to win games against really good teams, you have to make stops in crunch time.

“The best part of tonight was we came back twice when in the past, we might have walked away.”

DePaul hosts St. John’s Friday night at home in Chicago at Wintrust Arena on FSI.

Texas Tops Kansas State in Big 12 Battle of Ranked Teams: The No. 9 Longhorns at home in the Frank Erwin Center beat No. 25 Kansas State 66-48 with Lauren Ebo holding the visitors’ Ayoka Lee to 20 points after she set an NCAA record 61 against nationally-ranked Oklahoma Sunday, both in Big 12 games.

Texas (15-3, 5-2 Big 12) got 18 points from Aliyah Matharu in the Longhorns’ fourth straight win.  Kansas State (15-5, 5-3) had just gotten back into the AP Poll for the second time this season.

And that’s the report.