The Guru Report: Major Upset as Pink/D2-Kutztown Topples Heather Maroon/USciences From Last Unbeaten in Philly WBB Summer League At The Break

By Bob Heller and Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

HATBORO, Pa. - Defending champion Pink/D2-USciences Grads were stunned by Pink/D2-Kutztown 71-49 Thursday night, removing the last of the squads from a previous unbeaten record in the ten-team Philadelphia/Suburban Women’s Summer Basketball League at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades.

As the nine-game pre-playoff schedule on Tuesday and Thursday nights hit a July 4th week-long break, the Devils (5-1) still barely clung to the top, a game in front of the trio of Pink (4-2), Red/D2-Chestnut Hill (4-2), and Columbia/D2-Holy Family (4-2), while Purple/D2-West Chester (3-2), with a 74-69 loss to Columbia Blue slipped from second to fifth, 1.5 games behind in a tie with Black/D2-Jefferson (3-2).

The Jefferson bunch, which got off to a ragged start several weeks ago, won its third straight, climbing out of the seed squad spots that will send the bottom four teams to a first-round play-in doubleheader when the postseason begins at the end of the month.

Black, an easy 79-46 victor over winless Royal Blue/D3-Arcadia (0-6), and Purple, have each played one less off an early postponement but on Thursday night, July 14th, the end of the resumption week, they will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Court 3 in a makeup game.

Following the result, at 7:45 p.m. they will be heading to the regularly scheduled assignments,  Black will face Sun (2-4), one of two draft teams whose rosters are not dominated by players from a single school that competes in the winter, on Court 1 while Purple (3-2) will meet Kelly Green (3-3), the other Draft squad, will play on Court 2.

Thursday’s other results had Kelly Green top Orange/D3-Ursinus 57-48, dropped the losers to 1-4 in 9th, four games behind Heather Maroon and one ahead of Royal Blue.

Red beat Sun, 61-54.

Continuing her overall relentless attack on the baskets, and again from long-range, 2021 USciences grad Jess Huber out of North Penn High, for the fourth time in six games, reached the Guru’s individual 20 or more individual points, collecting 22 and for the third straight game hitting six 3-pointers in the loss to Pink. 

Huber was the sole player in the gym making the long-range connection and has now twice reached a league-high 24-point performance, the 22 on Thursday, and 20 against Sun in a season-opening win on June 14th.

Dana Bandurick of Swarthmore College out of Council Rock North on Kelly Green again just missed joining Huber, scoring 19 points.

Looking Ahead

When play resumes on Tuesday June 12th, off the compacted standings, at 6:30 p.m. Purple (3-2) meets Heather Maroon (4-2) on Court 1, while Black (3-2) meets Orange (1-5) on Court 2.

In the 7:45 p.m. trio of nightcaps, Pink (4-2) meets Kelly Green (3-3), while Red (4-2) plays Columbia Blue (4-2), a key matchup on Court 2, and Sun (2-4) plays Royal Blue (0-6).

Setting the Seeds

Again, even though not enough teams have met comparable foes, it’s possible to break ties for now and set how the playoff field would look if the postseason began now.

Heather Maroon is alone at the top with the number one seed at 5-1.

In the three-way tie for second, Pink has played the other two and won, thus being made the two seed.

Red and Columbia Blue, who, by the way, meet in the winner, competing in the South Division of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), as does Black, have yet to play each other and each has a best win over Purple, but Columbia Blue has a win over Black while Red has a loss, thus Columbia Blue for now is third and Red is fourth.

Purple and Black are tied, as mentioned, have yet to face each other, but Purple with a win over Pink, takes fifth and Black is sixth.

Kelly Green at .500 is seventh, while Sun, Orange, and Royal Blue all lost, but maintain the 8th, 9th, and 10th seeds, respectively.

If the playoffs began right now, 7-Kelly Green would meet 10-Royal Blue, while 8-Sun would meet 9-Orange in the opening doubleheaders.

A re-seed could be done for the quarterfinals, pending the opening winners, to determine who meets Heather Maroon, the top seed, and who meets secon-seeded Pink. Six-seed Black would meet three-seed Columbia Blue, while 5-seed Purple would face. 4-seed Red.

All that said, here’s Bob with the Recaps and then your Guru with the scoreboard following as always.

Recaps

Pink 71 Heather Maroon 49

 

In what is probably the biggest upset of the season thus far, Pink (Kutztown University) used two double digit runs, one in the first quarter to secure the lead and another in the third quarter to put the game out of reach as they handed previously unbeaten Heather Maroon (USciences Alumni +) 71-49.

Heather Maroon falls to 5-1 while Pink improves to 4-2.

Pink used a combination of hot shooting and a balanced scoring attack, placing five players in double figures. Annie Whalen led Pink with 13 points while Olivia Smelas added 12. Leila Hurley chipped in 11 points while Casey Remolde and Abby Goodrich had ten points apiece. 

Jess Huber was the only Maroon player in double figures, scoring 22 points with six three-point baskets. This was Huber’s third consecutive game with six three-point baskets and third straight game with 20 or more points.

Trailing 9-8 in the first quarter, Pink ran off 15 straight points to end the quarter to take a double digit lead 23-9. Whalen provided the initial spark, scoring five of the first seven points of the run while Smelas followed with three straight baskets. Hurley’s basket completed the run as the quarter ended.

Kate Connelly (Drexel University) broke the Pink run to open the second quarter, but Maroon was not able to bring the lead under double digits as the quarter progressed. Huber’s first three-ball of the game brought Maroon within 11 while pink responded with two straight baskets. Huber added two free throws late to make the score 31-20 at halftime.

Huber finally brought Maroon within nine with around 4:20 left in the third quarter with her third three-point bucket of the game, making the score 41-32. Pink followed with their second big run of the game, an 18-0 uprising to put the game out of reach 59-32 heading into the fourth quarter. Miranda Leibtag and Goodrich combined for 13 of the 18 points during the run.

Maroon would only come as close as 19 points in the fourth quarter as Pink settled in for the 22-point upset win.

 

Columbia Blue 74 Purple 69

In the other upset on the evening, second place Purple (West Chester University) relinquished a five-point lead heading into the final period as Columbia Blue (Holy Family University) recorded a 74-69 win

Columbia Blue improves to 4-2 with the win while Purple falls to 3-2.

Jessica Riepe led four Columbia Blue players in double figures with 13 points. Ava Morrow added 12 points while Skyler Searfoss and Carolyn Prevost chipped in ten points apiece. On the other side, Purple placed five players in double figures with Rachel Conran leading the way with five three-point baskets and 15 points. 

Kaziah Ross and Leah Johnson added 13 points apiece. Michelle Kozicki and Courtney Warley scored 12 and 11 points respectively.

Purple jumped out to a 10-2 lead to open the game and led by seven at the end of the first quarter and nine at halftime. Blue closed within five in the third quarter and trailed 59-54 heading into the final period.

Blue turned up the defensive pressure in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter while their offense started to click, turning a five-point deficit into a six-point lead with an 11-0 run. Riepe’s three pointer early in the run, gave Blue their first lead, 61-59 since they scored the first basket of the game to lead 2-0 in the opening minute.

Columbia  added two more baskets to lead 65-59. And increased the margin to 67-60 before Purple started an attempted comeback. A basket from Johnson and a free throw from Ross pulled Purple within four 67-63. The lead oscillated between four and six points until Warley’s bucket in the final minute made it a one-possession game 72-69. Searfoss sealed the win with two free throws with 15 seconds left.

 

Red 61 Sun 54

Red (Chestnut Hill College) kept pace with Pink and Columbia Blue, holding off Sun 61-54 in the one of the two early games Thursday night.

Red improves to 4-2 while Sun falls to 2-4.

Red, for the second consecutive game, was led by Morgan Orloski who scored 14 points. Lauren Crim made four three-pointers to join Orloski in double figures with 12 points.

Emily Violante (Gettysburg University) led Sun with 14 points while Samantha Brusha (Bloomsburg University) chipped in 12. Danielle McCurdy (University of Scranton) chipped in ten.

Lead changes occurred in all four quarters with Red starting the shuffling off with an 11-0 first quarter run to turn a 6-3 deficit into a 14-6 advantage en route to a 17-10 lead heading into the second quarter.

Sun outscored Red 14-6 to open the second quarter to take a 24-23 lead following a pair of free throws from Brusha. The lead was short-lived as Red countered with a 9-1 run to retake the lead, 32-25. Four different players scored for Red with Crim’s three-pointer putting her squad ahead 28-25. Red led 36-31 at the half. 

Orloski’s basket four minutes into the third quarter gave Red their biggest lead at the time, 42-33. 

Sun followed with an 11-0 run to retake the lead at 44-42 in the final minute of the period. Bri Hewlett (8 points) scored to tie the game heading at 44-44 heading into the fourth quarter.

Siobhan Boylan opened the fourth quarter with a three-point basket to put Red on top 47-44. Twice Sun pulled within one, the last at 49-48 before four straight Red points made it a five-point lead. Violante’s three pointer brought Sun within two 53-61 before back-to-back three-point baskets from Kait Carter (8 points) and Crim and a bucket from Boylan put the game out of reach, 61-51. McCurdy closed out the scoring for sun with a traditional three-point play to make the final score 61-54.

 

Kelly Green 57 Orange 48

Kelly Green got back on the winning track in their game Thursday against Orange (Ursinus College) with a 57-48 win, snapping a three game losing streak.

Kelly improves to 3-3 overall while Orange fall to 1-5.

Dana Bandurick (Swarthmore College) led all scorers with 19 points for the Green squad and was the only player on either team to reach double figures. Orange was led by Natalie Mehl and Ellie Mack (Oregon State grad) with nine points apiece.

Green held a nine point lead after one quarter, 24-15 with Bandurick scoring ten of her 19 points in the opening period. The Green squad produced three straight baskets late in the second quarter to take their biggest lead of the game 36-23 before a three-point basket by Kelly Grant brought Orange within ten at the half 36-26.

An 11-2 run in the third quarter by Green increased their lead to 47-28 before Orange started to chip away, scoring the final eight points in the period to trail 47-36 heading into the final quarter.

Molly Aromando’s basket four minutes into the fourth quarter made it a two possession game 49-43. Green countered with a 6-1 mini-run to take a 55-44 lead with 2:40 remaining. Two free throws from Charlotte Dilello and a basket by Sabrina Vlahovic (Plymouth University) cut the green lead to seven 55-48 with 1:10 left. 

Anna Hansson followed with a field goal with 42 seconds left to round out the scoring at 57-48.

 

Black 79 Royal Blue 46

The most lopsided game score, for the second consecutive night, involved Black (Jefferson University) as they cruised to a 79-46 win over Royal Blue (Arcadia University).

With their third straight win, Black improves to 3-2 while Royal Blue falls to 0-6.

Tori Nigro led Black with 16 points while Haley Meinel chipped in 14. Emily Keehfuss added 12. Delaney Bell led Royal Blue with 12 points while Scarlett Glasser-Neils and Hannah Rhoades had 11 points apiece.

Black scored the first six points of the game and led 19-9 at the end of the first quarter. Meinel and Nigro combinedfor 13 of Black’s 19 points in the period. 

Royal scored the first six points of the second quarter to pull within four 19-15 before getting outscored 17-4 the rest of the period to trail 36-19 at halftime. Seven different players scored at least one basket for Black.

Black again increased their lead in the third quarter, outscoring Royal 24-19, again with seven different players putting points on the board. 

The final quarter again saw Black increasing their lead, this time with defense, holding Royal to just eight fourth quarter points while scoring 19 of their own to record their second straight win of 30 or more points 79-46.

Standings

 

(Thru Monday, July 11th)

 

Team    W  L  PCT.   GB    PF  PA

 

Heather Maroon  5 1 .833. — 344 304

Pink  4 2  .667 1 334 286  

Columbia Blue  4 2 .667 1 372 337

Red  4 2  .667 1 381 310

Purple  3 2 .600 1.5 362 311

Black  3 2 .600 1.5 307 247  

Kelly Green  3 3 .500.  2 334 333

Sun  2 4 .333  3 324 339

Orange  1 5 .167 4 309 412 

Royal Blue  0 6 .000 5 316 450

 Players Scoring 20 or More Points

24-Jess Huber, Heather Maroon, W, vs. Orange, June 28

24-Jess Huber, Heather Maroon, W, vs. Kelly Green, June 23 

24-Annie Whalen, Pink, W, vs. Red, June 21

24-Natalie Mehl, Orange, L, vs. Sun, June 21

22-Jess Huber, Heather Maroon, L, vs. Pink, June 30

21-Siobhan Boylan, Red, W, vs. Purple, June 21

20-Leah Johnson, Purple, W, vs. Royal Blue, June 23

20 -Jess Huber, Heather Maroon, W, vs. Sun, June 14

Phila/Suburban Women’s Summer Basketball League 

Running Results/Advance Schedule

Thursday, June 30

Red 61, Sun 54

Black 79, Royal Blue 46

Columbia Blue 74, Purple 69

Pink 71, Heather Maroon 49

Kelly Green 57, Orange 48

 

Tuesday, June 28

Purple 74, Sun 53

Heather Maroon 68, Orange 42

Pink 55, Columbia Blue 53

Red 83, Royal Blue 60

Black 82, Kelly Green 50

Thursday, June 23

Columbia Blue 76, Orange 51

Heather Maroon 69, Kelly Green 51

Sun 56, Pink 47

Purple 87, Royal Blue 67

Black 48, Red 39

Tuesday, June 21

Heather Maroon 53, Black 45

Pink 63, Royal Blue 50

Red 71, Purple 51

Columbia Blue 51, Kelly Green 48

Sun 75, Orange 62

 Thursday, June 16

Kelly Green 51, Sun 50

Pink 52, Red 51

Orange 61, Royal Blue 50

Heather Maroon 61, Columbia Blue 59 ovt.

Purple vs. Black, postponed to July 14

 

Tuesday, June 14

Columbia Blue 59, Black 53

Kelly Green 77, Royal Blue 33

Red 76, Orange 45

Heather Maroon 44, Sun 36

Purple 56, Pink 45

 

Looking Ahead

Tuesday, July 5 

No Games - Holiday Break

Thursday, July 7

No Games - Holiday Break

Tuesday, July 12

 

Early Games (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Purple (3-2) vs. Heather Maroon (5-1)

Court 2: Black (3-2) vs. Orange (1-5)

 

Late Games (7:45 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Pink (4-2) vs. Kelly Green (3-3)

Court 2: Red (4-2) vs. Columbia Blue (4-2)

Court 3: Sun (2-4) vs. Royal Blue (0-6)

Thursday, July 14

Early Games (6:30 p.m.)

Court 1: Orange vs. Pink

Court 2: Columbia Blue vs. Royal Blue

Court 3: Purple vs. Black - makeup from 6-16.

Late Games (7:45 p.m.)

Court 1: Sun vs. Black

Court 2: Kelly Green vs. Purple

Court 3: Heather Maroon vs. Red

Tuesday, July 19

 

Regular Season Ends

 

Early Games (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Red vs. Kelly Green

Court 2: Pink vs. Black

 

Late Games (7:45 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Royal Blue vs. Heather Maroon

Court 2:  Purple vs. Orange

Court 3: Columbia Blue vs. Sun

Playoffs

Thursday, July 21

Round 1 Play-In 

Court 1

6:30 p.m. 7th seed vs. 10th Seed

7:45 p.m. 8th seed vs. 9th seed

Tuesday, July 26th

 

Playoffs Quarterfinals

 

Early Games (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Lowest seed survivor vs. 1st seed

Court 2: 6th seed vs. 3rd seed

 

Late Games (7:45 p.m.)

Court 1: Highest seed survivor vs. 2nd seed

Court 2: 5th seed vs. 4th seed

 

Thursday, July 28th

 

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

 

Tuesday, August 2

 

Playoff Championship

 

Tipoff: 7 p.m.

 

Court 1 : Semifinal Winners

 

Playoff Seed Tracker (Setting the Spots)

 

Heather Maroon/D2-USciences Grads (5-1) vs. Sun-W; vs. CB-W; vs. Blk-W vs. KG-W; vs. Or-W; vs. Pk-L vs. Pur-G7; vs. Red-G8 vs. RB-G9

 

Pink/D2-Kutztown (4-2) vs. Pur-L; vs. Red-W; vs. RB-W; vs. Sun-L; vs. CB-W; vs. HM-W; vs. KG-G7; vs. Or-G8; vs. Blk-G9

Columbia Blue/D2-Holy Family (4-2) vs. Blk-W; vs. HM-L; vs. KG-W; vs. Or-W; vs. Pk-L; vs. Pur-W; vs. Red-G7; vs. RB-G8; vs. Sun-G9

Red/D2-Chestnut Hill (4-2) vs. Or-W; vs. Pk-L; vs. Pur-W; vs. Blk-L; vs. RB-W; vs. Sun-W; vs. CB-G7; vs; HM-G8; vs. KG-G9

Purple/D2-West Chester (3-2) vs. Pk-W; vs. Blk-Ppd; vs. Red-L; vs. RB-W; vs. Sun-W; vs. CB-L; vs. HM-G7; vs. KG-G8; vs. Or-G9

Black/D2-Jefferson (3-2) vs. CB-L; vs. Pur-Ppd.; vs. HM-L; vs. Red-W; vs. KG-W; vs. RB-W; vs. Or-G7; vs. Sun-G8; vs. Pk-G9 

Kelly Green/Draft-1 (3-3) vs. RB-W: vs. Sun-W; vs. CB-L; vs. H.M.-L; vs. Blk-L; vs. Or-W; vs. Pk-G7; vs. Pur-G8; vs. Red-G9

Sun/Draft-2 (2-4) vs. HM-L; vs. KG-L; vs. Or-W; vs. Pk-W; vs. Pur-L; vs. Red-L; vs. RB-G7; vs. Blk-G8; vs. CB-G9

 Orange/D3-Ursinus (1-4) vs. Red-L; vs. RB-W; vs. Sun-L; vs CB-L; vs. HM-L; vs. KG-G6; vs. Blk-G7; vs. Pk-G8; vs. Pur-G9

Royal Blue/D3-Arcadia (0-6) vs. KG-L; Or-L; vs. Pk-L; vs. Pur-L; vs. Red-L; vs. Blk-L; vs. Sun-G7; vs. CB-G8; vs. HM-G9

Codes: Blk-Black; CB-Columbia Blue; HM-Heather Maroon; KG-Kelly Green; Or-Orange; Pk-Pink; Pur-Purple; Red-Red; RB-Royal Blue; Sun-Sun; D2-NCAA II; D3-NCAA III

G1 G2 etc. Game numbers which after played will switch to a W-win or L-loss for quick who-beat-who calculation in tie-breaks.

 

 Team By Team Regular Season Schedules/Results

Site/Time Codes:EC1- Early 6:30 p.m. Court 1;  LC1 - Late 7:45 p.m. Court 1; and thus EC2, LC2; LC3

Dates: Week 1 - G1-June 14; G2- June 16

Week 2 - G3-June 21; G4 - June 23

Week 3 - G5-June 28; G6 - June 30

Week 4 - G7-July 12; G8-July 14

Week 5 -G9- July 19

 

Black/D2-Jefferson (3-2)

June 14: vs. Columbia Blue, L - 53-59

June 16: vs. Purple, ppd. to July 14, EC3

Jun 21: vs. Heather Maroon, L - 45-53

June 23: vs. Red, W - 48-39

June 28: vs. Kelly Green, W - 82-50

June 30: vs. Royal Blue, W - 79-46

July 5: Dark:

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Orange, EC2

July 14: vs. Purple, EC3, ppd., from June 16

July 14: vs. Sun, LC1

July 19: vs. Pink, EC2

 

Columbia Blue/D2-Holy Family (4-2)

June 14: vs. Black, W - 59-53

June 16: vs. Heather Maroon, L - 59-61 ovt.

Jun 21: vs. Kelly Green, W - 51-48

June 23:  vs. Orange, W - 76-51

June 28: vs. Pink, L - 53-55

June 30: vs. Purple, W - 74-69

July 5: Dark:

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Red, LC2

July 14: vs. Royal Blue, EC2

July 19: vs. Sun, LC3

 

Heather Maroon/USciences Grads (5-1)

June 14: vs. Sun, W - 44-36

June 16: vs. Columbia Blue, W - 61-59, ovt.

Jun 21: vs. Black, W - 53-45

June 23: vs. Kelly Green, W - 69-51

June 28: vs. Orange, W - 68-42

June 30: vs. Pink, L - 49-71

July 5: Dark:

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Purple, EC1

July 14: vs. Red, LC3

July 19: vs. Royal Blue, LC1

 

Kelly Green/Draft Team-1 (3-3)

June 14: vs. Royal Blue, W - 77-33

June 16: vs. Sun, W - 51-50

Jun 21: vs. Columbia Blue, L - 48-51

June 23: vs. Heather Maroon, L - 51-69

June 28: vs. Black, L - 50-82

June 30: vs. Orange, W - 57-48

July 5: Dark:

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Pink, LC1

July 14: vs. Purple, LC2

July 19: vs. Red, EC1

Orange/D3 - Ursinus (1-5)

June 14: vs. Red, L - 45-76

June 16: vs. Royal Blue, W - 61-60

Jun 21: vs. Sun, L - 62-75

June 23: vs. Columbia Blue, L - 51-76

June 28: vs. Heather Maroon, L - 42-68

June 30: vs. Kelly Green, L - 48-57

July 5: Dark:

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Black, EC2

July 14: vs. Pink, EC1

July 19: vs. Purple, LC2

 

Pink/D2-Kutztown (4-2)

June 14: vs. Purple, L - 46-57

June 16: vs. Red, W - 52-51

Jun 21: vs. Royal Blue, W - 63-50

June 23: vs. Sun, L - 47-56

June 28: vs. Columbia Blue, W - 55-53

June 30: vs. Heather Maroon, W - 71-49

July 5: Dark: 

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Kelly Green, LC1

July 14: vs. Orange, EC1

July 19: vs. Black, EC2

 

Purple/D2-West Chester (3-2)

June 14: vs. Pink, W - 57-46

June 16: vs. Black, LC1, ppd. to July 14, EC3

Jun 21: vs. Red, L - 51-71

June 23: vs. Royal Blue, W - 87-67

June 28: vs. Sun, W - 74-53

June 30: vs. Columbia Blue, L - 69-74

July 5: Dark:

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Heather Maroon, EC1

July 14: vs. Black, EC3, ppd., from June 16

July 14: vs. Kelly Green, LC2

July 19: vs. Orange, LC2

Red/D2-Chestnut Hill (4-2)

June 14: vs. Orange, W - 76-45

June 16: vs. Pink, L - 51-52

Jun 21: vs. Purple, W - 71-51

June 23: vs. Black, L - 39-48

June 28: vs. Royal Blue, W - 83-60

June 30: vs. Sun, W - 61-54

July 5: Dark:

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Columbia Blue, LC2

July 14: vs. Heather Maroon, LC3

July 19: vs. Kelly Green, EC1

Royal Blue/D3-Arcadia (0-6)

June 14: vs. Kelly Green, L - 33-77

June 16: vs. Orange,  L - 60-61

Jun 21: vs. Pink, L - 50-63

June 23: vs. Purple, L - 67-87

June 28: vs. Red, L - 60-83

June 30: vs. Black, L - 46-79

July 5: Dark:

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Sun, LC3

July 14: vs. Columbia Blue, EC2 

July 19: vs. Heather Maroon, LC1

Sun/Draft Team-2 (2-4)

June 14: vs. Heather Maroon, L - 36-44

June 16: vs. Kelly Green, L 50-51

Jun 21: vs. Orange, W - 75-62

June 23: vs. Pink, W - 56-47

June 28: vs. Purple, L - 53-74

June 30: vs. Red, L - 54-61

July 5: Dark:

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Royal Blue, LC3

July 14: vs. Black, LC1

July 19: vs.  Columbia Blue, LC3