The Guru Report: Defending Champs Heather Maroon, Columbia Blue, and Purple Hold The Top Three Slots as Week Two Concludes in Philly Summer League

By Bob Heller and Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

HATBORO, Pa. — Unlike a week ago when all five games were determined by a point in four regulation affairs and a two-pointer in overtime, everything was clear cut at the finish, Thursday night, the closest being a pair of nine-point separation contests here in the Philadelphia/Suburban Women’s Basketball Summer League at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades.

In those games, the Black/D2 Jefferson unit got their first win of the summer, a 48-39 triumph over Reds/D2 Chestnut Hill, playing a wintertime rival in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) South Division., while Sun, the second of two draft team squads whose rosters are not dominated by a particular school, took down Pink/D2 Kutztown 56-47.

In the other three games, defending champion Heather Maroon, the grad unit out of D2 USciences, handled Kelly Green, the other draft unit, 69-51, while Columbia Blue/D2 Holy Family won 76-51 over Orange/D3 Ursinus, 76-51, and Purple/D2 West Chester topped winless Royal Blue/D3 Arcadia, 87-67.

Black and Purple postponed their regularly scheduled contest and will make it up on July 14th in an early contest on Court 3 at 6:30 p.m. before each playing their regularly scheduled contest as part of the triple-event at 7:45 p.m., on Courts 1, 2, and three.

The action set a clear 1-2-3 leadership brigade at the top of the standings, Heather Maroon, the last unbeaten at 4-0, one-short of the halfway point on the nine-game schedule, is in first black, followed by Columbia Blue/D2 Holy Family at 3-1, the setback, the two-pointer in overtime to Heather Maroon, while Purple/D2 West Chester is third at 2-1, a half-game behind second.

Four teams are tied for fourth at 2-2 .500, trailing the top two spots by two and one games, Kelly Green, Pink, Red, and Sun, with the rear brought up by Black at 1-2, Orange at 1-3, and Royal Blue (0-4).

Just two players reached the individual scoring bar of 20 or more points, Jess Huber, who scored 20 on opening night, this time matching the league high 24 points scored by Pink’s Annie Whalen, a Wood grad and Kutztown junior, and Natalie Mehl, an Ursinus junior.

West Chester’s Leah Johnson on Purple, scored 20 in her team’s easy win.

Notes

These are from David Kessler, now in his 28th season running the competition which concludes with the championship game on Aug. 2.

Team Red, the D2 Chestnut Hill squad that had its best regular season, produced a grade point average of 3.69, for the spring semester, 12 players gaining at least 3.60.

Recent grad Brianna Hewlett of the team was named the female scholar athlete of the year by the Central Atlantic Collegiate Collegiate Conference (CACC). She follows Heather Maroon/USciences’ winner for 2021, Irisa Ye, and both were teammates at North Penn High.

Breaking Ties

Though it is uneven at the moment because not everyone in the deadlock has played each other, for now, here is how the four-way crunch at fourth at 2-2 would land as seeds if the season ended now, with the six other teams mentioned earlier holding spots 1-3 and 8-10.

Kelly Green at 1-0 within the group and a win over Sun would be fourth, while Sun and Pink at 1-1 goes into fifth and sixth, a head-to-head win by Sun determining the order.

That leaves Red at 0-1, a loss to Pink, in the seventh slot. The play-in games would have Pink meeting 10th Royal Blue, while eighth-Black would meet ninth-Orange.

Looking Ahead

The first part of Week 3 on Tuesday, the last week before the league goes dark for two nights during the July 4th holiday week, will see the early games Heather Maroon (4-0) meeting Orange (1-3) on Court 1 at 6:30 p.m., while on Court 2 Sun (2-2) will face Purple (2-1).

In the nightcaps at 7:45 p.m., Pink (2-2) faces Columbia Blue (3-1) on Court 1; Red (2-2) faces Royal Blue (0-4) on Court 2, and Kelly Green (2-2) plays Black (1-2).

Now here’s Bob with the details on Thursday’s action.

Recaps

Columbia Blue 76   Orange 51

Columbia Blue (Holy Family University) placed four players in double figures as they cruised to a 76-51 win over Orange (Ursinus College).

 

With the win, Columbia Blue moves into sole possession of second place in the league standings with a 3-1 record. Orange falls to 1-3.

Claire Dougherty led the Blue squad with 19 points while Jennifer Kokolus added 18.  Lindsey Tretter chipped in 16 points while Ava Morrow had 10.  

 Ellie Mack (Oregon State ’22), making her debut, led Orange with ten points, while Natalie Mehl chipped in nine.

Blue used a 16-4 run at the end of the first quarter to turn a tied game into a 23-11 lead with Tretter’s traditional three-point play pushing the lead to double figures.  

Another big run to start the second quarter, this one a 16-6 uprising pushed the lead to 22 points 39-17.  

Blue expanded the lead to 23, 46-23 following a Tretter three pointer. 

 

Orange opened the third quarter with a 6-2 to cut the lead to 19 but that would be as close as they would get as Blue pushed the lead to 24 by the end of the third quarter and as high as 28 in the fourth quarter before settling in for 25-point win.

 

Heather Maroon 69   Kelly Green 51

In the other early game, Heather Maroon (Usciences Alumni +) used a 25-point second quarter outburst then turned on the defense holding Kelly Green to just four third quarter points as the Maroon squad remained undefeated with a 69-51.

Heather Maroon improves to 4-0 and is the lone undefeated team remaining in the league.  

Kelly Green falls into a four way tie for fourth place at 2-2 with the loss.

Maroon’s Jess Huber led all scorers with 24 points (six three-point baskets), all in the first half. 

Irisa Ye and Allie Crone (Cornell ’10) added 17 and 11 points respectively, while Dana Bandurick (Swarthmore ’24) and Alexa Naessens (Colgate ’22), each scored 14 points, Bandurick going 8-for 10 from the line, and Anna Hansson (Swarthmore ’26) added ten points.

The first quarter remained close with Maroon opening up a seven point lead 18-11 following a Huber three-ball but Green rallied back with nine straight points to take a 20-18 lead heading into the second quarter.

Ye’s basket at the 6:30 mark put Maroon ahead for good and started a 22-5 run capped off by a Ye three-point basket and giving Maroon a 45-28 lead.  

Hansson scored two baskets in the final minute to cut the Maroon lead to 11 at the half, 45-34.

Maroon’s defense held Kelly Green to four third quarter points as they increased their lead to 21 at the end of three quarters 59-38.  

Maroon’s lead oscillated between 17 and 23 points throughout the fourth quarter. 

Dayna Balasa’s three point basket in the final minute pushed the lead back to 20, 69-49 before Hansson scored her final points of the game to make the final score 69-51.

Sun 56 Pink 47

In what turned out to be the closest game of the evening, Sun took control of the contest in the third quarter and held off a late rally from Pink (Kutztown) to win their second straight game 56-47.

Sun and Pink are both 2-2 overall after the first two weeks of the season and sit in a four way tie for fourth place in the league standings.

Dom Moser (Del Val ’23) led Sun with 12 points while Jasmine Elum (Bethune Cookman ’12) chipped in 11.  

Annie Whalen was the only Pink player in double figures with 13 points.

Three first quarter lead changes saw yellow hold a narrow 12-11 edge heading into the second quarter. 

 Pink’s Bella Arcuri tied the game at 14-14 before Sun responded with a 14-5 run capped by a Kiersten Hostetter (Shenandoah ’26) basket to lead 28-19 with just over two minutes remaining.  

Casey Remolde and Whalen closed out the quarter with baskets for Pink to close the gap to 28-24 at halftime.

Five straight third quarter points from Pink gave the Kutztown group their first lead since early in the first quarter 29-28. 

Sun countered with a 9-0 spurt, again capped by a Hostetter basket to regain the lead 37-29.  

Caitlin Priore opened the fourth quarter with a basket, increasing Sun’s lead to ten 43-33 before two straight baskets from Pink cut the lead to six 43-37. 

 An 11-0 run from Sun put the draft team squad in control 54-37 midway through the final quarter but Pink had one more run left, closing out the game with a 10-2 spurt to make the score respectable but not enough to pull out the win, falling by nine 56-47.

 

Purple 87  Royal Blue 67

Coming off a 20-point loss on Tuesday, Purple (West Chester University) turned things around and produced a 20-point win, defeating Royal Blue (Arcadia University) 87-67.

Purple’s 87 points is the most points scored by a team in the first two weeks of the 2022 Summer League season.  

They move into third place with a 2-1 record.  Royal falls to 0-4.

Four players reached double figures for Purple, led by Leah Johnson’s 20 points. Alexa Abbonizio added 16 points (three three-pointers) while Anna McTamney and Briana Seltzer chipped in 14 and 13 respectively.  

Royal Blue also had four players reach double figures as Delaney Bell led the squad with 14 points.  

Kyle Meredith and Hannah Rhoades had 13 points apiece and Ally Zolty chipped in 11.

The game was close in the first quarter with four lead changes and two ties before Purple forged an 18-16 lead after one quarter with McTamney scoring ten of her 14 points in the first ten minutes.

Purple gradually opened the lead in the second quarter, outscoring Royal 20-14 to take a 38-30 lead at the half. 

Johnson put Purple up by ten at one point 33-23 before Royal cut the lead to six.  

Valerie McGriff’s basket as the quarter was ending pushed the lead back to eight at the break.

Royal stayed within striking distance in the third quarter, never falling behind by more than ten points  but still trailed by eight 55-47 heading into the final ten minutes of action.

Purple, however exploded for 32 points in the fourth quarter with Abbonizio scoring 13 points in the period and Johnson adding six. 

 Leading by just 12 with 2:30 left, Purple closed out the game on a 13-5 run to earn the 20-point win.

 

Black 48  Red 39

Black (Thomas Jefferson University) earned their first win of the season, defeating a short-handed Red (Chestnut Hill College) squad 48-39 in one of the late games Thursday.

The Black squad improves to 1-2 and sits in eighth place while Red, who were without two of their taller players, dropped to 2-2 and sit in a four-way tie for fourth place.

The two teams each placed one player in double figures with Tori Nigro leading Black with 12 points and Avery White leading Red with 13. 

 Both players will be incoming freshman at their respective schools in the fall.

Black took a five point lead into the second quarter but Red promptly erased the deficit with three point baskets from Siobhan Boylan and White to lead 13-12. 

 Another White basket gave Red a three-point lead before Black rallied with an 8-4 mini run to retake the lead 20-19.  

Morgan Sterner gave the lead back to Red 21-20 before Black scored the final six points of the quarter to lead 26-21 at the half.

Morgan Robinson’s basket put Black up 32-24 in the third quarter before Red baskets from Lindsey Lane and White cut the deficit in half 32-28.  

Black countered with an 8-0 run to open up a double-digit lead 40-28  and led 42-39 on Nigro’s basket late in the quarter.  Abbey Spratt added a layup in the final seconds to close the deficit to nine 42-31 heading into the final ten minutes of action.

Neither team mustered a lot of offense in the fourth quarter with Black outscoring Red 6-4 over the first seven minutes of the quarter.  Sara Tamoun and White scored Red’s final two baskets as Black hung on for the nine point win. 

Standings

 

(Thru Thursday, June 23rd)

 

Team        W  L  PCT.   GB    PF  PA

 

Heather Maroon  4 0 1.000. — 227 191

Columbia Blue  3 1 .750 1 245 213

Purple  2 1 .667 1.5 219 184

Kelly Green  2 2 .500.  2 227 203

Sun  2 2 .500  2 217 204

Pink  2 2  .500 2  208 214  

Red  2 2  .500 2 237 196

Black  1 2 .500 2.5 146 151  

Orange  1 3 .250 3 219 287 

Royal Blue  0 34.000 4 210 288

 Players Scoring 20 or More Points

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

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 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, June 28

 

Early Games (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Orange (1-3) vs. Heather Maroon (4-0)

Court 2: Sun (2-2) vs. Purple (2-1)

 Late Games (7:45 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Pink (2-2) vs. Columbia Blue (3-1)

Court 2: Red (2-2) vs. Royal Blue (0-4)

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

 

Thursday, June 30

 

Early Games (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Sun vs. Red

Court 2: Columbia Blue vs. Purple

Late Games (7:45 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Royal Blue vs. Black

Court 2: Heather Maroon vs. Pink

Court 3: Kelly Green vs. Orange

 

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 vs. Heather Maroon

Court 2: Black vs. Orange

 

Late Games (7:45 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Pink vs. Kelly Green

Court 2: Red vs. Columbia Blue

Court 3: Sun vs. Royal Blue

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 (4-0) vs. Sun-W; vs. CB-W; vs. Blk-W vs. KG-W; vs. Or-G5; vs. Pk-G6 vs. Pur-G7; vs. Red-G8 vs. RB-G9

 

Columbia Blue/D2-Holy Family (3-1) vs. Blk-W; vs. HM-L; vs. KG-W; vs. Or-W; vs. Pk-G5; vs. Pur-G6; vs. Red-G7; vs. RB-G8; vs. Sun-G9

Purple/D2-West Chester (2-1) vs. Pk-W; vs. Blk-Ppd; vs. Red-L; vs. RB-W; vs. Sun-G5; vs. CB-G6; vs. HM-G7; vs. KG-G8; vs. Or-G9

Kelly Green/Draft-1 (2-2) vs. RB-W: vs. Sun-W; vs. CB-L; vs. H.M.-L; vs. Blk-G5; vs. Or-G6; vs. Pk-G7; vs. Pur-G8; vs. Red-G9

Sun/Draft-2 (2-2) vs. HM-L; vs. KG-L; vs. Or-W; vs. Pk-W; vs. Pur-G5; vs. Red-G6; vs. RB-G7; vs. Blk-G8; vs. CB-G9

Pink/D2-Kutztown (2-2) vs. Pur-L; vs. Red-W; vs. RB-W; vs. Sun-L; vs. CB-G5; vs. HM-G6; vs. KG-G7; vs. Or-G8; vs. Blk-G9

Red/D2-Chestnut Hill (2-2) vs. Or-W; vs. Pk-L; vs. Pur-W; vs. Blk-L; vs. RB-G5; vs. Sun-G6; vs. CB-G7; vs; HM-G8; vs. KG-G9

 Black/D2-Jefferson (1-2) vs. CB-L; vs. Pur-Ppd.; vs. HM-L; vs. Red-W; vs. KG-G5; vs. RB-G6; vs. Or-G7; vs. Sun-G8; vs. Pk-G9 

Orange/D3-Ursinus (1-3) vs. Red-L; vs. RB-W; vs. Sun-L; vs CB-L; vs. HM-G5; vs. KG-G6; vs. Blk-G7; vs. Pk-G8; vs. Pur-G9

Royal Blue/D3-Arcadia (0-4) vs. KG-L; Or-L; vs. Pk-L; vs. Pur-L; vs. Red-G5; vs. Blk-G6; 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 (1-2)

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, LC3

June 30: vs. Royal Blue, LC1

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 (3-1)

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, LC1

June 30: vs. Purple, EC2

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 (4-0)

June 14: vs. Sun, W - 44-36

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

Jun 21: vs. Black, 53-45

June 23: vs. Kelly Green, W - 69-51

June 28: vs. Orange, EC1

June 30: vs. Pink, LC2

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 (2-2)

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, LC3

June 30: vs. Orange, LC3

July 5: Dark:

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Pink, LC1

July 14: vs. Purple, LC2

July 19: vs. Red, EC1

Orange/D3 - Ursinus (1-3)

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, EC1

June 30: vs. Kelly Green LC3

July 5: Dark:

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Black, EC2

July 14: vs. Pink, EC1

July 19: vs. Purple, LC2

 

Pink/D2-Kutztown (2-2)

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, LC1

June 30: vs. Heather Maroon, LC2

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 (2-1)

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, EC2

June 30: vs. Columbia Blue, EC2

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 (2-2)

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, LC2

June 30: vs. Sun, EC1

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 (0-4)

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, LC2

June 30: vs. Black, LC1

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 (2-2)

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, EC2

June 30: vs. Red, EC1

July 5: Dark:

July 7: Dark:

July 12: vs. Royal Blue, LC3

July 14: vs. Black, LC1

July 19: vs.  Columbia Blue, LC3