The Guru Report: Freshman Sawyer Shines Again In Penn Win Over La Salle; No. 1 South Carolina Rallies at Home to Beat No. 15 UCLA

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA — Here at Tom Gola Arena, on the visiting side, Penn turned over a new leaf, getting back on the winning track on the season and Tuesday night in the Big Five, while La Salle on Giving Day coughed up 21 points on turnovers as the Quakers prevailed 72-59.

In the process in the City Series, Penn (2-5, 1-2 Big Five) got its first win in the local round robin since the 2019-20 season. 

Formal competition did not occur in the 2020-21 season because the Quakers’ season was cancelled along with the rest of the Ivy schools by league presidents because of the pandemic while last season penn struggled through more Covid-19 issues along with an eight-game penalty assessed to the seniors.

The developing story was also the play of freshman Simone Sawyer, following up a breakout game in a competitive loss at Southern Cal surpassing it with 24 points on 9-for-18 from the field, seven rebounds, and four assists, giving the opposition someone else to think about besides zeroing in on senior point guard Kayla Padillia.

“I thought Southern Cal, the way we played, the way we competed, set a standard for the capabilities of this group, and now can we do it over and over again,” said Penn coach Mike McLaughlin.

Schedule wise an opportunity is coming to do that thanks to the Ivy schedule makers front loading Penn when league play begins, thus keeping the Quakers home in The Palestra their next ten dates, beginning Thursday, when Stony Brook visits at 7 p.m.

As for Sawyer, McLaughlin said, “What can I say, Simone Sawyer can make a play out of nothing. Kayla needed a link to help her, and playing 37 minutes against the press, she’s about as good a player as I’ve seen.”

Sawyer said of her own performances her teammates are part of them.

“Our team is coming together,” she said. “I know we lost a few tough ones out West, but we’re coming back and this is a team win, which is really good. We came out today really aggressive, like I said, we had some tough losses, but we really came back.”

Jordan Obi had 20 points, shooting 10-for-13 from the field for the winners, while Padilla scored 10 with seven rebounds. Floor Toonders continues to add production, grabbing 10 rebounds. 

“It was giving Tuesday, we gave up the ball 22 times,” said La Salle coach Mountain MacGillivray. “You probably have to take better shots if you want them to fall and Penn did a job in their zone, they were active in the man, but I think we’re capable of performing much better than this.”

There were some bright spots for La Salle (5-3, 0-1) in its debut Big Five contest with Gabby Crawford scoring 17 points, shooting 7-for-15 from the field, while Charity Shears was 5-for-10, including 3of-8 from deep, and Claire Jacobs scored 10 with seven rebounds, and Kayla Spruill scored nine.

Veteran guard Molly Masciantonio is considered “activated” from her injury but did not play and MacGillivray believes the squad has enough talent to have played better as wins in Alaska and at Lafayette on the road have shown.

La Salle next hosts Lehigh here Saturday at 2 p.m., the game airing on ESPN+ as the Penn-Stony Brook will do likewise.

Nationally noted: In the wake of the tournament heavy holiday weekend, the headline says it all about what went on locally and nationally before things pick back up on Wednesday night.

For Dawn Staley and her reigning NCAA champion and No. 1 South Carolina squad, the news was good on two fronts. 

Her Gamecocks overcame a 10-point deficit to down No. 15 UCLA at home in Columbia 73-64. More important, reigning national player of the year Aliyah Boston, who was sidelined early in Sunday’s win over Hampton and seen in a walking boot afterwards, was back in health and picked up 18 points, 10 rebounds, and blocked four shots.

It was the 17th straight win over a ranked opponent for South Carolina (7-0) in delivering the Bruins (7-1) their first loss of the season.

Boston has now rang up 65 career double-doubles, 32 against ranked squads in her four seasons in Columbia.

Kierra Fletcher, a transfer from Georgia Tech, also had a double-double for the home team with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Kamilla Cardoso, who transferred in from Syracuse a season ago, had 16 points, her season best, and nine rebounds, besides slamming five of USC’s 15 blocked shots.

The outcome was still in doubt through three quarters, tied 47 all, and then the Gamecocks moved ahead to stay when Zia Cooke scored with 5:37 left in regulation.

Bruins star Charisma Osborne had 24 points and newcomer Kiki Rice scored 16.

Looking Ahead: Wednesday’s local slate in plentiful with Temple looks for a second straight season win visiting Old Dominion at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+, Drexel on the same network plays at Longwood, in a local on both sides, Lehigh is at Rider in the Broncs’ Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J., playing on ESPN+ at 5 p.m., the front end of a doubleheader with a men’s game; Lafayette hosts UMBC at 6 p.m. on ESPN+, Delaware hosts its annual Route 1 in-state rivalry with Delaware State at 7 p.m. carried by Flohoops.

Penn State and Rutgers are part of the first of two nights in the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge, which ends next season and then the ACC will engage in playing Southeastern Conference schools in a similar arrangement announced Monday.

Rutgers will visit Boston College at 6:30 p.m. on the ACCNX subscription network, while Penn State, off t a 7-0 best in a long time start, hosts Virginia at 7 p.m. on the B1G+ network.

Other first night matches nationally have a nationally ranked battle, Louisville hosting Ohio State at 7:30 p.m. on the ACC network; likewise the same will air Illinois at Pittsburgh at 5 p.m.; Syracuse visits Purdue at 6 p.m. on the B1G network, which will also air Minnesota hosting Wake Forest at 8.

On Thursday, in which the Penn-Stony Brook game at the Palestra and Saint Joseph’s hosting Boston U, the Hawks off to a 6-0 start, are the only locals, eight more of the challenge series will occur.

A nationally-ranked clash has Notre Dame hosting Maryland at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2; Northwestern is at Duke on the ACC network at 5 p.m., while Nebraska is at nationally-ranked Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. on the ACC Network;

Another nationally-ranked clash carried by ESPN2 has NC State trying to get back in the Top 10 visiting No. 10 Iowa at 8:30 p.m.

The remainder had Miami hosting Michigan at 9 p.m. on the ACC Network; another national marquee game, this one Top 10 with  Indiana hosting North Carolina at 6 p.m. on the B1G channel; with the remainder being Wisconsin hosting Florida State at 7:30 p.m. on the B1G+ subscription network, and the main B1G channel airing Michigan State hosting Georgia Tech at 8 p.m.

Another Thursday game of note has Columbia off its winning Miami’s tourney traveling in-state a little ways north to visit Marist at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

And that’s your report.

The Guru National Report: UConn Rallies Over Iowa; Big Wins From UNC; Towson and Columbia

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

The long marathon of holiday tournaments the past several days came to an entertaining end Sunday at various places across the country, the remaining burst to come in a few weeks after finals period just before Christmas.

Looking at highlights, the Guru starts at the two big tourneys that were in pure playoff format in the Northwest, each baring the name of Nike founder Phil Knight in Portland, Ore.

In the Phil Knight Legacy tourney, No. 3 UConn suffered a second-quarter surge from No. 9 Iowa, but star Azzi Fudd and the Huskies pushed back in the second half to take an 86-79 win in the championship.

Iowa (5-2), the Big Ten favorite, had been in the top five at the outset of the season until an upset loss to then-unranked Kansas State dropped the Hawkeyes to ninth and now they will fall further.

Featuring top national stars on both teams, on the UConn (5-0) side, Fudd finished with 24 points, including four shots from deep, the bulk all after the half. Aaliyah Edwards had 20 points, 13, rebounds, and six assists, while Nika Muhl dealt 13 assists.

Other Huskies in double figures were Lou Lopez-Senechal with 11 points and five rebounds, while Caroline Ducharme scored 15 off the bench, and Aubrey Griffin had 10 points and six rebounds.

Caitlin Clark had 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dealt six assists for the Hawkeyes, while McKenna Warnock scored 14, and Kate Martin had a breakout 20 off a perfect 6-for-6 on shots from beyond the arc for 1 of her points.

In the late night third place game, Duke topped Oregon State 54-41, as Celeste Taylor helped the Blue Devils (6-1) recover from the opening loss to UConn, scoring 18 points.

Raegan Beach off the bench scored 11 for Oregon State (42).

In the other Phil Knight Invitational tourney, No. 8 North Carolina keeps moving up to the prominence of yesteryear under former Princeton coach Courtney Banghart as the Tar Heels upset No. 5 Iowa State 73-64.

Deja Kelly helped keep UNC (6-0) unbeaten with 29 points, while Iowa State (5-1) suffered its first loss despite 19 points and 12 rebounds from Stephanie Soares, while Ashley Joens had 18 points and nine rebounds.

In the third place game, No. 18 Oregon beat Michigan State 6-79.

The winning Ducks (8-1) got 19 points from Endyia Rogers, while Kamaria MvDaniel scored 28 for the Spartans (6-2).

Towson Upsets DePaul: New Tigers coach Laura Harper picked up a nice win on the final day of the round-robin Fort Myers Tipoff tourney in Florida, beating the Blue Demons 64-56.

Kylie Korneygay-Lucas had 17 points and eight rebounds for Towson (4-2), while Quinzia Fulmore had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

DePaul (4-3), which had upset No. 14 Maryland on Friday’s opening day, 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Anaya Peoples scored 11.

Maryland (6-2) completed its set of games in a lopsided 87-63 win over Pittsburgh (5-2) as Princeton transfer Abby Meyers scored 23 points.

Columbia Takes Miami: The Ivy runners up of last season looking for a signature win found one against an ACC school beating host Miami 78-71 in Coral Cables, Fla., at the Miami Thanksgiving Tourney title game.

Jaida Patrick had 25 points for the Lions (5-2), while three other players each scored 12, including Abbey Hsu from Parkland, Fla., who in the opening round reached her 1,000th career point.

The Hurricanes (6-2) got 28 points from Ja’Leah Williams.

North Carolina A&T beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 64-59 for third place.

Boston Hurt in South Carolina Win: Reigning national player of the year Aliyah Boston was in a walking boot after being hurt early in top-ranked South Carolina’s easy 85-38 win over Hampton to improve to 6-0 ahead of the Gamecocks’ next game against No. 20 UCLA. Bree Hall and Ashlyn Watkins each scored 14 points for the winners.

Stanford Completes Hawaii Sweep: The No. 2 Cardinal completed a three-game sweep in the Rainbow Wahine Showdown, beating host Hawaii 68-39 to go to 8-1, the one loss at home in overtime to top-ranked South Carolina.

Stanford Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer extended her Division I women’s win record to 1,165, ahead of UConn Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma, who reached 1,154 on Sunday.

On Monday when the new AP Poll is released, VanDerveer will tie the late legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt for most rankings appearances at 618.

Summitt, whose career spanned the entire AP Poll history at the time of her retirement, missed only 14 rankings.

In Sunday’s win, Ashten Prechtel off the bench had 17 points and 11 rebounds against Hawaii (1-6).

In another tourney of note, Atlantic 10 champion UMass (6-1) beat host FIU 95-78 to win the Thanksgiving Classic in Miami.

Sam Breen had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Minutewomen while Sydney Taylor scored 25 with nine rebounds against FIU (2-3).

And that’s your national report.

 

The Guru Local Report: Siegrist Reaches 2000 Points as ‘Nova Handles South Florida; Temple, Saint Joseph’s, Drexel, and Rutgers Also Pick Up Victories

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Maddy Siegrist past the 2000-point career milestone Sunday night and along the way drove No. 23 Villanova to a 72-50 rout of former old Big East rival South Florida and third place in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla.

The night’s work in dropping the reigning American Athletic Conference champions to 7-2 while improving to 6-1 coming 24 hours following a narrow and tough loss to No. 21 Baylor should be impressive enough to enable the Wildcats to maintain a place in the weekly Associated Press women’s basketball rankings.

‘Nova blasted off to a 25-11 lead against the Bulls, who never were able to mount a serious threat the rest of the way.

No. 22 Michigan, for the second straight year, took down Baylor, this time in the tourney title game later Sunday night.

Earlier, Saint Louis of the Atlantic 10 beat Air Force 77-58 to finish in seventh place in the eight team field, while Georgia Tech got past Belmont 58-52 for fifth place honors.

Siegrist, coming up fast on second on the all-time Wildcats scoring list attainable Friday when nationally-ranked Creighton comes to Finneran Pavilion to help open the season’s Big East slate, had a game-high 25 points and led her squad with seven rebounds, while Lucy Olsen had 13 points and five assists.

USF got 17 points from Sammie Puisis while Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had 14 points and 17 rebounds. Her three-game tourney total of 49 boards blasted away the previous mark of 36 from Ebony Rowe of Middle Tennessee in 2013.

Siegrist with 76 points in the tourney was just nine points of the total tourney scoring mark.

The ‘Nova depth was lopsided also outscoring the Bulls bench 20-2.

Siegrist’s milestone arrival at two grand in points came at 3:46 of the third quarter off a 10-foot jumper.

That made her the eighth person from Philly Six schools behind all-time leader Gabriela Marginean, who had 2,581 at Drexel, ironically, then coached by the Wildcats’ Denise Dillon, who left the Dragons three seasons ago to take over her alma mater in the wake of longtime mentor Harry Perretta’s retirement.

Siegrist with 2,007 points at the moment is seventh among Big Five players with Diana Caramanico still ahead of the pack with 2,415 points.

And at ‘Nova she is now on the heels of second place Nancy Bernhardt, who had 2,018, with all-American Shelly Pennefather having held the longtime lead at 2,408.

In the championship, Michigan, the team that knocked out Villanova on the Wolverines’ campus in Ann Arbor in the second round of the NCAA tournament last spring, the winners used a strong fourth quarter to defeat the Bears (5-2).

Emily Kiser, with 25 points and 13 rebounds for Michigan (7-0) earned tourney MVP honors, while Laila Phelia of the Wolverines had 20 points to earn all-tourney honors.

Baylor’s Jaden Owens scored 22 to make the squad while the Bears’ Ja’Mee Asberry scored 15 points. Siegrist and Mendjiadeu also made the squad.

Michigan picked up 23 points off forcing Baylor into 22 turnovers.

Listed below, subject to anything missed from quick research, is the all-time 2,000 plus scorers from the Philly Six in order, and beyond since part of the coverage, those that reached 2,000 at Delaware, Penn State, and Rutgers.

WNBA star Elena Delle Donne of the Washington Mystics leads everyone in the region with 3,039 points.

Gabriela Marginean – Drexel -2581

Diana Caramanico – Penn 2415

Shelly Pennefather – Villanova 2408

Mia Davis — Temple 2376

Sue Moran – Saint Joseph’s 2340

Marilyn Stephens – Temple 2194

Nancy Bernhardt – Villanova 2018

Maddy Siegrist – Villanova 2007

 

Other area followed 2000 point club high scorers

 

Sue Wicks – Rutgers 2655

 Tyler Scaife – Rutgers 2233

 Cappie Pondexter – Rutgers 2211

 

Elena Delle Donne – Delaware 3039

 

Kelly Mazzante – Penn State 2919

 Maggie Lucas – Penn State 2510

 Susan Robinson – Penn State 2253

 Tyra Grant — Penn State 2044

 Khadeejah Herbert – Penn State 2026

Saint Joseph’s Stays Unbeaten With Lopsided Win at North Florida: The Hawks continue to fly high, the latest victim downed 79-56 to run the season start to 6-0. It’s the longest season-starting win streak under veteran coach Cindy Griffin since a 7-0 start in 2005-06. It’s the third best start in program history — the best 10-0 in 1984-85 under Jim Foster.

Saint Joseph’s took off with a 22-7 lead in the first quarter and was never threatened by a squad that recently lost a close one to Rider in the MAAC/ASUN Challenge in Dublin, Ireland.

Laura Ziegler scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Hawks, while Katie Jekot scored 11, Talya Brugler scored nine as did Olivia Mullins, who also grabbed eight rebounds.

Kaylie Griffin, who sat out her freshman season, made her debut, getting an assist in eight minutes of action.

Lyric Swan scored 20 for North Florida (1-4), while Emma Broermann had 16 points and nine rebounds in the game in Jacksonville.

Saint Joseph’s next comes home and hosts Patriot League favorite Boston U. At Hagan Arena, Thursday, at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

Drexel Conquers Buffalo: The Dragons continued to breathe fire, this time on the road in topping the Bulls 53-35 in Amherst, N.Y., as Grace O’Neill rang three categories with career highs of 12 points, nine rebounds, and three steals.

Keishana Washington scored 15, her 39th straight in double figures, while freshman Kylie Lavelle had 11 points, and Maura Hendrixson dealt eight assists.

Drexel (4-1) limited Buffalo (1-3) to 10-for-39 from the field through the first three quarters.

Kayla Salmons was the only Bulls player in double figures, scoring 10 points and completing the double double with 10 rebounds.

From travel north, the Dragons next head south, visiting Longwood in Farmville, Va., at 6 p.m. On Sunday afternoon, they return to the area for a local Philly Six showdown at Saint Joseph’s.

Temple Gets First Road Win for Richardson: New Owls coach Diana Richardson, who collected plenty at Towson, picked up her first road win at Temple, a 77-62 triumph at Patriot League contender Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa., to snap a three-game losing streak, two at the hands of Big Five rivals.

Aleah Nelson, who earlier in the week said the starting losses did not dismay her, had 23 points, fueled by six shots from deep, while Jasha Clinton scored 17 for the Owls (2-4) She was 7-for-11 from the field.

Jaylynn Holmes had nine points off the bench and reserve Caranda Perea scored eight with six rebounds.

Bucknell (2-5) got 16 points from Isabella King, fueled by four shots from beyond the arc, while Cecelia Collins also scored 16, and Remi Sisselman scored 11.

Temple has another road stop this week, heading to Old Dominion at 6:30 p.m. in Norfolk, Va., on ESPN+. Since the two teams met last season here, the Lady Monarchs have moved from Conference-USA to the Sun Belt Conference.

On Saturday the Owls will host UMBC at 3:30 p.m. in the Liacouras Center on ESPN+.

Rutgers Snaps Skid Beating Cornell: Following a tough three-game slide last weekend in the Battle4Atlantis in the Bahamas, the Scarlet Knights returned home in their Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J., and gained an easy 71-52 triumph over the Big Red (3-4) of the Ivy League.

Rutgers (4-4) controlled the boards 53-30 as Kaylene scored Smikle scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Awa Sidibe scored 16 and dealt four assists, while Chyna Cornwell had nine points and 16 rebounds. Reserve Abby Streeter scored 12.

“I thought we did a good job of pursuing the ball,” said first-year coach Coquese Washington. “There were a few times where we had two or three of our players fighting over the ball. That’s something we definitely want to use our aggressiveness to come down with the ball and I thought we did that.”

Kaya Ingram and Mia Beam each scored 11 points for Cornell.

As a conference school, Rutgers on Wednesday will travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to participate in the annual Big Ten/ACC challenge this week being held Wednesday and Thursday.

Next Sunday, besides hosting conference powerhouse Ohio State, the school will officially dedicate naming the court in honor of retired Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer.

Princeton Shot Down by Texas: The Tigers returned last season’s Texas visit to Jadwin Gym, venturing into the No. 19 Longhorns’ new Moody Center suffering a 74-50 wipeout.

Star guard Rori Harmon, who had been sidelined with an injury made her season debut for Texas (3-3) and in 22 minutes scored 11 points and shot 4-for-8 from the field.

Sonya Morris scored 15 points, while Taylor Jones had 12 points and ten rebounds, and Aaliyah Moore scored 10.

The Tigers (3-2), whose other loss is a home setback to Villanova, got 15 point from Kaitlyn Chen, while Julia Cunningham scored 10, and Ellie Mitchell grabbed seven rebounds.

Princeton is off until Friday when Carla Berube’s squad travels north to play Maine at 7 p.m.

Lehigh Edged by Quinnipiac While Lafayette Downed by Marist: After losing its opener Saturday to Southern Illinois in its own tourney, Lehigh suffered a tough 67-64 outcome to the Bobcats, the preseason pick of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

With 33 seconds left in regulation, Frannie Hottinger got the host Mountain Hawks up by two with a pair of free throws in the third place game.

However, with 16 seconds remaining, Rose Caverly made an old fashioned three point play to put the visitors up 63-62.

Lehigh then missed a shot coming the other way and Jackie Grisdale went to the line for Quinnipiac and sank both opportunities.

Hottinger went back to the line for the Mountain Hawks and was 1-for-2. Quinnipiac then did likewise the other end holding a three-point lead. Rookie Lily Fandre went for the tie from deep but the shot rimmed in and out ending the game at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.

“I think we are learning to play versus different styles of defenses, which is exactly what we have scheduled this for,” said Lehigh first-year coach Addie Micir.

Caverly had 15 points for Quinnipiac (3-3) in the third place game of the Christmas City Classic, while Ella O’Donnell scored 14, Cur’Tiera Haywood scored 11, and Mikala Morris scored 10.

Hottinger and Fandre each scored 12 for Lehigh (2-5), while reserve Kayla Van Eps scored 13 off the bench.

In the championship, Kent State beat Southern Illinois, 72-66, as Lindsey Thall scored 20 points for the Golden Flashes (4-2).

Tyranny Brown had 15 points for the Salukis (1-5), who also got 14 points and seven rebounds from Promise Taylor, while Ashley Jones scored 12.

Lehigh next visits Rider at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Broncs’ Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J.

In the other local in action, a single game, out of the Patriot League’s Lafayette, the Leopards visited Marist in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and stayed competitive for a half before the Red Foxes out of the break launched a 10-2 run and went on to a 52-42 victory.

Jackie Piddock paced nine different scorers for Marist (3-3), collecting 12 points, while Halee Smith of Lafayette (1-6) had a team high 11 points.

The Leopards next host UMBC Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa.

Looking ahead to Tuesday, Penn visits La Salle at Tom Gola Arena at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ the Quakers, who are going to be either home or in the general area for a long stretch, playing their third Big Five game at 0-2 so far while the host Explorers will be playing their first.

Right now, Villanova, Saint Joseph’s, and La Salle are the remaining three teams who can still complete the City Series with a 4-0 run for local bragging rights. The Hawks (Penn, Temple) and Wildcats (also Penn, Temple) are each 2-0.

And that’s your local report.

 

 

 

 

Whalen and Peck Highlight Five-Member Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2023 was announced Sunday afternoon during the Connecticut-Iowa Phil Knight Legacy championship highlighted by the selection of University of Minnesota coach and former WNBA star Lindsay Whalen and former Purdue coach and now ESPN analyst Carolyn Peck.

 

Also named were Donna Lopiano, former Texas women’s athletics director and chief executive officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation; Referee Lisa Mattingly; and Cathy Boswell, former Illinois State all-American and 1984 member of the first USA Olympic Gold medalist squad.

 

Whalen, who also starred at her alma mater she now coaches and played on the WNBA multi-championship Minnesota Lynx, was an inductee into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class in Springfield, Mass., this past September.

 

She is also an Olympic gold medalist.

 

Peck was a head coach at Purdue University (1997-99), the WNBA Orlando Miracle (1999-01), and the University of Florida (2002-07) and her 1999 NCAA national championship Boilermakers squad is still is the only Big Ten team to win a title in the sport.

 

She was the only Black coach to win an NCAA title until Dawn Staley guided South Carolina to its two championships in 2017 and last spring.

 

Additionally, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) was named recipient of the Trailblazers of the game award while for the first time since its inception as the Love of the Game Award, the honorees are the Dust Bowl Girls.

 

Lopiano earned her nod as a contributor; Mattingly as an official; and Boswell as a veteran player.

 

 Though this year’s class seems smaller than recent seasons, the organization bylaws allow a 4-7 class size each year. Several sources confirmed this will be the smallest class since the reduction to groups of six or seven following the mass sizes honored in the early years of the ceremony. 

 

The Love of the Game Award was created in 2015 in memory and awarded to the late Lauren Hill, the Mount St. Joseph’s player, whose story captured the nation’s attention the previous winter.

 

Diagnosed just prior to her freshman season with pediatric brain cancer and given a short life span she was able to play in her team’s first game in front of a sellout crowd of 10,000 in Xavier’s Cintas Center in Cincinnati where the game was moved to accommodate the ticket demand.

 

At halftime she received the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award.

 

Summitt, the late legendary Tennessee coach herself battling Alzheimer’s Disease at the time, made a surprise appearance to help with the presentation.

 

At the height of the Great Depression, Sam Babb, the charismatic basketball coach of tiny Oklahoma Presbyterian College, began dreaming. Like so many others, he wanted a reason to have hope. 

 

Traveling from farm to farm, he recruited talented, hardworking young women and offered them a chance at a better life: a free college education if they would come play for his basketball team, the Cardinals.

 

Despite their fears of leaving home and the sacrifices that would be faced by their families, the women followed Babb and his dream.

 

 He shaped the Cardinals into a formidable team, and something extraordinary began to happen. With passion for the game and heartfelt loyalty to one another and their coach, they won every game.

 

 The team’s improbable journey leads to an epic showdown with the prevailing national champions, helmed by the legendary Babe Didrikson.

 

DUST BOWL GIRLS captures a moment in American history when female athletes faced incredible scrutiny, and when a struggling nation most needed inspiration and hope.

 

 Through sacrifice, determination, teamwork, and heart, this unlikely group led by a resourceful coach beat the odds, achieving much more than a championship season.

 

This year the induction ceremony in Knoxville, Tenn., the home of the WBHOF, has been moved up from what has been an early June weekend date to April 29, allowing greater attendance from WNBA individuals who in the past have had difficult attending due to conflicts with the season schedule.national champions, helmed by the legendary Babe Didrikso

The Guru Report: Villanova Edged by Baylor in Tourney Semifinals While Penn State Hits a Decades Old Milestone

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

No. 23 Villanova took No. 21 Baylor nearly to the finish in a Gulf Coast Showcase semifinal Saturday night at Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla., but the powerhouse Bears in the final minutes broke away from a 70-70 tie win 75-50 and hand the Wildcats (5-1) their first loss of the season.

Though coach Nicki Collen’s squad (5-1) used a 32-22 second quarter performance to move in front 46-42 at the break Villanova fought back in the second half and moved into four ties in the closing minutes, but couldn’t get shots to drop that might have reversed the outcome.

Baylor hit 5-of-6 foul shots to determine the differential.

Five Bears scored in double figures, led by Caitlin Bickle’s 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Jaden Owens had 17 points.

‘Nova’s Maddy Siegrist, who got in early foul trouble, nevertheless was able to suffer more damage from whistles and had a game-high 22 points, while Lucy Olsen scored 18 points.

Had the Wildcats won, on Sunday they would be facing No. 22 Michigan in the 7:30 p.m. game, meeting the squad that knocked them out of the second round of the NCAA tourney last spring in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Instead, they will play at 5 p.m. in the third place game, meeting a rival from the old Big East of yesteryear in South Florida, the reigning American Athletic Conference champion, who fell to the Wolverines 63-58 in the other tightly fought semifinals contest.

Like the ‘Nova outcome, Michigan (6-0) stayed unbeaten, while the Bulls (7-1) suffered their first setback of the season.

The Wolverines used an 8-2 run to secure the win.

Michigan’s Lehigh Brown scored a game-high 23 points, while Laila Phelia scored 11 points and Emily Kiser scored 10.

South Florida’s Sammie Puisis scored 22 points, Elena Tsineke scored 14, and Carla Brito scored 12.

Earlier in the consolation semifinals, Belmont had another rally, more successful than the one that went to waste against Villanova, in this one erasing a 15-0 start by Saint Louis of the Atlantic 10 and going on to beat the Billikens 78-68.

Belmont (2-4) got a game-high 26 points from Destinee Wells, while Kilyn McGuff, the daughter of Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff, scored 20 points for the Bruins, and Tessa Miller grabbed 16 rebounds.

That total is the second highest in tournament history, falling in back of South Florida’s Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, who collected 21 in Friday night’s last opening round contest.

Kyla McMakin had 24 points for Saint Louis (1-7), while Brooke Flowers had 12 points and nine points.

On Sunday, Belmont will play for fifth place against Georgia Tech at 1:30 p.m. while Saint Louis will open the day’s final action at 11 a.m. playing Air Force.

In the other consolation semifinal, the Yellow Jackets (4-2) repulsed an Air Force (3-3) rally to prevail 65-59.

Georgia Tech’s Tonie Morgan had 14 points and nine rebounds, while Bianca Jackson scored 12.

Madison Smith’s 22 points for Air Force was a game high, while Kamri Heath and Taylor Britt each scored 11.

Penn State Still Rolling While Delaware Back in the Win Column at Daytona:  After pulling two straight games out of the fire on the season schedule, the Lady Lions had an easier time in their second and final day at the Daytona Beach Invitational in Florida beating Fresno State 68-49 at the Ocean Center.

The triumph put the PSU mark on its pre-Big Ten portion of the schedule at 7-0 in forcing 34 turnovers and grabbing a season best 22 steals from the Bulldogs (4-3).

This is the best start in Happy Valley since the 1996-97 squad also started 7-0, matching a 26-season milestone.

Coach Carolyn Kieger got 43 points from her bench.

Former Temple star Alexa Williamson had 15 points, while Ali Campbell had a career six steals, a number also reached by Leilani Kapinus.

Fresno State’s  top scorer Yanina Todorova (14.4 ppg.) was held way under her average to eight points.

Penn State next welcomes Virginia Wednesday at 7 p.m. to the Bryce Jordan Center in State College for their part of the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Meanwhile, though in the same tourney, Delaware and Penn State did not meet in that all rounds both days were made up of pre-determined opponents.

Following Friday’s loss in an opener, the Blue Hens bounced back with a narrow 83-80 win over Illinois, handing the Big Ten squad (6-1) it’s first loss of the season.

Delaware (4-2) fell quickly behind 10-2 before the Blue Hens rallied back.

The fourth quarter was a high scoring affair in which Makayla Pippin and Nakiyah Mays-Prince combined for 10 points and an eight-point lead at 81-73.

However, the Illini used a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to a mere point with with six seconds left. Mays-Prince, a freshman, nailed two foul shots to seal it for Delaware.

Pippin had a career-high 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for Delaware, the board work best by a Colonial Athletic Association school this season and most since Jasmine Dickey grabbed 18 last spring in the CAA championship against Drexel.

Klarke Sconiers also had 18 points whiler Kharis Idiom scored 12, and Tara Cousins and Mays-Prince each scored 11.

Adalia McKenzie had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Illinois, while reserve Genesis Bryant scored 18, and Makira Cook had 16 points and 10 assists. Jada Pebbles scored 11 points off the bench.

Delaware returns home Wednesday to renew its Route 1 Rivalry game, tipping off at 7 p.m. in the Bob Carpenter Center. The game will air on Flohoops, which is also airing the entire Gulf Coast tourney.

In two other games in the Daytona Tourney, Mid-American Conference favorite Toledo, which got nipped by Penn State in a Friday opener, came back to top UT Arlington 80-70 as Sammi Mikonowicz had 24 points for the Rockets (4-2). Starr Jacobs scored 29 for UT Arlington (2-4).

Charlotte edged Cincinnati 59-58 as Mya McGraw made the winning shot for a 59-55 lead for the 49ers (42) with 13 seconds left in regulation.

With a second left, Braylyn Milton made a shot from deep for three points for Cincinnati (4-3).

Dazia Lawrence scored 21 for Charlotte, while Jillian Hayes, with 12 points, was high for the Bearcats, who also got 11 points from Mya Jackson, and 10 each from Braylyn Milton andf Clarissa Craig.

Lehigh Downed in its Tourney Opener: The Mountain Hawks suffered an 87-81 loss to Southern Illinois on the first of its two-day Christmas City Classic at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.

The win was the first of the season for the Salukis (1-4) while Lehigh is now 2-4.

“I thought both teams competed really hard,” said Lehigh first year coach Addie Micir, a former Princeton star from Bucks County. “We knew both teams were going to want to get up and down the floor, and we did. It was a fun game to watch.”

Frannie Hottinger had 28 points for Lehigh, while Mackenzie Kramer had 21 points, and Ella Stemmer scored 11.

The Mountain Hawks were forced into 22 turnovers, yielding 27 points for the visitors, who committed just nine.

“We showed we can score, and it was physical,” Micir said. “We just have to find a way to do us well. We found ways to draw fouls when we needed to, and again, we did it. We just didn’t do it enough.”

Ashley Jones paced Southern Illinois, scoring a team-high 16 points leading four other players also scoring in double figures.

The Salukis will play Kent State (3-2) for the championship at 2:30 p.m. while Lehigh will meet Quinnipiac (2-3) at noon.

The matchups, using true tournament settings, were created when Kent State in the other Saturday round beat the Bobcats 58-55, the same differential in taking an early third quarter 27-24 on Claire Kelly’s shot from deep.

Lindsey Thall had 18 points for the Golden Flashes, while Csasey Santoro scored 15.

Cur’Tiera Haywood scored 13 for Quinnipiac.

Nationally Noted: In other primarily tournaments of note on Saturday in the Fort Myers Tipoff in Florida, DePaul followed up its Friday upset of No. 14 Maryland, beating Pittsburgh 74-59 as Aneesah Morrow had 23 points and 16 rebounds for the Blue Demons while Kendall Holmes had 19 of her 21 points in the second half, in which five of her shots came from deep.

Darrione Rogers scored 19 for DePaul (4-2) against the Panthers in Florida.

The Demons finish the three-day round-robin Sunday playing Towson at 2 p.m., the first ever meeting between the two programs.

Though their campuses are nearby up North, in the other game, No. 14 Maryland (5-2) gained an 81-70 win over Towson and play Pittsburgh at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

Against the Tigers (3-2), Diamond Miller had a game-high 20 points for Maryland, while Faith Masonius scored 14, as did Shyanne Sellers. Princeton transfer Abby Meyers scored 11.

No. 2 Stanford took its second straight in the round-robin Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu, beating Grambling 87-50 as Lauren Betts had her first career double double with 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Cardinal (7-1). Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer upped her Division I women’s basketball win record run to 1,164, ahead of UConn’s Geno Auriemma, who is at 1,153. 

Both teams play Sunday, Stanford meeting Hawaii, while at 1 p.m. UConn meets Iowa on ABC, where at halftime the new 2023 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame class will be named with induction set for April 29 in Knoxville, Tenn.

On Monday, VanDerveer will till the late Tennessee legend Pat Summitt for most appearances in the AP women’s poll at 618.

When Summitt retired, battling alzheimers’ disease, she had missed just 14 times, her career running concurrent to the AP historical existence in the women’s vote.

Looking Ahead: Besides the Villanova and Lehigh games in tourneys, on Sunday, six other locals will be playing single affairs.

Temple is at Bucknell, looking to get back on the winning track in the game at 4 p.m. at Lewisburg, Pa., on ESPN+.

A marquee matchup on the Longhorn Network has Princeton at No. 19 Texas in the new arena in Austin at 1 p.m.

Saint Joseph’s, still unbeaten, is back down south, visiting North Florida at 2 p.m. on ESPN+

Also on ESPN+, Drexel visits Buffalo at noon, while Rutgers hosts Cornell at 2 p.m. on the B1G+ subscription network.

Lafayette will be at Marist at 2 p.m. on ESPN+

UMass plays FIU at 1 p.m. in the title game of that tourney in Florida, while Columbia is in the title game of Miami’s tourney at 2 p.m. with the Hurricanes. On Friday, Abbey Hsu of the visiting Lions scored her 1,000th point.

And that’s the report.

The Guru Report: No. 23 Villanova Survives Fourth Quarter Meltdown to Belmont While Penn State Edges Toledo in Tourneys Openers

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Unlike the way of the wishbone on a Thanksgiving turkey, No. 23 Villanova bent in a big way in the second half Friday afternoon squandering a 21-point lead but the Wildcats did not break following a 68-68 tie with seven minutes in regulation and went on to edge Missouri Valley Conference favorite Belmont 83-80 in a Gulf Coast Showcase opener at Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla.

Coach Denise Dillon’s group (5-0)  in a Saturday semifinal will meet No. 21 Baylor at 5 p.m. 

The Bears (4-1) started the day’s action beating Saint Louis of the Atlantic 10 92-58. Belmont in a consolation semifinal at 11 a.m. will meet the Billikens (1-6).

On the other side of the bracket, No. 22 Michigan, which beat Villanova last season at home in an NCAA tournament second round game in Ann Arbor, beat Air Force 68-48.

The Wolverines (5-0) in the other winners semifinal will meet former Wildcats rival South Florida from the old Big East at 7:30 p.m. 

The Bulls (7-0), the reigning American Athletic Conference champs, beat Georgia Tech 63-50, sending the Yellow Jackets (3-2) to the other consolation semifinal against Air Force at 1:30 p.m.

In the Villanova game, reigning Big East player of the year Maddy Siegrist had 21 points in the first half and finished with 29 while Lucy Olsen scored 20, and Maddie Burke scored 11 for the winners. 

Siegrist also had five steals tying a tourney game record with three former participants.

Sydni Harvey had 24 points for Belmont, while Tuti Jones and Destinee Wells each scored 16, and Madison Bartley also scored 10. Kilyn McGuff, whose dad is Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff on the squad coached by former DePaul assistant Bart Brooks.

A 25-4 run across the third and fourth quarter got the Bruins back into it, but Christine Dalce making 1-of-2 foul shots in the closing seconds sealed the outcome.

In the Baylor win, Brooke Flowers had 13 points, while reserves Mia Nicastro and Peyton Kennedy had 12 and 11 points respectively.

Emily Kiser paced Michigan with 20 points in the win over Air Force (3-2), while Elena Tsineke had 24 points for South Florida and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had 19 points and 21 rebounds.

Penn State stayed unbeaten by edging Toledo, the preseason favorite in the Mid-American Conference, when Leilani Kapinus made two foul shots with 0.9 seconds left in regulation in an opening game in the Daytona Beach Invitational.

The Rockets (3-2) led in just 30 seconds of the game but in the final minute overcame a five-point deficit to take a 59-58 lead on a pair of foul shots.

The Lady Lions (6-0), off to their best start since going 7-0 in 1996-97, advanced the ball, Kapinus took the inbounds pass, went down low and went to the line to connect with the game-winner on a shooting foul.

Shay Ciezki led PSU with 16 points, while Makenna Marissa had 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists, and Chanaya Pinto in her first start had a career-high 13 points, six rebounds, and three steals.

Like most tourneys this weekend, opponents are predetermined in each round, and Penn State in the second of two games will play Fresno State Saturday at 11 a.m.

Fresno State got started Friday, edging Delaware 53-49, in the tourney at Ocean Center in Florida.

“It was a tough one today,” new coach Sarah Jenkins said after the Blue Hens fell to 3-2. “We turned it around in the second half. We were able to chip away at Fresno State’s lead and even trail by one point.

“We have some things we need to work on as we prepare for Illinois (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.).

Makayla Pippin had 13 points, nine rebounds, and three steals against Fresno State (4-1), while Kharis Idom had 12 points and five rebounds, and Klarke Sconiers had 11 points, shooting 4-for-6 from the field.

Fresno’s Amaya West had 14 points and Yanina Todorova had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

In other games in the tourney on Friday,  Cincinnati beat UT Arlington 72-58, while Illinois (6-0) beat Charlotte 70-43.

The two other games on Saturday have Cincinnati (4-2) playing Charlotte (3-2) at 5:45 p.m., while Toledo meets UT Arlington (2-3) at 1:15 p.m.

Nationally Noted: It was a feast of women’s holiday tourneys across the country Friday from mid-morning until late at night, and likewise will be another big serving Saturday and for those just getting under way, one more but a little lesser will be offered on Sunday.

In what is a three-day round robin where all four teams will meet each other, the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida got off with an upset bang as DePaul beat No. 14 Maryland 76-67. 

Aneesah Morrow had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Demons (3-2), who had suffered being upset themselves twice struggling with injuries. Kendell Holmes had 17 points, Darrione Rogers had 12 and dealt nine assists, Jorie Allen had 10 points and 17 rebounds, and Keke Rimer had 13 off the bench.

Maryland (4-2) got 12 points and 10 rebounds from Faith Masonius, while Diamond Miller scored 11, Abby Meyers had 10, and off the. Bench, Shyanne Sellers had 13 points, while Gia Cooke scored 10.

In the other game, Pittsburgh beat Towson 72-62.

 On Saturday, DePaul plays Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. and Maryland plays Towson at 11:30 a.m.

In a marque event in the northwest, one of two bearing Nike founder Phil Knight’s name, No. 3 UConn routed Duke 78-50, while No. 9 Iowa beat Oregon State 73-59.

On Sunday, UConn and Iowa will meet for the championship at 1 p.m. on ABC-TV. Oregon State and Duke will meet at 10 p.m. on ESPN2.

During the ABC telecast at halftime the next class of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame will be announced, with the induction ceremony next year moving up from early June to April 29.

In the UConn win Friday night as the Huskies improved to 4-0 and handed the Blue Devils (5-1) their first loss, Fairfield transfer and French native Lou Lopez-Senechal had 23 points and six rebounds for the winners. Alliyah Edwards had 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Azzi Fudd scored 14.

Shayeann Day-Wilson had 17 points and seven rebounds for Duke.

In the Iowa win Caitlin Clark had a near triple double, scoring 28 points, grabbing nine rebounds and dealing eight assists for the Hawkeyes (5-1). 

Talia Von Oelhoffen had 22 points and six rebounds for the Beavers (4-1) and Shalexxus scored 17.

Out in Hawaii at the Rainbow Wahine Showdown, No. 2 Stanford bounced off its overtime loss to South Carolina at home last Sunday to beat Florida Gulf Coast 93-69. Haley Jones had 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Kiki Iriafen had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Cameron Brink scored 13 as the Cardinal improved to 6-1.

Tishara Morehouse scored 24 for the Eagles (4-1).

Stanford plays Grambling at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

No. 23 Tennessee (3-4) in a single game trying to avoid being out of the next poll at home in Thompson-Boiling Arena in Knoxville beat Colorado 69-51 as Jordan Horston had 23 points and eight rebounds against the Buffs (4-2) and Rickea Jackson had 20 points and six rebounds.

In a wild finish in the FIU Thanksgiving Classic in Miami reigning Atlantic 10 champion UMass closed 5-0 in regulation forcing overtime and then went 17-0 in overtime to beat Drake 100-83.

Sydney Taylor had 29 points and six rebounds for the Minutewomen (5-1), while Destiny Philoxy had 20 points, and Sam Breen and Ber’Nyah Mayo scored 19 each. 

Maggie Bair had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Drake (2-2).

In the other game, host FIU (2-2) beat Howard, the MEAC favorite, 76-65.

UMass and FIU will meet  Sunday at 1 p.m.

And that’s the report.

The Guru Report: Saint Joseph’s Second Half Rally Keeps Hawks Unbeaten After Big Five Win on Temple; Penn Loses Close at Southern Cal

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopdsguru

PHILADELPHIA — On Sunday Temple thought it had reached a good place giving nationally-ranked Villanova a fight to the finish falling just short in their Big Five encounter at the Owls’ Liacouras Center.

“We thought we had found ourselves,” new coach Diane Richardson said Wednesday night, following a second straight Big Five setback, this one at Saint Joseph’s on the eve of Thanksgiving.

The premise held at the half off a 22-11 second quarter that had Temple in front 38-32.

But out of the break the Hawks exploded 27-13 over the next period and rode on to a 75-66 victory that has then 5-0 on the young season and 2-0 in the City Series competition.

“It was a great game for women’s basketball, the Big Five games are battles, against a very good Temple team,” said veteran Saint Joseph’s coach Cindy Griffin. “We came out in that second half, we took care of business and we played for each other.”

At this stage of the early season a year ago, wins were nearly impossible to come by overall, including here at Hagan Arena. But the young roster kept at it and by the end of the season, Saint Joeseph’s made a deep run in the Atlantic 10 tournament, four newcomers made the league all-rookie team, and Talya Brugler, whose sister  Tessa starred at Drexel and is now on the coaching staff, was named rookie of the year.

In that third period the Hawks kept finding their way inside for baskets to take control.

“It’s something we were working on all summer making reads,” Griffin said.

Richardson credited the play of Saint Joseph’s but also said her team began to let up, where it needs to play 40 minutes.

Brugler finished with 17 points, while Mackenzie Smith scored 14, and Laura Ziegler had 10 points and eight rebounds. Katie Jekot dealt six assists.

The squad set a second straight season high to date on offense following the 67 Sunday in the win at Vanderbilt in Nashville.

Brugler was out of the lineup in the first half when Temple went ahead but was back in the action as Saint Joseph’s regained control.

“No question about it, she just makes the difference,” Griffin said.

“We don’t run a lot of stuff for her. She just makes plays.”

Adding to the depth of the home team, Olivia Mullins scored nine points as did Julie Nystrom, while Katie Jekot scored eight.

“Even though we kind of have a young team, our experience of the past few years has helped us develop relationships on the court that we know where each other are in the right times, the right places.”

Aleah Nelson, who followed Richardson from Towson to Temple, had 16 points, highlighted by 4-for-9 from the field. Jasha Clinton scored 12 for the Owls (1-4, 0-2 Big Five), while Tarriyona Gary had another big game with 10 points.

Despite the start, Nelson is not dismayed.

“I followed her here because she wins championships,” Nelson said, predicting once the hybrid roster of multiple new players and veterans are more comfortable with each other she believes things will start to click.

On the other side, Brugler also noted, “We’re very happy where we are but we’re not satisfied yet,” she said. “We have a lot to accomplish this season. We ended on a very strong note, and we wanted to keep that same momentum coming into this year, and we’re doing a really good job of doing that, and we keep battling every day.”

Saint Joseph’s is at North Florida on Sunday in Jacksonville at 2 p.m. while Temple will be at Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa. at 4 p.m. Both games will air on ESPN+.

On Wednsday, Temple is at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va., at on ESPN+ while Saint Joseph’s hosts Patriot favorite Boston U. At 7 p.m. on Thursday on ESPN+.

Penn Overcome by Southern Cal:  Quakers coach Mike McClaughlin knows what he schedules and while many times in non-conference his Ivy Leaguers are big underdogs he still seeks competitiveness.

Following Monday’s loss at San Francisco, Penn battled host Southern Cal all the way Wednesday before the Trojans prevailed 66-60 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

Helping the home team extend its season-starting record to 5-0 Rayah Marshall had 19 points and 18 rebounds, while Kadi Sissoko had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Simone Sawyer had another big game for Penn (1-5), scoring 18 points, while Kayla Padilla scored 13, with six rebounds, five assists, and a steal, while Floor Toonders had 10 points, as did Mandy McGurk.

It was the first meeting between the two programs and fourth overall matchup with a squad from the Pac-12, though in a few years USC will be moving with local rival UCLA to the Big Ten.

Penn is set to play its third Big Five game next, visiting La Salle Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Tom Gola Arena on ESPN+

Nationally Noted: Three ranked teams played Wednesday, easy times for No. 4 Ohio State beating visiting Wright State 105-52 in a single game No. 11 Virginia Tech beating Missouri 73-57 in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship, though in the same event No. 17 Utah edged Ole Miss 69-67.

In another close one in that tourney, Alabama beat Wake Forest 61-58. In the Puerto Rico Clasico in San Juan, Stony Brook beat High Point 86-72, while in another game in the Pink Flamingo, Kentucky routed Dayton 70-44.

And that’s the report.

 

The Guru Report: Drexel Tops Lehigh and La Salle Beats Lafayette

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA — Though there are about to be a slew of holiday tournaments through the weekend off Thanksgiving no one put a Philadelphia vs. The Patriot League Challenge on the books Tuesday night.

 However, it inherently occurred anyway and it was a 2-0 sweep for the city folks with Drexel handling Lehigh here 84-61 in the Dragons’ Daskalakis Athletic Center while up north in Easton, Pa., La Salle shook off last weekend’s title game loss in the Great Alaskan Shootout in Anchorage and down ed Lafayette 71-54.

The win by Drexel (3-1) was again highlighted by what has become an explosive something old, something new attack in which grad senior and Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) preseason player of the year Keishana Washington embraced another 30s night, her third in four games, scoring 33 points and dishing 10 assists, shooting 11-for-26 from the field, 3of-7 from deep, and 8-for-9 from the line.

The newbie role was again served by 6-2 freshman forward Kylie Lavelle, from upstate in Moosic, near Scranton, scoring 20 points, shooting 9-for-11 from the field.

Additionally, 5-year player Maura Hendrixson was 4-for-8 from deep to account for all 12 of her points, dealt eight assists, and grabbed seven rebounds., while senior Hetta Saatman scored 11 points.

Lavelle has already earned two CAA rookie of the week citations on a team picked to win the conference while on Monday the Dragons made it an awards sweep with Washington earning player of the week honors.

The Mountain Hawks (2-3), under first-year coach and former Princeton star Addie Micir, came visiting from Bethlehem, Pa., as a high-scoring machine posting more than 90 points in two previous games, a 101-99 loss at Minnesota of the Big Ten and then a win at home 97-54 over Division II Bloomsburg.

The Drexel defense, however, did its job limiting Lehigh’s offense, though Mackenzie Kramer scored 20 points, Lily Fandre scored 13, and Frannie Hottinger had 9 points and 11 rebounds.

“When you’re looking at the numbers on this page, my favorite one is 24 assists we had to 33 shots,” said third-year coach Amy Mallon. “That’s impressive. That’s team basketball and that’s really what our program is about. You saw that tonight against a really good team.”

Lavelle, a bit shy appearing at the first postgame press conference of her career, in terms of her early success, said, “It’s fun. I couldn’t do it without the seniors and upperclassmen. They talk me through everything I need to know on the court. It’s just a lot of fun to be out there.”

This is the last time Drexel will be here, embarking on a five-game road trip, until returning Dec. 18 to host Penn State (5-0), which made a statement Monday night with a 37-14 fourth quarter and a record program erasure of a 21-point deficit in the second half to down visiting Syracuse.

There will still be one area appearance during the swing after Sunday’s game at Buffalo at noon and a stop next Wednesday at Longwood in Virginia, when Drexel visits Hawk Hill on Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. to play Saint Joseph’s. Then it’s off to the northern tier of the Ivy League visiting Yale on Dec. 11 at noon and Dartmouth on Dec. 13 at 1 p.m.

Lehigh this weekend will be hosting its annual Christmas City Classic beginning Saturday hosting Southern Illinois at noon on ESPN+ while Quinnipiac, the MAAC favorite, will meet Kent State at 2:30 p.m.

The winners and losers will meet Sunday for third place and the championship at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

La Salle (5-2), meanwhile, which has played all but one game on the road — last week’s closing seconds win over Drexel — got 16 points from Kayla Spruill and eight rebounds, while reserve teammate Gabby Crawford matched the 16-point total in the win over the Leopards (1-5).

Freshman Mia Jacobs from Perth, Washington, scored 7 and grabbed 11 rebounds, while freshman Julie Jekot scored eight points and Jaye Haynes scored nine.

Abby Antognoli scored 19 for Lafayette, while Jessica Booth and Sauda Ntaconayigize each scored 11 points.

The Explorers are now off until Tuesday when they take their first dip of the season in Big Five action hosting Penn at 6:30 p.m. Lafayette is off until Sunday, traveling to Marist in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for a 2 p.m. tip.

Nationally noting: The schedule was lite compared to what’s ahead but the Hoops Community Classic in Savannah, Ga., held its next round, all opponents predetermined each round, and Austin Peay beat Fairleigh Dickinson 53-46; UIC beat Davidson 63-55; in a low-scoring affair Marshall made it 45-39 over Purdue Fort Wayne; and Norfolk State beat UT Martin 70-55.

In a single game that was placed on the preseason composite because of the status of each team in their respective conferences, SMU of the American at home in Dallas beat Louisiana Tech 63-59.

Not listed for obvious reasons but since just saw the score, top-ranked South Carolina following its overtime thriller Sunday beating No. 2 Stanford completed its trip west easily wining at Cal Poly 79-36.

Looking Ahead: Just two locals will be playing on the run-up to Thanksgiving on Wednesday, the first another Big Five special as Temple, off its narrowly-missed upset of then-No. 24 Villanova at home on Sunday, visits Saint Joseph’s at 5 p.m. The game airs on ESPN+.

The Hawks are 1-0 with now No. 23 ‘Nova and one of the La Salle A-10 games still to happen besides the game with the Owls.

Temple still has Penn and La Salle to play after Wednesday.

Out west Penn completes it’s road trip with a homecoming of sorts for senior Kayla Padilla as the Quakers visit Southern Cal at 5 p.m. on the Trojans’ website live streaming link.

As for the rest of the week in terms of locals: on Friday, Villanova begins play at 1:30 p.m. in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Naples, Fla., meeting Belmont, the Mississippi Valley Conference favorite. Flohoops, the streaming service that carries the bulk of Big East and CAA games among others is carrying the entire tourney.

In Saturday’s next round pending outcomes, the Wildcats will see No. 21 Baylor or Saint Louis, who meet at 11 a.m. On the other side of the bracket, No. 22 Michigan, who beat Villanova at home in the second round of the NCAAs in Ann Arbor last spring, plays Air Force at 5 p.m. The other game in what is a true tourney format through Sunday has Georgia Tech meeting South Florida, a former old Big East Wildcats rival at 7:30 p.m.

In the two-day Daytona Beach invitational in Florida on Friday, Flohoops handling all the coverage, on Friday Delaware plays Fresno State at 11 a.m. and Penn State meets Toledo, the Mid-American Conference favorite, at 1:15 p.m. On Saturday, the Lady Lions play Fresno at 11 a.m. and Delaware meets Illinois at 3:30 p.m.

Other teams in the field are Cincinnati, UT Arlington and Charlotte.

Saturday’s and Sunday’s tournaments involving locals have all been discussed but in terms of single games Sunday, not listing those mentioned in terms of teams in the report, Temple goes to Patriot League contender Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa., at 4 p.m. on ESPN +; Saint Joseph’s visits North Florida in Jacksonville at 2 p.m. on ESPN+; Rutgers, trying to regain momentum after losing all three Battle4Atlantis games in the Bahamas, hosts Cornell at 2 p.m. in Piscataway, N.J., at home in Jersey Mike’s Arena on the Big Ten subscription network; and Princeton, which got snowed out of Saturday’s trip to Buffalo, visits No. 19 Texas in Austin at 1 p.m. on the Longhorn Network.

Nationally, on the weekend, on Thursday, in the Phil Knight Invitational on Thursday on ESPNU, No. 5 Iowa State meets Michigan State at 7:30 p.m.; and No. 8 North Carolina, the first Top 10 appearance for the Tar Heels since Courtney Banghart left Princeton for Tobacco Road, meets No. 18 Oregon at 5 p.m. 

Pending outcomes, teams on Sunday will meet either at 1 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. 

Also in the Northwest, in the Phil Knight Legacy tourney, in Portland, Ore., as the preceding mentioned; on Friday No. 3 UConn meets Duke at 6 p.m.. on ESPNU, while No. 9 Iowa meets Oregon State at 8:30 p.m. Pending the winners, ABC will carry one game Sunday at 1 p.m. and ESPN2 will carry the other game at 10 p.m.

Single games Friday have No. 23 Tennessee, which is tied in the rankings with Villanova, hosting Colorado at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network while No. 20 UCLA on its livestream hosts SWAC favorite Jackson State in one of the PAC-12 arranged legacy games.

In the Fort Myers Tipoff Friday at 11 a.m. No. 14 Maryland meets DePaul on FS1; The Terrapins also meet Towson at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, and Pittsburgh at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, while DePaul plays Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. on Saturday; and Towson at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

No. 12 LSU and No. 7 Notre Dame are in the Goombay Splash in Bimini, Bahamas, but based on the setup and the info obtained here in the fall putting the massive composite together, the two won’t meet no matter how they mutually perform in wins and losses, but if there’s been a change, corrections will be made.

The Guru Report: Record Penn State Second Half Rally Carries Lady Lions Past Syracuse; UCLA Takes Battle4Atlantis Title In Overtime on Marquette

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Back on Big Ten Media Day Penn State was proclaiming this is the year the Lady Lions begin moving back to the prominence they once held in the conference.

League games are still a bit away but Monday night they passed what can be considered the first test of the season.

In a game at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College that both Syracuse and Penn State could consider a measuring stick from playing each other, the Lady Lions had the last word, rallying from a 21-point deficit early in the second half with a record comeback to top the Orange 82-69 and stay unbeaten at 5-0 while handing new coach Felicia Legette-Jack’s their first setback following four wins.

 

In the final quarter the home team had a 37-14 advantage to complete the reversal. Ir’s the third most in a quarter for the team behind 

The Lady Lions’ depth showed big with a 20-0 advantage over the Syracuse reserves.

In conference history the only one other team had a greater rally with Nebraska beating state rival Creighton onDec. 6, 2015. And the previous school mark was a rally from 17 down against Wisconsin, winning 58-56 in overtime on Jan. 22, 2009, after trailing 41-24 with 10:21 left in the second half well before the NCAA women began playing quarters.

In this one, they were behind 45-24 with under seven minutes left in the third quarter.  They sliced the differential to 10 at the end of the period and wiped out all but one point in a span of 2 minutes, 22 seconds.

There were several ensuing lead changes until Penn State used a closing 21-6 burst over the final 5:33 left in regulation.

In that final period, Makenna Marissa, who was to finish with 22, and freshman Shay Ciezki each scored 13, the newcomer had 18 overall of which 16 came after the break.

Johnasia Cash had nine points and 12 rebounds, while Chanaya Pinto had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Dyaisha Fair, who followed Legette-Jack from Buffalo which she built in a mid-major power, scored 20 points and Teisha Hyman scored 19.

“Can’t say enough about our heart, and our resiliency, I’m super proud of this team,” said Penn State coach Carolyn Kieger. “That was not a great first half. The trust and composure in that second half was huge. I said this in the locker room, my favorite part about the game was people had each other’s backs. It was a huge game.

“Syracuse is a good team. They’re going to win a lot of games. Fair is one of the best guards in the country. That was a fun one. It’s one of the best halves I’ve been associated with.”

Penn State, which comes to Drexel next month, will participate this weekend in the Daytona Beach Invitational in Florida, playing Mid-America Conference favorite Toledo on Friday at :15 p.m. on Flohoops, and Fresno State at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Delaware is also in that tourney, playing Fresno State at 11 a.m. on Friday and Illinois on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Freshman Shines in Penn Loss: Newcomer Simone Sawyer had her best day with a career-high 18 points, shooting 6-for-9 from deep, tying Kayla Padilla’s record for three-pointers in a game when she was a freshman, but a second-half comeback out in the Bay Area gave San Francisco a 73-65 victory.

Padilla scored 14 against the Dons (3-2) with six rebounds while Mandy McGurk dealt five assists for the Quakers (1-4).

The threes were negated by San Francisco star Joanna Krimili, who scored 35 points and set a career mark for threes shooting 8-for-13 from beyond the arc. Kennedy Dickie scored 10 and grabbed19 rebounds.

The Quakers head down the coast to Los Angeles, playing Southern Cal on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Eastern time.

The game can be seen on the live stream link at Southern Cal’s web site.

Rutgers Finishes Last, Felled by No. 19 Texas in Battle4Atlantis: The Scarlet Knights ran into a No. 19 Texas squad that had suffered one of the biggest poll drops in the history of the AP women’s rankings, falling from third to 19 following an early in the week loss at then-No. 5 UConn, followed by unranked Marquette and in a semifinal loser semifinal, No. 6 Louisville Sunday prior to the vote for this week’s poll.

The Cardinals, who dropped to tenth, had lost to unranked Gonzaga on Saturday and earlier Monday fell to South Dakota State, 65-55, for fifth place.

The Longhorns salvaged their last contest at Rutgers’ expense 82-44, leaving first-year coach Coquese Washington’s squad with a three-game losing streak and eighth place in the eight-team field.

No one scored in double digits, freshman Kaylene Smikle with a team-high 9 points, while Chyan Cornwell had eight rebounds for the Scarlet Knights (3-4).

Texas (2-3) got 14 points from freshman Amina Muhammed, while Aaliyah Moore, Sonya Morris, and Shay Holle each scored 13 while the team had a 50-24 advantage for the second half.

Rutgers is off until Sunday, hosting Cornell, while Texas next hosts Princeton the same day at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

Marquette got to the title game beating Gonzaga in the second round, but losing Monday to UCLA, which off its upset of Tennessee in the semifinals, jumped into this week’s poll at No. 20.

That sent the Lady Vols reeling from 11th this week to a tie with Villanova for 23rd. They then lost to Gonzaga 73-72 in the fifth place game.

In the championship, decided in overtime by the Bruins (6-0), freshman Kiki Rice scored 18 points in a game featuring 10 lead changes and 11 ties.

Rice and Gina Conti, who had 16 points, combined with a perfect 4-for-4 from the line to seal the victory.

Charima Osbourne was named the tournament MVP.

Jackson State, the SWAC favorite, visits the Bruins in Pauley Pavilion on Friday in Westwood, Calif., as part of the legacy series being held by the PAC-12.

Nationally Noted: Washington State claimed the North Shore title in Laie, Hawaii, beating Troy 87-72 to improve to 4-1. The three times that participated, the other BYU, were all 1-1, but the Cougars prevailed with the largest margin of victory.

In the opening round of the Baha Mar, Pink Flamingo Tourney in Nassau, the Bahamas, No. 11 Virginia Tech beat Kentucky, 82-74; Missouri beat Wake Forest 69-47; No. 17 Utah beat Alabama, 93-86; and Mississippi beat Dayton 63-50.

The opener in the Hoops Community Classic in Savannah, Georgia, saw Fairleigh Dickinson top UIC, 63-51; Marshall over UT Martin, 70-57; Davidson over Austin Peay, 62-41; and Norfolk State over Purdue Fort Wayne 62-48.

In a single contest with no tournament attachment, Florida topped visiting Furman 77-50.

Looking Ahead:  Drexel (2-1) hosts Lehigh (2-2) at 6 p.m. in the Daskalakis Athletic Center, the two teams meeting for the first time since 2006 when the Dragons topped the Mountain Hawks 62-55.

Lehigh set a program record last week with two 90-plus point games back-to-back, a tough 99-101 contest at Minnesota and then a win Friday at home over Bloomsburg.

The Mountain Hawks are under first-year coach Addie Micir, a former Princeton star who later was an assistant at her alma mater before moving as an aide at Lehigh prior to her promotion in the offseason.

In the other game involving locals, La Salle on the heels of its 1-1 trip to the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage last weekend visits Lafayette at 6 p.m. in Easton, Pa.

Flohoops will carry the Drexel game while ESPN+ has the Lafayette game.

Elsewhere, Tuesday’s Hoops Community Classic matchups in Savannah have Austin Peay meeting Fairleigh Dickinson at 11:30 a.m.; UIC and Davidson play at 2 p.m.; Marshall and Purdue Fort Wayne play at 4:30 p.m.; and Norfolk State meets UT Martin at 7 p.m.

National Tidbits: No. 1 South Carolina off Sunday’s overtime win at No. 2 Stanford has moved into a three-way fourth place tie with Baylor and Texas with 47 first place rankings behind runaway UConn leader at 250, Tennessee at 112, and Louisiana Tech at 83.

Maryland is now sixth currently one behind unranked Georgia with 554 appearances, while Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer is now one behind the late, legendary Pat Summitt with 617 poll appearances.

And that is the report.