The Guru Report: La Salle and Saint Joseph’s Show Growth in City/Big Fives Wins; Penn State and Delaware Also Post Wins

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA — It’s not true Kayla Spruill was able to make a game-winner against Drexel before regulation time ran out Tuesday afternoon because she already had loaded ice in her veins to prepare for La Salle’s weekend trip for a tournament in Alaska. 

But considering that several seasons ago the Explorers bus back to campus was declared a disaster area following a massacre by the Dragons in their Daskalakis Athletic Center is a sign how the program’s growth has begun to accelerate with the season’s third straight win - the previous two on the road after a narrow opening loss at Howard before returning home to the Tom Gola Arena.

“I think that was probably for the fans a fun basketball game to watch - two teams shoot 48 percent from the floor, shot the ball from the perimeter pretty well, so an exciting finish, just the way I drew it up,’ La Salle fifth-year coach Mountain MacGillivray said with a big laugh following his team’s 77-74 victory.

Spruill completed the and-one for her 24th point in front of an enthusiastic school-day crowd from the area.

Nor was she a one-woman show for the blue-and-gold who got 14 points from Claire Jacobs, and 11 each from Gabby Crawford and Charity Shears, who was 3-for-6 from deep.

Kylie Lavelle, the first Colonial Athletic Association freshman of the week honoree, made a bid for a repeat from Drexel (1-1), scoring 31 points while Keishana Washington, the preseason CAA player of the year, scored 16, though missing part of the action with an injury.

Drexel at the outset appeared set to deliver more punishment with an early nine-point lead before the Explorers got back into leveling the competition.

“I thought, physically, we had the more talented team on the floor,” MacGillivray said. ?But Drexel’s so well coached. They executed the heck out of us in the first quarter.”

A zone defense helped the home team rally to a 42-36 lead at the half and then it turned into a taffy pull the rest of the way until Spruill’s heroics.

Glancing at the boxscore, MacGillivray ran through his bill of particulars.

“We’re still not playing basketball the La Salle way,” he said. “In almost every game, we’ve turned the ball over more than our opponents. I was pleased over the first three games and the way rebounded, tonight not so much. It’s taking care of the ball and then turning our opponent over.”

Molly Masciantonio went down with an injury for La Salle in the third, but the La Salle coach said the doctor said nothing serious.

“There is pain there for sure, but she’s a tough kid. She’s going to find a way to fight through it.”

This weekend, the Explorers, the second pick in the Atlantic 10, on Friday open the Great Alaska Shootout at 9:15 p.m. against Pepperdine then on Saturday meet UC Riverside or Alaska Anchorage in a true format rather than pre-determined opponent rounds that will exist in the myriad of tourneys being played through the Thanksgiving weekend.

Drexel will look to return to winning ways on Saturday hosting Maryland-Eastern Shore at 2 p.m.

Brugler Carries Saint Joseph’s Over Penn in Season Big Five Opener

If any of the nine remaining City Series games in the annual local round robin of ten are akin to Tuesday night’s 57-50 win by Saint Joseph’s over Penn, including the Quakers’ Thursday night 7 p.m. tilt hosting newly nationally ranked Villanova (24) in The Palestra, there’s much excitement ahead.

In this one the story on  Hawk Hill was sophomore Talya Brugler’s career effort 23 points, topping a total of 20 on Duquesne in the A-10 tourney a few days after the conference announced her as the coaches’ choice for rookie of the year and being joined by three Saint Joe’s classmates on the all-rookie team.

Brugler made a clinching shot on a tough defense with a three-point lead late in the final minute of regulation.

The Hawks are 3-0 well ahead of the season struggle until blooming late last season.

Penn fell to 1-2 following Sunday’s competitive loss at Northwestern in suburban Chicago.

The Quakers’ demise was in part due to the other tale, the lockdown on Kayla Padilla, who was held to six points.

This one looked to be tight all the the way, the home team with a 25-23 lead at the half before gaining separation to stay ahead the rest of the way.

“She made a big shot there to make it five at the end,” said Penn coach Mike McLaughlin of Brugler. “I thought we did a good job guarding her. Give her credit. She made a really good shot.’

Padilla, the Ivy player of the week, was held to the third lowest scoring in her career.

“I thought we had some different players on her, she’s just so dynamic,” said Hawks coach Cindy Griffin, who collected her 400th win last time out. ‘We’ve seen her score so many points in a short amount of time and I just thought we played really well today defensively as a group, even though she was (Katie Jekot’s) assignment.”

Penn’s Jordan Obi had 17 points and eight rebounds while Stina Almqvist scored 13 points.

“She was just so anxious and excited to try to uplift us and score the ball,” McLaughlin said of Padilla. “Maybe we can at times slow her down a little bit and play off other kids. She’s constantly the focus of everyone’s offense and defense.’

Laura Ziegler, the A-10 rookie of the week, who hails from Denmark, scored 11 points with eight rebounds for the Hawks while Mackenzie Smith scored 10.

The Hawks this weekend head to Vanderbilt in Nashville where Griffin spent two seasons as an aide to her former Saint Joseph’s coach Jim Foster.

Elsewhere locally, Penn State topped visiting Youngstown State 77-63 at home in the Bryce Jordan Center for a 3-0 start as Leilani Kapinus scored 21 points and Johnasia Cash gained her 1,000th point against the Horizon League favorites. The Lady Lions host Bryant at 7 p.m.

Delaware at home improved to 2-1 topping VCU 63-50 as Michelle Ojo had a career high 15 points against the Rams (1-2). The Blue Hens visit Vermont Friday at 6 p.m.

(Will be updated)