The Guru Report II: Penn State Snaps Streak Beating West Virginia; Drexel Nipped in Overtime; Maryland Beats Battered UConn

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Penn State snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday night, beating West Virginia 69-57 at home in the Bryce Jordan Center, the last game before the Lady Lions end a long Philadelphia absence by playing at Drexel next Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Mountaineers, now in the Big 12, and PSU used to be regular rivals when both belonged to the Atlantic 10.

Leilani Kapinus had 15 points and seven rebounds for the winning home squad (8-3), while Shay Ciezki scored 14, and Taniyah Thompson scored 13, but Makenna Marisa was held to nine points. 

Chanaya Pinto also grabbed seven boards for PSU.

The Mountaineers (7-2) got 16 points from JJ Quinerly while Madisen Smith scored 12, and Jayla Hemingway scored 11.

The two programs had not played since March 8, 1991.

Princeton, the second of three other local teams playing, bounced back from its setback at No. 6 UConn,  pulling away in the second half to beat Delaware 62-47 at home in Jadwin Gym.

Kaitlyn Chen had 14 points for the Tigers (6-3), while Julia Cunningham had 11, and Ellie Mitchell scored 10 with nine rebounds.

Delaware (5-4) got 18 points off the bench from Kharis Idom, the only player in double figures for the Blue Hens.

The Tigers have an in-state game nearby Thursday night traveling to Rutgers at 7 p.m. in the Jersey Mike’s Arena while Delaware next Sunday visits Lehigh at 2 p.m. in the Mountain Hawks’ Stabler Arena in Easton, Pa., on ESPN+.

Drexel, meanwhile,  earlier in the day, in the start of a two-game swing through Ivy League country, rallied to force Yale into overtime at. The John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Conn., only to be nipped by the Bulldogs 60-58.

The Dragons (5-3) coming off last Sunday’s loss at Saint Joseph’s led early, fell behind by 11,  but came back from the deficit that existed with 3 minutes, 24 seconds left in regulation.

Keishana Washington had a huge 33-point effort, while Jasmine Valentine set a season best with 12 rebounds and career high with eight points.

Yale (5-6) had 18 points from Kiley Capstraw, Klara Astrom scored 11, and Jenna Clark scored 10.

The Dragons seemed to have momentum going their way on a 13-2 run to extend the game.

Drexel finishes the swing by going to Dartmouth Tuesday to play the Big Green at noon in Hanover, N.H.

National - Maryland Breaks UConn Series Mastery Abby Meyers got revenge for her previous school’s tough loss by Princeton Thursday night at No. 6 UConn by scoring 20 points for No. 20 Maryland when the Huskies came visiting, leading the Terrapins (9-3) to an 85-78 victory in the XFINITY Center in College Park.

Coach Geno Auriemma’s squad had won all previous games in the series, though in this one his squad was short-handed off a mountain pile of injuries.

Not having lost back-to-back games since March of 1993, had the Tigers prevailed on Thursday, the Huskies (7-2) would be looking at a three-game losing streak.

Meyers hit 4-of-8 shots from deep in the win.

Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers also scored 19, while Diamond Miller scored 17, and Brinae Alexander scored 13. Meyers and Miller each had six rebounds, while Sellers dealt six assists.

The Terrapins have beaten then-No. 7 Notre Dame and Purdue in games at the finish and also then-No. 19 Baylor but also suffered a loss at a neutral site to DePaul and at home in a Big Ten wipeout by Nebraska.

UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards scored 25, while Aubrey Griffin had a double-double 12 points and. 15 rebounds, while Caroline Ducharme had 13 points, and Lou Lopez-Senechal scored scored 16.

Maryland in the third quarter, built a 12-point lead in the third, gave it up as the Huskies rallied to tie in the fourth, but then responded with an 8-0 run concluded by an Alexander shot with seven minutes left in regulation and held on the rest of the way.

“Like I told them in the locker room, I’ve done a lot of firsts here, but now the first time  being able to have a team beat UConn,” said Maryland coach Brenda Frese, who got her. 600th victory last week. “I will definitely remember win 601 because of this group. I thought we executed the game plan, switching a lot defensively .. Just can’t say enough about our resilience.”

No. 17 Oregon in one of two PAC-12 rivalry games to start conference play, prevailed in the final minutes to beat Oregon State 75-67. Endyia Rogers had 34 points and eight rebounds for the host Ducks (7-1, 1-0 PAC-12) in the game played in Eugene while Jelena Mitrovic had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Beavers (6-3, 0-1).

In the other, which did not involve ranked teams,  host Washington beat Washington State 82-66.

The host Huskies (8-1, 1-0 PAC-12) had five players score in double figures led by Lauren Schwartz with 21 points, while Dalayah Daniels had 12 points and 10 rebounds. 

Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 40 for the Cougars (7-2, 0-1).

Everyone else in the Top 25 that played prevailed, while some that had been ranked tried to get back on the winning track to return to prominence.

Louisville (7-4), which ended a long run last week, in an in-state game won at Kentucky 86-72.

The Cardinals got 21 points from Hailey Van Lith, while Morgan Jones had 12 points and eight rebounds, Liz Dixon scored 16, and Olivia Cochran had nine point and nine rebounds.

Robyn Benton had 20 points for the host Wildcats (7-2), Maddie Scherr scored 18, and reserve Ajae Petty scored 11.

Toledo, making a bid for a ranking after winning at No. 14 Michigan during the week, at home kept Dayton winless 57-45 as Khera Goss had 16points for the Rockets (8-2). Anyssa Jones had 14 for Dayton (0-10).

Iowa State, which fell to Iowa during the week, at home in Ames beat Jacksonville 84-50 ahead of next Sunday’s game against No. 25 Villanova at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. On the doubleheader, Florida State and UConn will play.

In a game between two good mid-majors, Atlantic 10 contender Rhode Island ultimately took control late for a 63-55 win at Quinnipiac, the preseason MAAC favorite.

Madison Hattix-Covington had 19 for the visiting Rams (9-1), while Mikala Morris had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Bobcats (5-4), who have played a challenging schedule.