The Guru Report: Shot at Buzzer Completes Princeton Closing Rally Over Rhode Island While Siegrist Last Points Become Game-Winners for Villanova at Marquette

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PRINCETON, N.J. — As regulation time was expiring here before a lively crowd Wednesday afternoon in Jadwin Gym, Princeton put up a stone cold shot in name and action to complete a late comeback giving the Tigers a 56-54 victory over Atlantic 10 contender Rhode Island and revenge for a road loss to the Rams last season up in Kingston at the Ryan Center.

The author of the drive inside for an open layup was senior Grace Stone after Ines Debroise of France committed a turnover with six seconds left and the score tied 54-54.

Several hours later in Milwaukee, Wis., Villanova, the second of the two locals returning to action from the Christmas break. reversed the flow going with Marquette in a Big East battle and Maddy Siegrist in the final minutes got a field goal and then at the end made one of two free throws allowing the Wildcats to edge their way to a 54-52 win.

Earlier in the day, Siegrist was named with her third national honor and overall fourth citation following her freshman selection as the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Ann Meyers-Drysdale National Player of the Week.

Back here, Debroise is one of six Frenchwomen on Rhode Island (9-3), adding to that nation’s sports woes considering the recent loss to Argentina on kicks in the recent World Cup soccer championship contest in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The triumph by the reigning Ivy champs, who will host the league’s men’s and women’s tournaments in March, ties the series with URI at 2-2.

But for a long time, Wednesday, it seemed that the visitors might make their way to consecutive wins over Princeton (10-3), especially after building a five point lead with 2:35 left in regulation.

What followed next however was the Tigers, finishing non-conference play, scored on their next two possessions and then Julia Cunningham’s briefly swung the lead back to the hosts with 69 seconds left.

The Rams were not done, though, using Madison Hattix-Covington’s score to edge the numbers back in front with 25 seconds igniting the obvious.

Kaitlyn Chen then went to the line and made one to tie but missed a free throw that would have put Princeton ahead.

With a chance to now win, it was Rhode Island’s possession which was given away on the Debrois turnover.

The game’s ending was reminiscent though a little different to the season’s first week here when Villanova went ahead near the end to upset Princeton, knocking the Tigers from the Associated Press women’s poll after they became the first Ivy school to earn a preseason honor. They are also the only team from the league to ever given ranking status, which has happened during several recent seasons.

Asked if this was the first time she won a game with the winning score, Stone, from Long Island, said it had happened twice in high school.

“I just had the ball in my hand and was trying to read what they were going to give us,” Stone said. “We definitely wanted to win this one, a little redemption.

“They’re a great team and they were super aggressive and they were getting tough shots down the stretch. We trained a lot and worked a lot on winning close games.”

Chen finished with a game-high 21 points, while Tigers reserve Parker Hill, had a career-high 12 points, Stone scored 10.

Toure scored 16 with 10 rebounds to gain a double-double with the Rams, Hattix-Covington had 10 points and six boards, and Sayawni from Boston also scored 10.

“It was some game,” said Princeton coach Carla Berube, a former UConn star who led the Tigers to a near-upset of her alma mater in Storrs last month. “URI’s a great team, strong. Tammi Reiss has done a great job with the players that she has. They create a lot of tough things to defend. They’re really tough on the defensive end, making everything hard.

“First half, we couldn’t get anything going. The second half Kaitlyn found some room to breathe. Made some really great shots. We made some though plays down the stretch and got some great shots.”

In past Princeton editions, back to the Courtney Banghart era building the Tigers into a nationally-respective force and continuing under Berube when Banghart left to fill the North Carolina opening in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the squad had that one great go-to player from Niveen Rasheed to post forces such as Bella Alarie and Blake Dietrick, who have played in the WNBA. Most recently Abby Meyers, who is now playing her graduate year at nationally ranked Maryland near her home.

This Tigers group seems to be operating by committee where different people can be the story on a given night, including Ellie Mitchell, who grabbed nine rebounds.

Of Parker-Hill, who could join Mitchell in the posts, especially as Princeton begins Ivy play Saturday at noon at Harvard (ESPN News), Berube said, “She’s a great offensive player with a great touch around the rim. 

“She was great. She was the lone offensive light in the first half.  Ellie is more of a defensive juggernaut rebounder. And Parker’s got the height and touch around the rim. It’s good to have two different looks at the center spots and they can play together.

“We have a lot of different options. Right now Kaitlyn has emerged as that player when we really need a bucket, we’re going to get it in her hand. But certainly Julia’s (Cunningham) capable of that, Grace, Maddy’s (Stone Rose) is emerging, too, in spots, so it’s good to have some balance.

“The ball rolls in a lot of different ways,” Berube said, recalling how Villanova rallied here down the stretch back in November.

Rhode Island’s Reiss, a great force in the backcourt with Dawn Staley at Virginia in the early 1990s who many thought she might be the one to fill the vacancy this season at her alma mater, said one cannot focus on just the shot at the end of how this one got away from her squad.

“You have to look at what happened after we had the lead,” she said. “You can’t foul. You can’t allow that opening for her at the end. I can’t believe Grace is still here at Princeton. I remember recruiting her when I was at Syracuse (as an assistant).”

Rhode Island opens play in the Atlantic 10 Saturday hosting Duquesne at 1 p.m. on ESPN+ and then plays defending champion UMass at Amherst at 5 p.m. on Jan. 4, then hosts La Salle the following Sunday.

The Rams will also play Saint Joseph’s later home and home.

Meanwhile, Marquette that many times has been a Bermuda Triangle can of stop for Villanova over the years was overcome on this trip.

Both squads got off to a slow start, each shooting just 1-for-11 from the field.

Then Siegrist, the Wildcats’ usual suspect broke loss and had all the team’s 10 points until a three came elsewhere for a 13-8 Villanova lead over the Golden Eagles (9-4, 2-2 Big East) after one period.

The Wildcats (11-3, 2-1) then hit a dry spell from the middle of the second period to halftime, holding a slim 25-24 lead at the break.

In the third, it looked like the visitors would disappear again, Marquette opening with a 12-5 run before Villanova answered with an 8-2 spurt to regain the lead by one at 42-41 after three periods.

Lucy Olsen scored seven straight at the outset of the fourth, the Wildcats going up by six with 6:18 left in regulation.

Up three with just under three remaining, the visitors got a connect from Bella Runyan and a five-point lead.

Both teams went dry again over the next 2:11 until Marquette’s Jordan King moved the home team within three with 48 seconds left.

Siegrist, who earlier this week joined former UConn great Rebecca Lobo and former Louisville star Angel McCoughtry with a conference record 12th player award, got her team’s 53rd point and after the Wildcats took away a potential three-point option, hit a foul shot for her 21st point of the game with five seconds left but Marquette couldn’t score.

Siegrist, last season’s Big East player of the year honoree, also had 11 rebounds for a double-double and Olsen scored 13, while Penn State Maddie Burke had 12 points.

King had a game-high 23 and nine boards for Marquette, while Chloe Marotta scored 10 points.

Villanova stays on the road to celebrate New Year’s Day Sunday at Xavier in the Cintas Center in Cincinnati at noon on CBSSN, then returns home to host Georgetown at 7 next Wednesday at Finneran Pavilion on Flohoops.

Siegrist, getting closer to all-time Wildcats scoring leader Shelly Pennefather, reached her 2,200 career point as well as the 60th 20-point game of her career, and 44th double-double, seven this season.

In true road stops, Villanova, who recently won another Big Five crown at 4-0, is 6-0 on true road stop, the losses coming to nationally-ranked Baylor in the Florida Gulf State Showcase,  at home to nationally-ranked Creighton in the Big East, and to nationally-ranked Iowa State at the Basketball Hall of Fame women’s showcase at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.

Nationally-Noted: Still not a lot of games, scores Wednesday saw in the Big 10 that No. 3 Ohio State cruised at Northwestern 81-48 in Evanston, Ill., while No. 14 Michigan likewise handled host Nebraska in Lincoln, 81-48, while a battle of two ranked Big East squads met, No. 8 UConn won at No. 21 Creighton 72-47, as Aaliyah Edwards had 23 points and 20 rebounds for the winning Huskies (10-2, 3-0 Big East), Dorka Juhasz had 22 points and 18 rebounds, Caroline Ducharme had 11 points and eight rebounds, while Nika Muhl had six points and dealt eight assists.

Creighton (8-4, 2-2) got 12 points from Emma Ronsiek and 11 from Lauren Jensen.

Texas beat visiting Texas A&M-Commerce 96-53.

Looking Ahead: Two more locals return from the break on Thursday, near here Rider hosts Siena in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game at 7 p.m. on ESPN3 at the Broncs’ Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, while Drexel begins play in the Colonial Athletic Association at UNCW at 7 p.m. on Flohoops.

On Friday at noon Temple in the Liacouras Center on ESPN+ plus begins play in the American Athletic Conference hosting Memphis, while Delaware begins CAA play at 7 in the Bob Carpenter Center hosting Hofstra in Newark, Penn hosts Gwynedd Mercy at 2 p.m. in The Palestra on ESPN+, Lehigh begins Patriot League play at 2 p.m. hosting Army in the Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., also in the Patriot League, Lafayette visits American U., in Washington at 2 p.m. in Bender Arena, and Rutgers in the Big 10 visits Penn State at 5 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center in State College.

On Saturday, Saint Joseph’s vs. La Salle at 2 p.m. in Tom Gola Arena on “ESPN+ simultaneous launching A-10 play, while also wrapping up the entire 10-game Big Five slate. A Hawks win gives Saint Joseph’s rd place at 3-1 in the conference and La Salle fifth at 0-4. The reversal puts the Hawks in a tie for second at 2-2 with Penn, while La Salle finishes 1-3 with Temple.

Nationally on Thursday a key Southeastern Conference game has Arkansas hosting LSU on ESPN2 while at 6 p.m. Notre Dame visits Miami on the ACC Network.

Florida State at 8 p.m. is at North Carolina on RSN.

On Friday, Minnesota visits Maryland at 2 p.m. at the XFinity Center in College Park; UCLA is at Oregon at 9 p.m. on the PAC12 network.

And that’s the report.