The Guru Report: Villanova Clinches Big Five Tie Handling Saint Joseph’s; La Salle and Rutgers Also Post Wins

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

VILLANOVA — The No. 25 Wildcats are going to have Big Five championship trophy hardware in the house once again. 

The only question is whether it’s their’s alone until at least the next City Series round-robin or whether it will have to be shared with the visiting Saint Joseph’s squad from just down the road they woman handled here at Finneran Pavilion Saturday afternoon 82-59 that dropped the Hawks (9-1, 2-1 Big Five) from the overall unbeaten.

That answer will be determined quite soon by a pair of games each have remaining with La Salle.

A win here on Dec. 21 against the Explorers at 11:30 a.m. will make it a 4-0 sweep. An upset means the Hawks could come back to a 3-1 tie when they visit La Salle the afternoon of New Year’s Eve that is also the start of both teams’ conference slate in the Atlantic 10.

However, in a rarity in that usually most titles have been won with sweeps, if Saint Joseph’s does not win that one then ‘Nova can claim an outright title at 3-1.

But claiming bragging rights in what is arguably the top rivalry in the ten game series among the five schools, that was determined pretty quick and that was BEFORE senior star Maddy Siegrist got going in what was the Wildcats’ seventh straight win over the Hawks and improving their record to 39-7 in their last 46 games in the round-robin.

“It is so important for us to have everyone involved,” Villanova coach Denise Dillon said after her 50th win returning to her alma mater from her long run at Drexel. “We say it’s a continuity offense, equal opportunity, but obviously with Maddy’s talent, she can make it look a little bit easier by getting some shots off.

Saint Joseph’s schemed to not let her get the ball and our players were ready, willing and able to shoot the basketball, and I think Christina (Dalce) did a great job reading, rolling to the basket and we found her.

“It was a good tone-setter from the beginning (to) get everyone involved, and I’d like to see us continue to do that as the game goes on, not just in spurts.”

Saint Joseph’s was already in a dubious spot off sixth-year star Katie Jekot, the starting point guard, suffering a sprained ankle Wednesday night in a win at Rider, sidelining her for the next several weeks.

But it got worse when the Hawks couldn’t get a shot to drop and while Siegrist was held in check early, the rest of ‘Nova (9-2) delighted Dillon with its scoring prowess pulling off to an 8-0 start that ballooned to 28-8 at the end of the quarter, shooting 2-for-13 from the field, while the home team sizzled at 71.4 percent.

“You can’t open up games like that on a team like this that has too much offense around and be able to come back,” Saint Joseph’s veteran coach Cindy Griffin said and later put an estimated return time on Jekot “a couple of weeks, if that.”

The loss ended the best start in her 22 seasons coaching her alma mater while also by one fell short of the all-time 10-0 start under Jim Foster in 1984-85.

The differential in a game the Wildcats put up the most points in the long-running series grew to 25 and while in the second half Saint Joseph’s briefly got it a bit more respectable with an 11-0 run it was  too little and too late.

By then Siegrist was well on her way to a 31-point performance on the afternoon and now with 2,116 points in second in career scoring in the program history, she is under the 300-point barrier on the way to chasing the program’s all-time scoring mark held by Shelly Pennefather.

She was 11-for-20 from the field, including 4-of-6 from deep, and a perfect 5-of-5 on the line while grabbing eight rebounds. 

Lucy Olson also had a productive day, scoring 20, even more deadly at 8-for-10 and a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, while Penn State transfer Maddie Burke was 4-for-4, all of them three-balls for 12 points.

“We were hoping to give them their first loss, but first we had to come out and play,” Olson said.

Christina Dalce, continued to show her improved play this season,  just missing reaching double figures with nine points, while also grabbing eight rebounds.

Saint Joseph’s Talya Brugler, last season’s freshman of the year in the Atlantic 10 scored 14 points and Mackenzie Smith scored 12.

Whether Jekot playing might have been the difference is problematical though it certainly might have been more competitive.

“I think (Olivia Mullin) and (Julia Nystrom) did a good job, but I definitely think it would have helped us just to have that experience out there, to settle us down in some situational things, and just the passing, she’s a terrific passer, just getting the ball to where we need it to be,” Griffin said.

The two-game sweep this week should keep Villanova ranked, possibly even allow a move upward for a cushion going into Iowa State, whose loss to Iowa will likely drop the Cyclones out of the Top 10.

Of course, more and more the Big East is shaping as a bear of quality opponents.

Both teams are now on an extended break for finals, Villanova returning to play next Sunday up North at the Mohegan Area, site of the Big East tournament, against No. 10 Iowa State of the Big 12 in a doubleheader which will see No. 6 UConn meet Florida State.

Saint Joseph’s returns before the Christmas break, opening its annual Hawk Classic on Dec. 20 against Wright State, playing either Eastern Michigan or James Madison the following afternoon at Hagan Arena.

Jacobs and Spruill Lead La Salle to Second Straight: Though Md.-Eastern Shore (UMES) got an early jump it didn’t take long for the Explorers to turn things around in part off a red hot 10-for-16 from deep to power their way to a 48-28 lead at the half and ultimate 82-72 win at Princess Anne, Md.

Claire Jacobs had 24 points for the visitors (8-4), while Kayla Spruill was a perfect 7-for-7, including even better 6-for-6 from beyond the arc to finish with 20 points. Claire’s younger sister Mia had a career day with 16 points propelled by 6-of-10 from the field, and also 4-for-4 from the line. 

In the backcourt Molly Masciantonio dealt nine assists and was error free in ball handling not making any turnovers. It’s the second straight game she has been without miscues.

Mya Thomas had 20 points for UMES (3-9), while Ja’la Bannerman scored 14, and Ashanti Lynch had 10.

La Salle is off until Saturday when the Explorers travel to Orlando to play American Athletic Conference favorite South Florida, which Villanova beat last month decisively to take third in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida.

Rutgers Edges Hampton: In the first of a three-game return to nonconference action, all at home, following an 0-2 start in Big Ten play, the Scarlet Knights in the only other local attraction of the day, topped Hampton 76-68  at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J.

Chyna Cornwell had a double-double 18 points and 14 rebounds for Rutgers (5-7).

The home team hit the final period with a six-point lead off a 9-0 run the previous quarter. 

“The biggest key though is that we got stops and we were able to get going in transition,” first year coach Coquese Washington said. “That made all the difference for us. Our confidence went a little higher after that stretch and we were able to hold on to the win in the fourth quarter.”

Erica Lafayette had a career-high 19 points against Hampton (3-5) with four assists and four rebounds besides being perfect 8-of-8 on the line. Awa Sidibe collected 12 points, dealt five assists, and grabbed nine rebounds.

On Thursday night at 7, Ivy favorite Princeton makes the short trip up the road while on Sunday New Orleans will appear at 2 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

Rider Falls at Seton Hall: To get the local game played Friday morning, the only game on the radar outlook, reported, the Broncs in an in-state visit just north, fell to Seton Hall 78-40

The contest came 48 hours after Rider (3-6) fell at home to Saint Joseph’s. 

This one was put away quickly by the host Pirates (7-3) in Walsh Gym in South Orange, N.J.

“We ran into a really good team that’s playing really well right now on their home floor,” said Rider coach Lynn Milligan. “The short rest from Wednesday night caught up with us a little bit, but we’ve got to play better.”

ToniRenee Blanford was the only Rider player in double figures, scoring 11 points while Sha’Lynn Hagans scored 16, Sidney Cooks scored 11, and Azana Baines scored 10.

The Broncs are off until Saturday, opening up play in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) visiting Canisius at 1 p.m. on ESPN3 and then completing the Western New York swing the following Monday playing at Niagara at 6 p.m., also on ESPN3.

Nationally Spotting Columbia, DePaul and South Dakota State: Calling it a stop on the “revenge” tour, the Ivy contending Lions enjoyed another record mark from Abbey Hsu led the way to an 83-74 road win at reigning Atlantic 10 champion UMass at the Mullins Center in Amherst.

Hsu had a career high 34 points propelled by a program record nine from deep, which also ties for the second most in Ivy history.

“This is huge,” Hsu said. “We called it revenge week,” of the wins over the Minutewomen (8-3) and Stony Brook which beat Columbia (9-2) a year ago. “This was to prove that we are a better team than we were last year. We want to be a team that competes with teams in the postseason and we proved that tonight.”

“The first shot went in and then it kind of felt good.”

Meanwhile, the DePaul single game scoring record fell with Aneesah Morrow collecting 45 points in an 81-63 nearby road win at Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.

Morrow had 27 in the second half over the Wildcats (4-5) and also collected 13 rebounds for the Blue Demons (7-3). She reached her. 1,000th-point in just her 43rd game, the 13th in Division I history to reach the milestone in 43 games or less. Darrione Rogers scored 18 points, while Kendall Holmes dished a career-high seven assists.

No. 24 Kansas State suffered a cold third period, allowing South Dakota State, which was ranked in the preseason, to beat the Wildcats 82-78 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.

Gabby Gregory had a game-high 31 points, including her 1,000th, but it was wasted in the loss, the first in the eight-game series, by K-State (9-2).

Myah Selland had 20 points for the Jackrabbits.

Looking Ahead - Penn and Temple Battle for .500 in City Series: Five locals play Sunday, two at noon, and two against each other at night.

Down here the Quakers host the Owls at The Palestra on ESPN+, each at 1-2 in the Big Five. There could be a three-way tie at 2-2, certainly the loser Sunday will finish at the bottom, though potentially in a tie.

Penn is on a four-game win streak that started at La Salle and is now on the early stage of a ten-game home stand. Temple is on a two-game streak, including last Monday’s home win over the Explorers.

Drexel, which has been off since the loss last Sunday at Saint Joseph’s is on a two-game road swing through Ivy country visiting Yale and then continuing to Dartmouth on Tuesday, both on ESPN+.

Princeton, coming off a near-upset at No. 6 UConn, hosts Delaware at 6 p.m. in Jadwin Gym in central New Jersey, while Penn State in a throw-back game when both were Atlantic 10 rivals, hosts West Virginia, now in the Big 12, at 4 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center in State College.

Nationally, UConn, with a roster loaded with injuries, visits No. 20 Maryland at 3 p.m. on ABC. Two teams that have met when both were ranked now meet when neither are when Louisville visits Kentucky at 1 p.m. on ESPN.

South Florida, trying to get momentum is at No. 8 N.C. State at 2 p.m. on the ACC Network.

In the PAC-12, two rival games get the conference slate started on the conference network as Washington hosts Washington State at 5 p.m. and No. 17 Oregon hosts Oregon State at 7 p.m.

No. 11 LSU hosting New Orleans is cancelled. Toledo off its upset at No. 14 Michigan hosts Dayton at 2 p.m. on ESPN+, while Duke visits Florida Gulf Coast at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

And that’s the report.