The Guru Report: Washington Leads Drexel Over Longwood and Reaches Fourth in Program Scoring; No. 4 Ohio State Rally at No. 18 Louisville Highlights B10/ACC Challenge

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Perhaps there will be one more local addition to the 2000-point scoring club by the end of the season.

Keishana Washington, getting a benefit of a fifth season at Drexel as did Mia Davis at Temple a year ago scored 25 points Wednesday night to lead the Dragons to a 74-61 win over Longwood at Farmville, Va., continuing on the second stop of their current road trip.

Prior to the opening tip in the daily statistics update, Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist, who joined the 2000 club in the No. 25 Wildcats’ win over South Florida Sunday night, and Drexel’s Washington were listed 1-2 in the nation in scoring. 

Siegrist, who’s next game is part of a Top 25 showdown opening the Big East slate Friday night when No. 13 Creighton visits Finneran Pavilion (7 p.m., Flohoops), was listed at 27.4 ppg., while Washington was at 27.0.

The Drexel grad is still second but off a slight dip fell into a three-way tie at 26.7 with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, who plays in a Big 10/ACC Challenge game Thursday night and DePaul’s Annesah Morrow.

Right behind is No. 3 Connecticut’s Azzi Fudd at 25.6.

Washington’s 12th point on the night was enough to elevate her over Sarah Curran, Kamile Nackaite, and Katrina Martin to 1,665 as she reached  or passed 20 for the fourth time this season.

She’s less than a hundred at 95 from third, held by Bailey Greenberg (1,746), who graduated in 2020, and then it’s 154 more to reach No. 2 Michelle Maslowski.

Scoring 100 more makes her the ninth player in the combo Philly Six/Big Five to join the club though the overall leader, a Drexel player, will be hard to catch at 2,581, achieved from 2006-10.

As for the rest of the story at Longwood for the Dragons, (5-1) whose lone loss in the month was a closing seconds setback at La Salle, Grace O’Neill, in double figures for the second straight game, scored 14 as did Maura Hendrixson, while Hetta Saatman scored 10.

Saatman, O’Neil, and Jasmine Valentine each grabbed six rebounds, while Washington dished six assists, and Hendrixson dealt five.

Longwood (1-6) of the Big South Conference got 17 points from Adriana Shipp and 13 from Anne Hamilton Leroy.

Though the Dragons trailed early, they were back into taking control by the period’s end, then going on a 25-lead from shooting 5-for-6 from the floor.

Next up is a visit to Hawk Hill Sunday at 2 p.m. playing Saint Joseph’s at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ but first Cindy Griffin’s unbeaten squad Thursday night in the same network hosts Patriot League favorite Boston University.

The only other local game Thursday is Penn launching its 10-game home slate at 7 p.m. in The Palestra looking to avenge last season’s road loss to Stony Brook.

Lehigh and Lafayette Give Local Patriot Duo a Winning Sweep: In a game between two of the Guru’s local contingent, Lehigh behind a two-player of Frannie Hottinger and Mackenzie Kramer broke open a tight contest with a 19-5 outburst early in the fourth quarter for an 81-67 triumph over Rider (2-4) at the Broncs Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J.

Hottinger of the Mountain Hawks (3-5) exploded for a career-high 34 points and had a team high 13 rebounds whilr Kramer scored 26 in winning their second straight over Rider.

“We talked about it before tonight’s game how we were five possessions away from being a 5-2 team inside of 2-5 so our focus coming in, let’s earn those possessions,” said Lehigh first-year head coach Addie Micir, who was back nearby where she starred collegiately at Princeton. “At the end of the game, when it was tight, we earned those possessions, and I couldn’t be more proud.”

Hottinger’s night was just three off the program single game record of 37 by Liz Feeley in 1986 and her points were the most from a Lehigh player since Camryn Buhr three seasons ago scored 36 on Army.

Rider got 19 points from Jessika Shiffer, while Raphella Toussaint scored 13, and Makayla Firebaugh scored 14.

The Broncs were able to rally off Lehigh’s 12-point lead to move within a basket 36-34 at the end of the half.

It was a battle of long-range shooting — Lehigh, the nation’s leader at 11.2 a game — firing 11 from deep while Rider connected with 10 from beyond the arc.

“Any time you lose on your home floor we’re disappointed,” said veteran Rider coach Lynn Milligan. “It was a pretty good basketball game, two teams throwing punches, but it came down to that fourth and we didn’t.

“We didn’t defend in the fourth quarter. We didn’t score in the fourth quarter. That’s what it came down to, unfortunately. We got to figure that out and find a way to get the big stops at the end.

“Their two best players combined for all their points tonight. They’re both great players and they both took it to us.”

On Saturday Lehigh returns to Philadelphia where it suffered an earlier loss at Drexel and visits La Salle at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ in another game where both sides can shoot from long range.

Rider heads to Annapolis, Md., the same day, visiting Navy at 11 a.m.

Meanwhile, the other local Patriot League squad, Lafayette, downed visiting UMBC 72-38 with a balanced attack from the Leopards (2-6) in Kirby Arena in Easton, Pa.

An explosive second half got the game in the home team’s hands, outscoring the visitors 46-22.

K.K. White, the only player from UMBC (2-4) to score in double figures, had 11.

On the other hand for the Leopards, Makayla Andrews and Abby Antognoli each scored 15 with Andrews also grabbing nine rebounds, while Jessica Booth and Kylie Favours each scored 11, and Kayla Drummond scored 10.

Lafayette travels to Columbia in New York at 1 p.m. Saturday in ESPN+ while on the same network, UMBC will visit Temple the same say in the Owls’ Liacouras Center for a 3:30 p.m. tip.

Delaware Wins the In-State Showdown With Delaware State:  The Battle of Route 1 went the way it’s gone most times, in this one the host Blue Hens taking a 74-52 win at home in the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark.

First-year Delaware coach was cited for a previous first win with the program prior to the tip.

Though the score became lopsided, the Blue Hens (5-2) struggled at the outset.

“We are a young team and we had a shaky start in the first quarter,” Jenkins said after finally subduing Delaware State (2-4). I did get on them to pick up the intensity and play better basketball. We will continue to work hard and get better as we prepare for Duquesne this Sunday (1 p.m., Flohoops).

The visitors jumped to a 15-8 lead after one quarter, before the Blue Hens launched a counter eruption 27-13 to regain control.

Jewel Smalls, a fifth-year senior who was 6-of-12 from deep, led Delaware with 18 points, while Makayla Pippin was 6-of-9 from the field for 15 points besides grabbing 11 rebounds.

Klarke Sconiers scored 12, shooting 5-for-9, and Nakiyah Mays-Prince had 10 points and dealt a career-tying high with five assists.

Delaware State’s Denijsha Wilson scored 15 points, while Tyshonne Tollie scored 14 points, and Savannah Brooks scored 10.

Temple Downed at Old Dominion:  Things were going well for the Owls early in the game until the host Monarchs erupted on a 10-0 run in the second quarter in the non-conference game in Norfolk, Va.

After moving to within seven at the break by Temple, ODU started the third period on a 5-0 run extending the advantage to 12 points.

Temple stayed competitive but could never catch their hosts who then used an. 11-0 blast in the fourth on the way to a 77-65 win.

Jaylynn Holmes, who has been with the Owls (2-5)  two seasons, hit a career high at her new school of 12, she had topped previously at Norfolk State, near where Wednesday’s game was played.

It was also a homecoming game for Jasha Clinton, who’s from Virginia Beach and scored 10 while Ines Piper had eight points, six rebounds, and four steals.

Temple did well on the line, shooting 20-of-22 but got no advantage in that ODU (4-2) made 21-of-22 from the line and 8-of-20 from deep.

The game was the annual Anne Donovan Classic, in memory of one of the stars of the national powerhouse era who went on to Olympic glory and coached collegiately, in the pros, including the Philadelphia Rage in the former ABL, and USA to a gold in its current 7-0 medal run in China in 2008.

“We’ve been trying to find our chemistry, to find our identity on the court,” said Old Dominion coach Delisha Milton-Jones. “I’ve been begging for this to come out of our players. The preparation we put in this week was apparent out on the court tonight.”

The Monarchs are in their first year of a return to the Sun Belt, following competing in Conference-USA and a long run in the Colonial Athletic Association besides previous stops.

On Saturday afternoon Temple is slated to play the nightcap of a doubleheader with the men at 3:30 p.m. in the nightcap on ESPN+. However, the men tip at 1 p.m. so the start in actuality will be 40 minutes after the men’s game hosting VCU ends.

Penn State and Rutgers Routed in ACC/B1G Challenge Games:  The Lady Lions’ 7-0 start of the season was snapped on behalf of the Atlantic Coast Conference by visiting Virginia 89-68 enabling the Cavaliers to extend their unbeaten streak to 9-0 in the series challenge game played at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa.

Six games in the series were played Wednesday night, the remaining eight coming Thursday, and with this loss by PSU and the 75-61 loss by Rutgers at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass., the Big Ten was reduced to settle for a tie at 3-3 on the first of the two nights.

The Lady Lions, who had been off their best start in some time and as well as in the Carolyn Kieger era, could not find the basket early in the action.

The 7-0 burst from opening the season ties the squad for fourth best in program history. Also gone are a run of 14 straight home wins in nonconference action, which is also fourth best.

Makenna Marissa scored 16 points for the hosts, who later this month on Dec. 18, a Sunday, visit Drexel in their first trip to Philadelphia in a while.

Shay Ciezki scored 11 points. 

Virginia’s Mir McLean poured down 24 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field, while grabbing 13 rebounds. Camryn Taylor had 17 points.

“For us, we have a lot to work on, a lot to get better at, so we have to go back to the drawing board,” Keiger said after opening her press conference by offering the Virginia athletic department condolences off the recent tragedies on campus. “Our offensive execution wasn’t great.”

Penn State opens its Big 10 slate Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. at Minnesota in the Gophers’ Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

Rutgers, meanwhile, had a similar struggle, losing at Boston College 75-61.

Antonia Bates scored 12 for the Scarlet Knights (4-5), scoring all her points off 4-of-12 from beyond the arc for a career high. Kassondra Brown, Kaylene Smikle, and Abby Streeter each scored 11, while Brown also grabbed eight rebounds.

The Golden Eagles used several runs to stay ahead and extend the lead on Rutgers in what was a reunion game of sorts considering both played in the old Big East.

Maria Gakdeng had 15 points for Boston College (6-3), while Taina Mair had 14 points and 11 assists, shooting 3-for-6 from beyond the arc, and grabbing seven rebounds. Jojo Lacey also scored 14, Andrea Daley scored 10.

Rutgers opens its Big Ten schedule Sunday at noon on the Big Ten network hosting No. 4 Ohio State on a day in Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J., in which the court will be formerly dedicated in honor of retired Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer.

Nationally Noted: Ohio State Uses Fourth Quarter to End Louisville Home Streak:  The No. 4 Buckeyes rallied with a 28-18 third quarter and then a 31-14 eruption in the fourth to down the No. 18 Cardinals 96-77 in the highlight game of the six ACC/B!G challenge affairs played Wednesday. 

Earlier in the week Louisville (5-3) ended a 98-appearance streak in the Top 10 of the Associated Press weekly women’s Top 25 rankings off of upset losses in the Battle4Atlantis in the Bahamas, and now the Cardinals’ 48 home game non-conference win streak in the Yum! Center in Kentucky is also gone.

Taylor Mikesell shot 10-for-16 from the field, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc for 26 points for the Buckeyes (7-0), while Jacy Sheldon scored 22, Rebeka Mikulasikova scored 21, and Rikki Harris grabbed 10 rebounds.

Hailey Van Lith had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Louisville, while Morgan Jones scored 15, and Chrislyn Carr scored 14.

In the three other games, Illinois won at Pittsburgh, 92-71, and Purdue beat visiting Syracuse 87-78 for the two other Big Ten wins, while a Wake Forest edged host Minnesota 63-59 to account for the other triumph that went into the ACC column.

On Thursday among the remaining series highlights, Maryland is at Notre Dame for a 6:30 p.m. matchup on ESPN2; a Top 10 matchup has No. 6 North Carolina at No. 5 Indiana in Bloomington at 6 p.m. on B1G network; N.C. State is at Iowa in a Top 25 matchup at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

In other games elsewhere, in the region Fairfield took a narrow 82-75 win in overtime at Fordham as the Staggs (3-3) got 30 points from Callie Cavanaugh, while Izabela Nicoletti-Le scored  20, and Janelle Brown had 18 points and 15 rebounds.

Kaitlyn Downey scored 25 and grabbed 17 rebounds for Fordham (4-4), while Asiah Dingle had 25 points.

Out West, No. 2 Stanford had an easy 82-69 win over visiting Santa Clara in Maples Pavilion as Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer increased her NCAA Division I women’s record win total to 1,164, which is 12 ahead of the 1,162 held by UConn Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma. Earlier this week VanDerveer tied the late Tennessee legend coach Pat Summitt for most AP women’s poll appearances at 618.

Summitt missed just 14 at the time of her retirement. Until next season the Summitt total is tops for achieved all at the same school.

Hannah Jump had 19 for Stanford (9-1), while Olivia Pollerd had the same total for Santa Clara (5-4). Haley Jones had 14 points and 11 rebonds for Stanford.

Host Southern Cal (7-0) got a 69-58 win over visiting Cal Baptist as Destiny Littleton scored 16 and Grace Schmidt scored 14 for the visitors (2-5).

And that’s the report.