The Guru Report: Saint Joseph’s and Penn Sweep to Victories While Texas Downs No. 23 Kansas

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA — A year ago Allison Guth brought Yale to Saint Joseph’s in a game the host Hawks in Hagan Arena went up by 19 points, fell behind, and then claimed victory off a three-point shot near the end.

Things somehow have mystifying ways of changing with perspective maintained.

In the offseason, Guth went home to her native area to become coach of Loyola Chicago, which joined the Atlantic 10.

On Tuesday night, the Midwesterner was back with the Ramblers on Hawk Hill to face the same program that was no longer a struggling outfit.

“These guys are good,” Guth chatted of her preparation scout before tipoff. “They could win this thing (A-10).”

Saint Joseph’s proved her first comment correct, moving from a tightly fought 34-30 lead after three quarters to go 24-6 the rest of the way and stay unbeaten in the conference following a 58-36 victory.

The Hawks defense showed itself again with a 16-4 advantage on points off turnovers and while each team launched 21 shots from beyond the arc, Saint Joseph’s found the mark 8-3 to the visitors.

Mackenzie Smith, who didn't offer much in Saturday’s win here over Saint Louis, returned to form with 15 points and six rebounds, while Laura Zigler, the reigning A-10 player of the week for the fifth time this season, had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Talya Brugler, last season’s A-10 rookie of the year, continued her double digit pace scoring 11 points, Olivia Mullins had a near double-double nine points and eight rebounds, and sixth-year player Katie Jekot dished five assists for Saint Joseph’s (14-2, 4-0 Atlantic 10).

“It was a tough shooting night for three quarters, we stuck to the game plan, missed a couple of (easy shots)  that might have separated us earlier, but none the less, we stayed confident and were able to pull out the win against a very good defensive team,” said Hawks coach Cindy Griffin, now in her 22nd season at her alma mater.

No one scored in double digits for the Ramblers (6-11, 1-3).

At 14-2 overall, Griffin matched the best 16-game start in her era here which occurred her first season in 2001-02.

Asked to compare the two contingents, Griffin said, “I can’t really compare it. I haven’t really thought back. I just know this team is really special and they don’t take anything for granted, and they come in to work every day, and they practice hard, they work hard, they play hard 40 minutes with each other and I’m really grateful that certainly a team I enjoy coaching and being around.”

Having had done virtually almost as much doable as can be done at this moment, the first key conference moment for her group comes Saturday when the Hawks visit preseason favorite and reigning conference champion UMass, in Amherst at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

The Minutewomen, who took a recent hit from Rhode Island, ended Saint Joseph’s Cinderella run in the conference tourney in Wilmington, Del.

“It’s still early,” Griffin said of the season, without putting too much emphasis on a single game. “There’s a lot of basketball to be played. The next game you’re playing the defending champ in our league and it’s going to be a great test to see where we are at this point.

“We’re just looking forward to our next game, regardless who it is.”

Penn Routs Hartford: No let down. No trap game. 

Just tacking on win number ten in the current streak, the last nine at home in The Palestra, this one 76-30 against the visiting Hawks (0-16)  in what  basically was a tune-up in the last non-conference game for what is expected to be a tune-up start in the Ivy wars when Dartmouth visits Saturday at 2 p.m. still at home on ESPN+.

Penn (11-5) was making its first start following the Quakers’ weekend sweep that included a narrow upset of Columbia last Saturday that propelled them to the top of the league standings alone at 3-0 and earning senior guard Kayla Padilla the nod for Ivy player of the week on Monday and on Tuesday declaration by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Ann Meyers-Drysdale National Player of the week.

Hartford, which played in the NCAA tournament when former UConn star Jen Rizzotti coached there, is limping through this season after school officials decided to downgrade out of Division I competition.

But it was a chance to develop the bench further for what is looming as wide-open Ivy warfare among the elite teams, which Penn, for now, can be added to the list.

And the next test comes Monday afternoon on Martin Luther King Day when the Quakers head to preseason favorite Princeton at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ and NBC Sports Philadelphia in Jadwin Gym where the Tigers off upset losses at Harvard and home to Columbia are 1-2 in the league.

In Tuesday’s game Penn shot 50.9 percent from the field, freshman Simone Sawyer scoring 12 points on 4-of-5 from the field, including three shots made from deep.

Senior Mandy McGurk dealt six assists. The Quakers got 45 points from the bench, senior Silke Milliman and junior Michaela Stanfield each scoring eight points.

Off what was stated about the next game, Penn could tie the home win streak record Saturday playing Dartmouth, and without regard to the Princeton game, break it the following Saturday when Yale visits.

That will be a key game in the race for the four berths and seeds in the Ivy Tourney, which will be at Princeton in March.

Nationally Noted: Perhaps the Big 12 is starting to settle.

 After Baylor succeeded in its hit playing No. 23 Kansas last week, Texas, trying to return to the Associated Press women’s poll, disrupted the Jayhawks Tuesday night winning 72-59 in the Longhorns’ brand new Moody Center in Austin.

Shaylee Gonzales had a season-high 26 points against Kansas (12-3, 2-2 Big 12), while Sonya Morris scored 13, and All-American Rori Harmon dished 11 assists.

Texas (12-5, 3-1) broke away from a slim 43-39 lead in the third quarter.

Holly Kersgieter had 20 points for Kansas and Taiyanna Jackson had a double-double 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Currently, this looks like an upset but in reality Texas was in the Top 5 preseason in the AP Poll and Kansas was unranked.

In the only other game of note, in the Big Ten No. 17 Michigan won at Purdue 80-59 in West Lafayette, Ind.

Leigha Brown had 21 points for the visiting Wolverines (14-3, 4-2 Big Ten), while Emily Kiser and Laila Phelia each scored 17 points.

Purdue (11-5, 2-4) got 16 points from Madison Layden, while Jayla Smith scored 14 points, and Caitlyn Harper scored 10.

Looking Ahead: In early afternoon USBWA will be announcing its mid-season Ann Meyers-Drysdale National Player of the Year watch list. The nine-member women’s board voted for a top 20 list of candidates, though ties could make it slightly longer. Locally, besides being candidates, Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist and Drexel’s Keishana Washington continue to be 1-2 among the nation’s scoring leaders. 

Siegrist, whose Wildcats will be at DePaul Wednesday night for a Big East game in Wintrust Arena in Chicago, leads with a 28.5 average, while Washington is at 27.5. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is third at 27.2. 

DePaul’s Aneesah Morrow, who will be on the opposing side of the Wildcats, is fourth at 27.2.

Other games locally on Wednesday’s card begin at noon for the annual Education Day at Temple in the Liacouras Center when the Owls welcome East Carolina for an American Athletic Conference clash on ESPN+.

La Salle hosts George Mason in the Atlantic 10 at 6:30 p.m. in Tom Gola Arena on ESPN+. 

In the Big Ten, Penn State visits Nebraska in Lincoln at 8 p.m. on the B1G+ subscription network, while in the Patriot League Lafayette hosts Navy at 6 p.m. in the Kirby Sports Arena in Easton, while Lehigh is at Holy Cross at 6 p.m. in Worcester, Mass., both games on ESPN+.

National games of note has No. 4 UConn with enough scholarship players to resume competition in the Big East at St. John’s in Queens on SNY; Seton Hall is at Creighton at 9 p.m. in Omaha, Neb., on FS1, while Iowa hosts Northwestern at 7:30 p.m., and in the Mid-American Conference, favored Toledo hosts Ball State at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

On Thursday, locally, Rider hosts Canisius at 7 p.m. in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game in Alumni Gym on ESPN+ in Lawrenceville, N.J., while it’s Princeton’s turn to host Hartford at 6 p.m. in Jadwin Gym at 6 p.m. on ESPN+, and Rutgers at 8:30 p.m. on the main B1G Network visits Minnesota in Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

Nationally, Maryland, back in the Top 10 completes the ranking match at Indiana in the Big Ten at 6 p.m. and in the ACC NC State is at Florida State at 6 p.m. on the ACC Network.

That’s the report.