The Guru Report: Saint Joseph’s Heads Night of Four Local Sweeps With Temple, Lehigh and Lafayette

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA — It was a lite night on the local card Wednesday with the odds going in that the only team that had the best shot to win was right here at Hagan Arena on Hawk Hill where Saint Joseph’s, attempting to stop a three-game slide by narrow margins to the elite level of the Atlantic 10, was hosting St. Bonaventure, which sits at the bottom of the standings.

Deference to the visiting Bonnies, if you’re the team that Saint Joseph’s has displayed virtually all season, then you know what your mission is and the Hawks successfully accomplished it with a 92-61 triumph, the differential only five points less than it was at its widest margin a few minutes earlier.

“Very proud of the way we bounced back from Sunday’s game (loss to Fordham),” Hawks veteran coach Cindy Griffin said. “I thought the key today was moving the ball and getting the best looks that we can.

“You can see we had 26 assists on 33 field goals, which is phenomenal, and we were able to make the shots we wanted to make. I thought we started off real strong and we were able to maintain that intensity all four quarters.”

Everyone on Saint Joseph’s (15-5, 5-3 Atlantic 10) got to play in this one, the final total for the winners just one point off a previous high scored on a previous 93-69 triumph at Niagara on November 12, 2017, five seasons ago.

It’s also five seasons ago since the last time the Hawks dropped so many dimes, and just the second time all season they shot above 50 percent from the field (33-59, 55.9%) and deep (9-16, 56.3%).

Sophomore Talya Brugler, the reigning rookie of the year in the conference, which she leads in shots and makes, was 7-for-14 and scored 18 points, while Laura Ziegler was 5-for-7, including a perfect 2-for-2 from outside the arc for 14 points, and Mackenzie Smith was also 5-for-7, scoring 15 points.

“Coming off a three game losing streak, getting a quick lead like that, we knew we couldn’t settle and we had to keep pushing,” Brugler said of the game and first quarter which went the Hawks’ way 27-13. “It helped our confidence a lot and the flow of the game was in our favor.”

Oliva Mullins, who set a personal best with seven assists, a total also collected from Katie Jekot, and Emma Bostlet, who was 4-for-9,  just missed scoring in double figures with nine points each.

“Those three losses made us a very hungry team,” Mullins said afterwards. “We wanted to, unfortunately, take it out on the team that was coming next. We just want to roll with this energy and keep it going all the way to the A-10s.”

The conference tourney will return to Chase Field House, home of the 76ers minor league team, in Wilmington, Del.

The Hawks were 17-for-21 from the line, the best a 5-for-5 from reserve Jaden Walker, who scored seven points.

Dominating in transition and in the paint, Saint Joseph’s was 18-7 in points off turnovers and 44-24 in the differential for points in the paint.

St. Bonaventure (4-19, 1-7) got 21 points from L’yanna Lops and 17 from Nikki Oppenheimer but got only 23 from the rest of the squad.

Speaking off getting everyone in the game, Griffin noted, “These guys took ownership of that. They knew our bench was working really, really hard throughout the whole season. You want to be able to put them in the game so they get some court time, stay hungry, to show they are valued and need them to get better so we can get more minutes for them. I was happy we were able to do that tonight.”

Saint Joseph’s heads to Richmond, Sunday, at 4 p.m. in the Robins arena in Virginia on a 4 p.m. CBSSN national telecast. The Spiders were leading Fordham most of Wednesday before fading in the final minutes.

Next Wednesday for the Hawks, it’s on to the first of the two-series home and home with contending Rhode Island, playing the Rams, who were challenged by George Mason, Wednesday, at 6 p.m. in the Thomas M. Ryan Center in Kingston on ESPN+.

Short-Handed Temple Tops Tulane: Don’t expect this to be a trend to adopt but in a surprise outcome considering the timing, the Owls got caught way down yonder in New Orleans, though much differently, in the UConn dynamic of losing players and winning the American Athletic Conference game 68-59 at Tulane in Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse in Louisiana.

 Not long before the opening tip, an announcement from the school noted that sophomore guards Jasha Clinton and Aniya Gourdine were suspended by first-year coach Diane Richardson for breaking a team role. 

The same note also indicated Graduate forward Jalynn Holmes and freshman guard Kourtney Wilson had voluntarily left the team as well.

A source familiar with roster decisions indicated here the two situations were separate without more elaboration.

On the suspensions in her postgame zoom Richardson said, “It was just for today’s contest, they violated the team’s rules.”

In this one Temple literally turned the tide with a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter on the Green Wave (13-8, 3-5 AAC)  which had been surging in the series with seven straight wins dating back to  2017, the last Owls’ win.

“I think they knew that we only had eight players,” Richardson said of her squad. “And that we had to do it all together, and they had each other’s back and they fought for each other and it was a great outcome.”

The outcome flipped Temple (8-11, 3-4) above Tulane in the standings with plenty of room to easily climb higher considering they are now only a game behind what is a three-way tie for fourth and one-and-a-half behind third.

Tiarra East, normally a spark off the bench, had a double-double for the Owls with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Tarriyonna Gary scored 14 points with four shots from deep, as did Aleah Nelson on the way to 18 points. 

Richardson referred to Gary having “a shooter’s touch, you know, hand down, man down.

“And she was competent, and she pulled it today and we were really pleased with that. Her teammatesare egging her on to keep shooting the basketball, so she did that today.” 

Brittany Garner also helped in reserve scoring 10 points in 12 minutes of play.

Tulane got 26 points from Kyren Whittington, while Anijah Grant and Marta Galic each scored 10.

Temple will have a chance to get a win streak going Saturday when the Owls return home to the Liacouras Center at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ and they host Central Florida (UCF) , which since Katie Abrahamson-Henderson left to fill the Georgia coaching vacancy has struggled and is currently 10-8 overall and 1-5 in the conference.

Lehigh Upsets Holy Cross: The Mountain Hawks returned to their successfully recent overtime act and bagged a big one in the Patriot League, snapping the eight-game win streak of Holy Cross (16-4, 8-1 PL), which had not lost in the conference, gaining a narrow 76-74 victory at home in Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.

“We talked with our team about how we just have to keep going,” said first-year coach Addie Micir, a former Princeton star. “We’ve been in a lot of these games, and it’s about time we get rewarded for it, right?

“You’ve got to get rewarded by playing hard and making plays when it matters, and we did that.”

With 11 seconds left in regulation, Mackenzie Kramer, who hit the game-tying shot previously to force the Mountain Hawks (10-1, 6-3) into an overtime triumph, did it again, though the Crusaders had two shots that failed before time expired.

“She’s so clutch,” said Frannie Hottinger of her teammate. “She’s like the most clutch player I’ve ever played with, and it’s really awesome to have a teammate like her come up big at the end of the game.”

Kramer also took care of the finish with a shot from deep with nine seconds left to put Lehigh ahead with the final score, though Holy Cross had a chance to keep it going but couldn’t get an equalizer to drop.

Hottinger scored 30, just four off her personal best, and made it a double-double with 11 rebounds. Kramer scored 21 and grabbed five rebounds, including one with 0.7 seconds left as Kaitlyn Flanagan missed a driving layup.

“They’re our performance leaders for a reason,” Micir said of her top stars. “They’re competitive, they’re edgy, and when they can put points on the board, we’re really, really good.”

Anna Harvey dealt nine assists while the team overall was one short of perfect at the line, shooting 11-of-12.

Next up is a trip to league-leader Boston U., Saturday, at 4 p.m. in Massachusetts, the game airing on ESPN+.

Lafayette Takes Third Straight: The Leopards are suddenly humming continuing their run of triumphs beating host Loyola of Maryland in a low-scoring 39-35 battle in the Patriot League in Baltimore at Reitz Arena.

Makayla Andrews scored 13 points with six rebounds for Lafayette (7-12, 4-5 PL), who rallied from a nine-point deficit from the outset of the fourth period, while Kylie Favours just missed scoring in double digits with nine points, and Abby Antognoli scored eight.

The Greyhounds (7-13, 2-7) got a double-double 10 points and 16 rebounds from Lex Therien, while Taleah Dixon also scored 10 points.

Ahead by two near the end, Andrews went to the line and put down both foul shots to clinch the outcome.

Lafayette is back home in Kirby Sports Arena in Easton, Pa., Saturday, hosting Colgate at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

Nationally Noted - Texas Upsets No. 14 Oklahoma: In the one game to focus, Wednesday, the host Longhorns continue to baffle with their roller-coaster season, this time on the upside with a 78-58 win in a Big 12 game at home in their new Moody Center in Austin.

DeYona Gaston had 19 points for Texas (15-6, 6-2 Big 12), Taylor Jones scored 16, while Shaylee Gonzales scored 12 and dealt seven assists,  grabbed six rebounds and four steals, and Rori Harmon scored 10, dealt six assists, and collected five rebounds.

The Sooners (16-3, 6-2) got a double digit scoring game from only Skylar Vann with 13 points, the team held over 29 points below their scoring average.

Looking Ahead: For the locals the next few days, on Thursday night, Rider goes to Siena in suburban Albany for a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ while the long-running rivalry now part of the Big Ten has Penn State looking for a season sweep when the Lady Lions visit Rutgers at 7 p.m. on the subscription ESPN+.

Friday belongs to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Drexel trying to snap a two-game losing streak when the Dragons at 6 p.m. hosts Hofstra in the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Flohoops. A little further south Delaware will host Elon in the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark at 7 p.m., also on Flohoops.

On Saturday, in addition to the games mentioned with the local results of Wednesday, it’s two more high-powered showdowns with elite opponents in the Ivy League, Penn, tied for first with Columbia, visits Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., in Lavietes Pavilion on ESPN+, while Princeton hosts Yale at 2 p.m. in Jadwin Gym, also on ESPN+.

In the Atlantic 10, La Salle will seek to keep its win streak alive hosting St. Bonaventure at 2 p.m. in the Tom Gola Arena on ESPN+.

On Thursday, nationally, the major intersectional game has Tennessee hosting No. 5 UConn, in Thompson-Bolling Arena in Knoxville at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

In the Big Ten there are two battles of ranked teams Michigan is at Maryland at 6:30 p.m. on the B!G,  while Ohio State is at Indiana at 8:30 p.m. also on the B!G in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.

Two battles of ranked teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference at 8 p.m. has Virginia Tech at Duke in Cameron Indoor Arena, in Durham, N.C., on the ACCN; and at the same time on the regional network Florida State will be at Notre Dame in Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind.

On Friday night on the PAC-10 Network, UCLA is at Colorado at 9 p.m. and Southern Cal is at Utah.

And that’s the report.