The Guru Report: Siegrist Second Half Explosion Keeps No. 11 Villanova Humming

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

Neither snow, nor rain, nor Seton Hall’s first-half defense Monday night could prevent Villanova’s postwoman from completing her task of delivering her now 11^th-rank Wildcats to one more regular season triumph – an 83-56 victory over the Pirates in Walsh Gym in South Orange, N.J., to wrap up the Big East schedule as the second seed and get ready to head to the conference tournament this weekend at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

 

Who could blame coach Tony Bozzella for getting to do whatever necessary to avoid a similar plundering the native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. heaped on his charges several weeks ago in their previous meeting on the Main Line when Siegrist spun a slew more records while collecting 50 points against Seton Hall (17-13, 10-10).

 

The nation’s leading scorer only put up a few shots and went to the half with just eight points listed alongside her name.

 

“I think my job was to be a decoy tonight,” Siegrist told the TV sideline reporter with a big smile afterwards. “I’ll do what it takes to help my team.”

 

Not to worry.

 

From the get-go the other Maddie as in Penn State transfer Maddie Burke took care of business with a pair from deep and a jump shot from the lane to get the ‘Cats going.

 

Then came the third period when Siegrist performed her Bermuda Triangle act making the opposition disappear.

 

In fact, she turned the 10 minutes into a highlight from the previous occasion shooting 6-for-9 and scoring 16 of Villanova’s 29 points.

 

When it was all said and done there was the familiar special total in many games this season, finishing with 32 points, shooting 10 for 16 from the field, and a perfect 11-for-11 from the line.

 

That action completed running the season table for ‘Nova (26-6, 17-3), putting up 20 or more points in all 32 games.

 

Only WNBA All-Star Kelsey Plum’s run of 35 straight for the University of Washington in 2017 has been better.

 

Christina Dalce had a double-double 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Burke scored 12 with five rebounds. Brooke Mullin added eight points and five rebounds with three assists.

 

Seton Hall’s Azana Baines was the lone Pirate in double figures with 22 points.

 

Siegrist’s career mark is now over 2,700 points at 2,712.

 

Only La Salle’s Lionel Simmons among all the men and women who have played at the city’s six Division I schools has scored more.

 

Only Elena Delle Donne at Delaware and Kelly Mazzante at Penn State have scored more than all the women at the 13 regionally followed programs in the state.

 

And Siegrist is likely to set the single season points mark this weekend among all the men and women who have played in the Big Five.

 

Meanwhile, off the most chaos all season in the Associated Press women’s poll with 15 teams taking hits, the Wildcats by picking up wins off DePaul and Providence bolted from 15^th to 11^th, the highest in program history matching the rankings in the final polls of 2003 when the team advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight and the 1982 final poll when Villanova advanced to the AIAW Final Four at The Palestra and finished third.

 

A year ago, this time, Villanova was being mentioned as a bubble team as it advanced to the championship.

 

Now 12 months later, off the two NCAA reveals projecting ‘Nova as a four seed, the Wildcats are looking at two victories into the Big East title round as might be enough to be a participating host for the first two rounds.

 

As a two-seed in the Big East, the Wildcats get a bye to Saturday’s quarterfinals at 7 p.m. against the winner of Friday’s 7-DePaul/10-Providence game.

 

Advancing to the semifinal on Sunday could be a match with dangerous 3-seed Creighton, unless the winner of 6-seed Seton Hall/11-seed Xavier takes care of the Bluejays.

 

Saturday’s game will air on Fox Sports 2.

 

Meanwhile after a season loaded with injuries and an uncharacteristic two conference losses with several other escapes, No. 9 UConn, which plunged out of the top five earlier Monday, topped Xavier 60-51 at home in Storrs to claim another in a mammoth collection of conference titles out of the Big East and the period spent in between in the American Athletic Conference.

 

But the joyful heading to the postseason mantra was not to be found.

 

“It’s time we stopped blaming injuries, stop blaming fatigue, stop blaming tired,” said Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma, who was back within 10 of Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer with 1175 victories, the top two with runaway totals in Division I.

 

“We are where we are.”

Auriemma had a lot to criticize but also took his own accountability.

 

“We look like a poorly coached team, and that’s me and my staff.

 

“Somewhere along the line, maybe after the South Carolina game, we lost our way.”

 

UConn will meet the Butler/Georgetown winner on Saturday.

 

On the pace of the tournament that includes three consecutive days, he noted, “If we don’t get some things fixed, I don’t think we’ll be playing three games.”

 

Baylor Upsets No. 12 Texas

 

Poised to win its first outright Big 12 title in several decades, No. 12 Texas was upset by Baylor, itself out of the rankings for the first time in several decades, the Bears winning on the road 63-54 at the Longhorns’ new Moody Center in Austin.

 

Freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had 19 points and 13 rebounds for Baylor (19-10, 10-7 Big 12) off the bench.

 

Sarah Andrews had 17 points and seven rebounds, while Ja’Mee Asberry collected 10 points.

 

The Longhorns (22-8, 13-4) got 15 points and 13 rebounds while Rori Harmon scored 12, seven rebounds and seven assists. Shaylee Gonzales scored 10.

 

No. 16 Oklahoma is on the ‘Horns’ heels as the final week of the season concludes heading into next week’s Big 12 tourney.

 

Baylor has been 4-0 in road wins over Top 25 games but the Bears fell off the pace early in the season, which will cost them a 13^th straight Big 12 regular season crown.

 

And that’s the report for Monday. 

 

  

The Guru Report: Drexel Clinches CAA Bye: March Madness Moving In

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

PHILADELPHIA – All was good for Drexel here at home Sunday afternoon in the Daskalakis Athletic Center beating William & Mary 55-47 to avenge an early loss to the Tribe in Williamsburg, Va., in a Colonial Athletic Association contest that kept the Dragons (21-7, 13-4 CAA) 1.5 games in front of a four-way tie in second place.

 

Coach Amy Mallon’s squad built a 14-point lead in the second period but William & Mary (15-12, 10-6) shriveled it down in the second half but the Dragons had answers to avoid being overtaken.

 

Drexel, which clinched a first-round bye in the conference tournament, finshes here Saturday the regular season by hosting new member North Carolina A&T at 3 p.m.

 

The opponent is one of the teams in the hunt in second place.

 

“This William & Mary team is a tough team so coming in we knew we were going to have to battle so I’m really proud of this team,” said Mallon. “We hit our defensive goal today. Some of the things we did on the floor, we showed composure when they went on their run, I thought that was all good signs for us as we move into one more home game at the end of the week and move into tournament time.”

 

Drexel was the preseason pick to finish first from the CAA coaches.

 

Keishana Washington, who was holding second in the nation in scoring behind Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist, collected 20 points, her 23^rd game this season with 20+ points.

 

Freshman Kylie Lavelle scored 10 and Maura Hendrixson dealt nine assists and had six points.

 

The Tribe got 17 points out of Riley Casey, while Sydney Wagner scored 13.

 

Delaware helped Drexel’s cause on the road winning at another new member Stony Brook at Island Federal Arena on Long Island 53-51 to bring an end to a four-game win streak by the Seawolves (17-10, 11-5).

 

The reigning CAA champion Blue Hens (15-12, 8-8) were led by Klarke Sconiers’ 20 points, while all 15 of Jewel Small’s points were courtesy of downing five shots from deep.

 

The Blue Hens will be going for a sweep playing North Carolina A&T prior to their stop at Drexel on Thursday with an Education Day tip time at 11 a.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Del.

 

Rutgers falls to No. 25 Illinois

In the only other game on the schedule from the locals, Rutgers ended its regular season at home in Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J., 75-53, in a Big Ten contest.

 

Kaylene Smikle had 18 points and six rebounds for the Scarlet Knights (11-19, 5-13 Big Ten), while Chyna Cornwell had 11 points and Kassondra Brown scored 10.

 

The Illini (21-8, 11-7), one of the surprise teams, nationally, under former Dayton coach Shauna Green, got 20 points, propelled from 4-of-6 beyond the arc, while Genesis Bryant scored 15 and Adalia McKenzie scored 14 with eight rebounds.

 

Additionally, Kendall Bostic scored 12.

 

Since we’re rounding up the whole weekend, Penn State finished its Big Ten business Saturday losing 80-65 to Michigan State at home in the Bryce Jordan Center in State College.

 

Shay Ciezki, however, tallied a career-high 27 points, the most ever by a freshman under Lady Lions coach Carolyn Kieger, dropping 10 field goals, seven from deep.

 

Penn State (13-16, 4-14) saluted its three outgoing seniors – Anna Camden, Johnasia Cash and Temple transfer Alexa Williamson.

 

Michigan State (15-13, 7-10) got 20 points from DeeDee Hqgemann, while Kamaria McDaniel scored 12.

 

Saint Joseph’s and La Salle Grab Closing Wins

 

Besides celebrating Senior Days, Saint Joseph’s and La Salle picked up wins at home as the standings chase in the Atlantic 10 came to an end for both teams.

 

On Hawk Hill Talya Brugler and Mackenzie Smith led a rally from nine down in the third period to give Saint Joseph’s a 64-60 win over Duquesne and ensure a bye in the conference tourney that will open in Wilmington later this week at the CHASE Fieldhouse.

 

It was anyone’s game in the last minute before Smith’s layup in a crowd gave Saint Joseph’s (19-9, 9-7 A-10) a 3-point lead followed by Julia Nystrom making a steal and then connecting on a foul shot with 10 seconds left to gain a cushion on the Dukes (18-11, 8-8).

 

Brugler scored 25, of which 16 were scored in the second half, while Smith was 7-for-14 from the field and 8-9 from the line for 23 points.

 

Laura Ziegler had eight points and 12 rebounds.

 

Jaden Walker was the lone departing upper classwoman.

 

“The flow of the game was certainly going in their favor, and then we got some stops down the other end, that’s what it’s going to take going forward and we know that and just glad we were able to pull it out,” said Hawks coach Cindy Griffin.

 

“It just shows the resiliency and relentlessness of this team.

 

“We started strong in the non-conference, and in the conference, hit some bumps in the road, but every great team goes through it, so I consider us a great team.”

 

The Hawks have shown enough to be a contender for a bid from the WNIT but as Griffin noted the team is targeting for an NCAA bid by winning the conference tourney.

 

La Salle, meanwhile, edged VCU 55-51 in Tom Gola Arena as the Explorers (17-13, 8-7 A-10) jettisoned a two-game losing streak.

 

“I think it gave us a lot of confidence, because it was a hard win, and we fought for it, said Claire Jacobs, a senior guard as is her Australian sister Amy, with an eye to the conference tourney.

 

Jacobs scored 19 with five rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

 

Kayla Spruill, a grad student, had nine points, while grad student Molly Masciantonio had four assists and two steals.

 

VCU (7-21, 4-12) got 19 points and seven boards from Timaya Lewis-Eutsey.

 

Penn Handles Dartmouth Eyes Princeton

 

The Quakers finished their regular season road business Saturday with a convincing 54-37 win over the Big Green as Kayla Padilla scored 23 in Hanover, N.H.

 

Besides being one of the four already-qualified women’s teams for the Ivy Madness event in a few weeks, Penn (17-9, 9-4 Ivy) slipped into third place.

 

For the Quakers to get that spot for the playoffs, they will have to likely top Princeton Friday night at The Palestra on their senior night.

 

The Tigers are battling Columbia to continue their long-running domination of the league but gaining that slot could mean an automatic bid in the WNIT if both the Tigere and Lions land in the NCAA field.

 

Jordan Obi added 11 points in the win over Dartmouth, while Floor Toonders had 11 rebounds.

 

Dartmouth (2-25, 0-13) had 12 from Mekkena Boyd.

 

Temple Slump Continues

 

Considering the short roster further impacted by injuries, the six-game losing streak is more like an endurance run for now for the Owls (10-17, 5-10).

 

Wivchita State, the last Temple victim before the script flipped, delivered a payback with a 79-67 win in an American Athletic Conference game in the Midwest in Kansas.

 

Aleah Nelson scored 16 points, while Tarriyona Gary scored 15, and Caranda Perea had 14 for Temple.

 

The Owls finish with a home game Wednesday in the Liacouras Center at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ before heading to Fort Worth for next week’s AAC tourney in Texas.

 

A Patriot Split  

 

On Saturday, it went the other way, Lafayette winning at home in the Patriot League over Bucknell 69-61 in the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa., while Lehigh fell to the league leaders from Boston U. 78-65 at home n Stabler Arena in nearby Bethlehem, Pa.

 

In the win by the Leopards (9-18, 6-11 Patriot), four players scored in double figures while ending a 17-game losing streak dating bck to 2015 to the Bison (12-16, 8—9).

 

Abby Antognoli had 21 points for Lafayette, while Makayla Andrews had a double-double 16 points and 12 rebounds, as did Halee Smith with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and reserve Kay Donahue scored 11.

 

The Leopards finish Wednesday night at Navy in Annapolis, Md., at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

 

Lehigh, meanwhile, which will finish at Army in West Point, N.Y., at 6 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN+ prior to the start of conference tournament play next weekend, were unable to be the first to hand a setback in the Patriot to the frontrunners.

 

Frannie Hottinger had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Mountain Hawks (15-13, 11-6), while Mackenzie Kramer had 15 points and Anna Harvey scored 11.

 

Caitlin Weimar had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Terriers.

 

Nationally Noted: We’ve reached the point where the regular season begins to fade out and March Madness with conference tournaments and the NCAA and WNIT tourneys begin fading in.

 

On the weekend, though, as teams tried to get the best advantage, there were still a few eye openers.

In the Big Ten, which may have been a preview of the conference action in Minneapolis later this week, No. 6 Iowa, already relegated to second seed in the league playoffs, offered Caitlin Clark with a personal denial in front of a sellout crowd as she delivered a buzzer-beating game-ender depriving No. 2 Indiana of a sweep 86-85 over the top seed Hoosiers.

 

Clark, who fell to third in the national scoring race recently behind Drexel’s Kieshana Washington, finished with 34 points for the Hawkeyes, along with nine assists, and nine rebounds.

 

“I’ve hit a few buzzer-beaters, but nothing to that extreme with the circumstances what they were for us. That’s definitely No. 1.”

 

Had Iowa not lost by 28 at No. 7 Maryland Thursday, the shot would have made them the top seed.

 

Though Stanford will be the top seed in the PAC-12 in Las Vegas later this week, the No. 2 seed Utah also was a No. 1 along with the No. 3 Cardinal in the last NCAA Reveal.

 

The Utes earned a tie for the PAC-12 title as No.8 Utah beat No. 3 Stanford 84-78.

 

One thing that did not change Sunday. No. 1 South Carolina, the reigning NCAA champion, clipped Georgia 73-63 at home in Columbia to finish the season unbeaten with their 29^th victory and 35^th straight heading into this week’s Southeastern Conference tourney.

 

But in the Atlantic Coast Conference, on the way to the top tourney seed, No. 11 Duke in a Research Triangle War fell to nearby No. 22 North Carolina 45-41, while No. 10 Notre Dame for the first time since 2015 landed the regular season crown holding off Louisville 68-65 on the road in Kentucky.

 

Elsewhere in the ACC, No. 23 Florida State lost to hot Clemson 74-61, while in the Big Ten No. 12 Michigan was upended by host Wisconsin 78-70.

 

Looking Ahead

 

The last time Maddy Siegrist went up against Seton Hall in the Big East, she plundered the Pirates for 50 points. 

 

Already assured of the second seed in this weekend’s Big East tourney, Villanova finishes up in the return game at Seton Hall at 7 p.m. Monday night on FloHoops.

 

Siegrist is on another track this week heading for the most points in the Big 5 a single season by a male or female.

 

In the Atlantic 10 tourney in Wilmington, Del., Saint Joseph’s drew a sixth seed, where they were picked by conference coaches in the preseason, and the Hawks will play at 7:30 p.m. the last game Thursday against the winner between No. 11 Davidson and No. 14 St. Bonaventure.

 

La Salle as the eighth seed will start the day at 11 a.m. playing 9^th-seeded George Mason, advancing if winning to start Friday with top-seeded and reigning champion UMass., which finished in a tie at the top with Rhode Island, but won the tiebreaker.

 

Saint Joseph’s would see No. 3 Saint Louis at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The Hawks are on Rhode Island’s side of the bracket.

 

In the Big Ten, it’s Philly day on Wednesday as Penn State opens at 2 p.m. as the 13^th seed playing No. 12 Minnesota, while on the other side, Rutgers at No. 11 will play No. 14 Northwestern, coached by Father Judge grad Joe McKeown, at approximately 4:30 p.m.

 

And now you’re caught up with plenty coming Monday.  

  

The Guru Report: Villanova, Drexel, and Princeton Target High SeedsWith Wins onSenior Night

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

VILLANOVA, Pa. – The No. 15 Wildcats here in their Finneran Pavilion and Drexel on the road each took separate steps Friday night to move one step closer to key finishes in their respective regular season conference races.

 

And both teams got the job done even if their respective marquee stars as the nation’s 1-2 scoring punch were a bit off from recent performances while still being the heart of the offensive thrusts in each contest.

 

Here on the Main Line, Villanova had little difficulty beating Providence 67-50 in front of a large crowd of 3,321 in the Big East that came to salute graduating seniors Brooke Mullin and Maddy Siegrist in their last home appearance on the schedule but potentially an adios that’s not necessarily goodbye.

 

The result gave the Wildcats (25-5, 16-3 Big East) second place, thus second seed, for next week’s conference tournament at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Holding third is Creighton (20-7, 14-5).

 

The two teams split their series, Creighton running the Wildcats out of the building here in the conference season opener and then ‘Nova with a payback in the game in the Midwest in Omaha, Nebraska, on the January night that Siegrist topped the 36-year-old career mark of Shelly Pennefather. 

 

The preseason conference coaches’ vote had the spots reversed, Creighton second off its Sweet 16 run, and Villanova third.

 

Siegrist, the nation’s top scorer with a 29.1 coming into the contest, was just 8-for-26 in this one from the field, and 0-for-3 from deep, but 7-for-10 at the line for 23 points.

 

During the pre-game ceremony, the native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., may have set a new mark for introduction length, the public address announcer nothing her 10 school records, which have also spun off into marks for her play in the league and among the six Division I schools in the city.

 

Siegriest has scored 20 or more points, including 50 several weeks ago, in all 30 games for the Wildcats (25-5, 16-3 Big East), bringing her career total to 2,682, the most for any woman at the Philly Six and more than any male except for La Salle great Lionel Simmons, who collected 3,217 points.

 

Among all 13 Division I schools followed in the region, only two players have scored more – Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne (3,039) and Penn State’s Kelly Mazzante (2,919).

 

WNBA star Kelsey Plum holds the NCAA record playing for Washington with 3,527 points, while 25^th on that list is currently Iowa’s Megan Gustafson at 2,804.

 

Back to the game, overall, for a change, not that it’s never a back seat with Villanova, defense took care of a lot of the business forcing Providence (13-17, 4-15) into 18 turnovers producing a 16-5 advantage in transition scoring totals.

 

“I was really pleased with our defense, the first half especially, said Villanova coach Denise Dillon. “We talked about crowding the ball and we did just that.

 

“I think this group really knows the importance of defense creating offense.”

 

Mullin on her celebratory night had six points and seven assists.

 

Lucy Olsen double-doubled her way to 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Christina Dalce had 11 points and six rebounds.

 

The Friars’ Olivia Olsen scored 15 with four boards and three blocks while Grace Efosa and Janai Crooms scored 13 and 12 points, respectively.

 

Dillon on the offensive side was pleased with another display of motion with 22 assists on 25 makes.

 

“We run an offense that requires movement,” she said. “We’ve seen how good this group is in the open court. I think we’ve done a nice job in transition but also recognizing that we can be just as good in the halfcourt with our cuts and ball movement.”

 

Dillon also praised her two team leaders.

 

“I came in their sophomore year,” she referenced leaving a long stint at Drexel to return to her alma mater in the wake of Harry Perretta’s retirement. “Just their willingness to get started with the Covid year, it was so tough. Watching their growth and development has been an absolute joy.”

 

While the senior celebration was a ceremonial adieu, it could turn into a long goodbye.

 

For one, the Wildcats held their own in the NCAA Committee’s second reveal, even advancing one seed spot to 14 from the previous one, meaning if they finish high in the Big East tournament, they are likely to land one of the 16 host perks to play in the opening round at home and by advancing also the second round.

 

The road to get it done is short but not easy.

 

Villanova will finish the regular schedule Monday night at Seton Hall in Walsh Gym in South Orange, N.J., at 7 p.m. on FS1. The Pirates were the team that Siegrist personally plundered here several weeks ago with her 50-point performance.

 

The goal in the conference tournament will be to get to the championship round where likely top seed UConn will await.

 

Dillon noted that following losing to Michigan last season in the second round on the Wolverines’ court, her squad returned in the summer ready to do whatever necessary to put themselves in a hosting slot.

 

Beyond that, both players have a covid year that would allow them to return next season and with everyone else back, it’s a team that could even be stronger then this contingent.

 

Of course, Siegrist is projected as a high WNBA first-round pick but there’s a lot of factor both ways.

 

Incidentally, should she decide to forego the pros for a year, it will easy a conflict on April 10, which is both the night of the draft and the night of the annual Big Five awards reception at The Palestra.

 

Drexel Moves Closer to CAA Top Seed

 

The Dragons also played the defense card Friday night, holding the top spot in the Colonial Athletic Association standings with two games remaining by winning at Hofstra 58-34 in Hempstead on Long Island.

 

It was the second game this season holding the opposition under 40 and the lowest total allowed.

 

Keishana Washington, who recently moved back into second behind Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist, among the nation’s scoring leaders, had 21 points, while Hetta Saatman scored 10 points.

 

Maura Hendrixson kept in a dishing frenzy, dealing 10, which brought her career total to 201, just the 12^thplayer in CAA history to reach 200.

 

Drexel’s bench came up big, negating the attempted suffocating work on Washington, scoring 23 points. Tori Hyduke scored nine points, Jasmine Valentine matched her personal best with eight points, and Chloe Hodges had six with five rebounds.

 

The Dragons (20-7, 12-4 CAA) will be looking for a split Sunday, hosting William & Mary at 2 p.m. at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on FloHoops.

 

Drexel will finish next Saturday hosting newcomer North Carolina A&T, their only meeting, which is trailing 1.5 games back with three other teams, including William & Mary, after losing Friday night.

 

Stony Brook, who was swept by the Dragons, is in second by a half-game and will be hosting Delaware Sunday at 2 p.m. on Long Island in Island Federal Arena on FloHoops.

 

The Blue Hens, the defending CAA champs, fell into a three-way tie for seventh, three games behind the gridlock above after losing 71-60 at Northeastern in Boston Friday night.

 

The win off a 25-6 third-quarter rally over Delaware (14-12, 7-8) allowed the Huskies (15-11, 10-5) to move into that upper traffic jam.

 

The Blue Hens held a 14-point lead with 8:43 left in the third before Northeastern began exploding with a 25-2 run to change the momentum, though Delaware in the final period got as close as six points.

 

JaMiya Braxton led the way for the Huskies, scoring 22 points, while Derin Erdogan and Gemima Motema each scored 14 with Motema grabbing eight rebounds and four steals. Deja Bristol scored 13.

 

Delaware had Mikayla Pippin, who also had eight rebounds, Rebecca Demeke and Klarke Sconiers each score 11 points.

 

Princeton Stays in Hunt for Ivy First by Nipping Harvard

 

The Tigers avoided a season sweep by the visiting Crimson in Jadwin Gym with a closing rally capped by Kaitlyn Chen’s shot with 19 seconds left in regulation for a 51-47 victory.

 

The score came after Ellie Mitchell gathered her fifth offensive rebound off a missed shot and flipped to Chen who shrugged off contact from a Crimson defender to find the basket and snap a 47-47 tie.

 

Chen scored 18 for the Tigers (20-5, 11-2 IVY), who remained locked in a battle with Columbia for the top seed in the four-team league tourney, which Princeton will host in two weeks.

 

Harvard, which has a spot in the tourney field, as does Penn, dropped to 15-10 and 8-5.

 

Princeton finishes at The Palestra Friday at 7 p.m. looking for a sweep of the Quakers, who first are at Dartmouth on Saturday.

 

Grace Stone scored 13 to help the Tigers earn their fifth straight 20-win seasons, while Mitchell had 12 rebounds.

 

Harvard’s McKenzie Forbes had 19 points, completed four from deep, while Harmoni Turner scored 11.

 

Nationally Noted: No. 7 Maryland Edges No. 16 Ohio State

 

It’s all been going right recently for the Terrapins on a season-ending six-game win streak while it’s been tough luck for the Buckeyes, who opened with a program-best 19-0, rose to second in the Associated Press Women’s Poll before slipping with a series of losses in the Big Ten.

 

In the latest at home in Columbus, Ohio State (23-6, 12-6 Big Ten) mad a bid to force Maryland (24-5, 15-3) into overtime but the putback from Cotie McMahon was ruled too late.

 

Abby Meyers, the transfer from Princeton, scored 24 points for the Terrapins.

 

The outcome had been undetermined until Maryland launched an 8-0 run midway in the fourth period highlighted by Lavender Briggs’ three-point basket.

 

The Terrapins led 76-74 after Meyers went 1-for-2 on the line, then Rikki Harris missed two from the line with 10 seconds left and then came a basket that was too little and too late.

 

Maryland ended with a season sweep of the Buckeyes heading into next week’s Big Ten tournament at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

 

“That felt like a game that you would see in postseason here in March,” said Maryland coach Brenda Frese. “The mentality of being able to make one more play and just so many elements there of like Ohio State wanting redemption in our game and the emotions of that being senior night.

 

“But I just thought just getting one more stop, and just you’ve seen how much we’ve grown as a team.”

 

McMahon had 20 points for Ohio State, while Taylor Mikesell scored 18, and Taylor Thierry had 16, while Rebeka Mikulasikova scored 13.

 

Maryland has beaten seven ranked teams this season.

 

The Terrapins will either own the second or third seed in next week’s conference tourney, while the Buckeyes will be fourth.

 

Looking Ahead: Teams start finishing up this weekend who will be participating in the first wave of conference tournaments, many of those being the power five group.

 

Locally, Saint Joseph’s hosts Duquesne at 2 p.m. in Hagan Arena while La Salle will be hosting VCU the same time both on ESPN+ as each school celebrates senior day and makes a last bid for whatever seed spot still attainable for the coming Atlantic Ten tournament.

 

Penn State closes out it’s Big Ten slate hosting Michigan State at 2 p.m. on the B1G network in the Bryce Jordan Center in State College.

 

Other Saturday local games involve teams with still some more action remaining. Temple is at Wichita State in an American Athletic Conference game at 3 p.m. on ESPN+.

 

As mentioned above, Penn is at Dartmouth at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ fighting for an IVY three seed.

 

In the Patriot League, Lehigh hosts first-place Boston U. at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ in Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., while Lafayette hosts Bucknell at 2 p.m. in the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa., also on ESPN+.

 

On Sunday, besides the two CAA games involving Drexel and Delaware, Rutgers closes out its Big Ten action hosting Illinois at 2 p.m. in Jersey Mike’s Arena at 2 p.m. on the B1G in Piscataway, N.J.

 

Nationally on Saturday, first place is at stake in the PAC-12 when No. 8 Utah hosts Stanford at 2 p.m. in Salt Lake City, while in the Big East, DePaul hosts UConn, where another loss by the Huskies would create a tie with one game remaining, though the Huskies would likely get the top seed. That game is on FOX at 2 p.m.

 

Texas is at Oklahoma in a Big 12 battle of two ranked teams though that conference has another week to go.

 

Though No. 1 in the Big Ten is determined a preview of the potential championship airs on Sunday when Indiana travels to Iowa at 4 p.m. on ESPN2

 

And that’s the report.

 

  

The Guru Report: Villanova Stays in Reveal; Rider Wins in Overtime

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

Rider picked the right time for things to fall in the Broncs’ direction.

 

Reaching near the end of the regular season and the team playing new member Mount St. Mary’s, the home team in Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J., nearly got clipped before time expired, but once in overtime, they made the most of it moving to a 68-59 victory in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matinee game that aired nationally on ESPNU.

 

The Mountaineers (10-16, 6-11 MAAC) had tied the game on a layup with 21.6 seconds left and then were able to launch another that zipped through the net but a review determined the attempt was late sending the game into overtime.

 

The visitors drew first blood with a score and then the Broncs (8-19, 5-13) ran off seven straight points and Makayla Firebaugh was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line to secure the win.

 

“Super happy with the result today,” said Rider coach Lynn Milligan. “We really gutted it out when we had to.

 

“Overtime, I thought was terrific, we really regained our composure. For most of the game we played really solid defense,” she said.

 

“We’ve been in overtime before this year. The way regulation ended, we could have allowed that to knock us down. We needed to move on, we need to be in the now. We need to be where our feet are for these next five minutes, and we did that, even when they scored first.”

 

The result gained a split on the season.

 

Firebaugh finished with a game-high 18 points. She also grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds for her first double-double.

 

Ralphaela Toussaint had 16 points and 10 rebounds, her third straight double-double. Victoria Toomey had 16 points.

 

The Broncs have been in three overtimes this season, bringing their record to 2-1 in those games.

 

Rider is off until next Thursday visiting Manhattan at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.

 

Rutgers Downed at Michigan

 

It was a milestone night for Scarlet Knights freshman Kaylene Smikle, scoring 14 points, including the third frosh in program history to reach 500 points, but Rutgers fell 71-53 in a Big Ten game to No. 12 Michigan (21-7, 11-6 Big Ten) at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.

 

Kai Carler added 13 points for Rutgers (11-18, 5-12), which was in a one-point game at the half.

 

Emily Kiser had a double-double 34 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolverines, while Maddie Nolan scored 15.

 

Rutgers will finish the regular season Sunday hosting No. 25 Illinois at 2 p.m. in Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J., before heading off to Minneapolis later in the week for the Big Ten tournament.

 

Villanova Remains in the Second NCAA Reveal

 

The NCAA tournament committee Thursday night trotted out its second and final reveal of its Top 16 teams as of now prior to the real deal on Selection Sunday Night, March 12, 8 p.m. on ESPN, and 15th ranked Villanova held its ground even moving up in the committee’s ranking at 14th overall with a fourth seed.

 

Thus, if the entire 68-team field had this group as is, the Wildcats would be hosts for first and second round games at Finneran Pavilion on the Main Line.

 

The top seeds were South Carolina, the overall No. 1, Indiana, Stanford and Utah while the second seeds were LSU, Maryland, UConn, and Virginia Tech.

 

The three seeds were Iowa, Notre Dame, Duke, and Ohio State, followed by four-seeds Texas, Villanova, Arizona, and Michigan.

 

This season, the Sweet 16 will be a two-site format, two groups in Greenville, S.C., and the other two in Seattle, Wash.

 

In the previous reveal, Villanova was in the second group in Greenville, but in the latest release, coach Denise Dillon’s squad is Seattle Regional 3, meaning if it got out of the Main Line with two wins, it would face Stanford in the Sweet 16. The other two teams would be Maryland meeting Duke.

 

The Final Four will be in Dallas, March 31 and April 2.

 

Villanova pending the NCAA placement becoming real plays its final home game Friday night at 7 p.m., saluting seniors Maddy Siegrist and Brooke Mullen, playing Big East rival Providence on FloHoops.

 

Only two other locals are playing Friday, Drexel, trying to stay in first in the Collegiate Athletic Association, visits Hofstra at 7 p.m., while Delaware travels to Northeastern in Boston at the same time, both on FloHoops.

 

The one national game of note in the Big Ten has Maryland visiting Ohio State at 6 p.m. on the B1G Network.

 

Nationally Noted

 

Top-ranked South Carolina feel behind early at Tennessee in Knoxville and then roared back and grabbed a 73-60 Southeastern Conference victory to stay unbeaten as the Gamecocks (28-0, 15-0 SEC) won their 34th straight game.

 

“We’re blessed,” said coach Dawn Staley. “We’re a low-maintenance, high-performance team. Can’t ask for more than that.”

 

South Carolina’s Zia Cooke scored 19 points, while Kierra Fetcher tallied 15, and Aliyah Boston scored 11.

 

Kamilla Cardoso had 15 rebounds, while Brea Beal had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

 

“South Carolina … is a load,” said Tennessee coach Kellie Harper, whose Lady Vols (20-10, 12-3) lost to all nine ranked teams they played when the opposition held those rankings. “No one’s been able to crack them this year.”

 

Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson scored 21 points.

 

Elsewhere, No. 3 Stanford in the PAC-12 had another escape, winning 73-62 in double overtime at No. 21 Colorado.

 

Haley Jones had 13 of her 23 points in the two extra periods for the Cardinal (27-3, 15-2 PAC-12), who have one game left before next week’s conference tournament.

 

Lauren Betts, who scored 14, hit one of two foul shots with 3.8 left in regulation for the visitors to send the game into the overtime.

 

The Buffs (21-7, 12-5) got 19 points from Jaylyn Sherrod.

 

Little Rock on the road clinched the Ohio Valley Conference title outright its first season in the league winning 61-38 at SIUE.

 

No. 8 Utah beat California 101-76 at home in the PAC-12 in Salt Lake City, while No. 9 Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference won at No. 22 North Carolina 61-59 in Chapel Hill.

 

No. 11 Duke in the ACC won at home in Durham against North Carolina State 77-62.

 

Oregon, on the bubble, upset visiting No. 14 Arizona 73-59 in Eugene.

 

And that’s the report.  

 

 

The Guru Report: No. 15 Villanova Holds Off DePaul Rally While No. 4 UConn Upset By St. John’s; No. 7 Maryland Handles No. 6 Iowa Making No. 2 Indiana Big Ten Champs

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Down the stretch Tuesday night, in a game featuring the top two scorers in the Big East, Maddy Siegriest provided the key shots to offset a DePaul rally by Aneesah Morow along with Darrione Rogers to rebound from Saturday’s loss to No.; 6 UConn and defeat the Blue Demons 67-64 for a season sweep.

“We showed a little toughness, I thought, after a tough one here on Satuday,” Villanova coach Denise Dillon said. “They came back ready to play, ready to get a big win with their backs against the wall. A little hard down the stretch, but we found a way.”

Having held a 19 point lead in the third quarter, these were the kind of games the No. 15 Wildcats (24-5, 15-3 Big East) might have lost in an earlier stage of development when the other side comes thundering back.

But with Siegrist, the nation’s leading scorer, keeping her perfect 20+ scores in every game this season to date, with a nice supporting cast, those kind of total meltdowns are less likely to happen.

The native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was just a hair off her 29.1 pre-game average, scoring 28 points and grabbing 16 rebounds, her 15th double double on the season and 52nd of her career.

Siegrist has now scored more career points at 2,659 than any male or female at the Philly Six Division I schools except for La Salle’s Lionel Simmons, who finished with 3,217.

The Villanova star senior did not have a monopoly on busting records, however, as she has since last month when she broke Shelly Pennefather’s 33-year-old ‘Nova men’s and women’s career mark and quickly started claiming more such as Penn’s Diana Caramanico’s 22-year-old Big Five record, the Big East games career mark, the 50-point individual game performance, and the overall Philly Six women’s career mark that was held by Drexel’s Gabriela Marginean.

During the climb she passed all the men’s greats totals except for Simmons.

In this game, sophomore Christina Dalce, continuing to make her case for most improved locally and perhaps in the Big East, had 11 points, eight rebounds, and three blocked shots, which earned her the single-season Wildcats record with 66 blocks.

“Just having someone as a rim protector in that sense is key,” Dillon said of her 6-foot-2 post star. “Seeing her progression from last year to this year gives you that sense that her career will be enhanced with some offseason development.”

Lucy Olsen continued to provide support from the backcourt with nine points, six rebounds, and four assists.

DePaul (15-14, 8-10) has had an unusual down year after losing two starters at the outset of the season. But the Blue Demons can still be lethal in spots, evidenced by Morrow’s 29 points and 19 rebounds together with the 17 points contributed by Rogers. 

A 16-3 run sliced the ‘Nova once comfortable lead minutes earlier to a single point but these Cats play defense, got a few stops, Bella Runyon took a big charge, and Olsen got a key steal to get the lead back up to seven, enough to hang on to the win.

“DePaul basketball is pretty great,” Dillon said. “They don’t go away, they can score so quickly.

“Rogers got hot and that was tough. I felt Bella Runyon was doing a nice job on her and then she knocks down a crazy three. She started feeling it a little bit so I thought the charge that Bella took was crucial.”

The win moved the Wildcats closer to a second place finish and No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament, which opens at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., Friday, March 3, with three first round games, of which Villanova will be one of five teams with a bye to the Saturday quarterfinals.

Two hanging questions did come into play following the win.

With Villanova given a No. 4 seed and No. 15 placement, meaning being a host for the first two rounds, in the first reveal from the NCAA committee, does Dillon think the Wildcats did enough to hold the spot when the second and last one is revealed Thursday night on ESPN at halftime of the South Carolina/Tennessee game, which tips at 7 p.m.

“I think so,” Dillon said. “But I don’t know what some other teams that didn’t get one have done since or how much they will hold losing to UConn against us.”

Villanova’s NET ranking is only one spot lower from 10 to 11 since the UConn game and in Monday’s Associated Press women’s poll, the Wildcats fell one spot from 14 to 15.

Technically, it was more a case of being passed by Arizona, which beat then-No. 4 Utah and No. 21 Colorado in two PAC-12 weekend games.

Charlie Creme’s mock bracket on ESPN since the game retained the Wildcats in a fourth seed slot.

As for the other, Villanova’s next game is back here Friday night at 7 p.m. hosting Providence, which will be Senior Night, before finishing Monday at Seton Hall.

The Wildcats lose just two who will be making their farewell appearance — Siegrist and Mullin.

Way back on Big East Media Day it was just assumed that Siegrist was WNBA bound, especially along the way since the way her stature has gown.

But after she scored the 50 points, M.A. Voepel’s interview for ESPN left the door open a crack of possible returning for one more year. Mullin also has a Covid year should she choose.

“We’re going to celebrate our seniors,” Dillon said. “We did it twice for (Brianna) Herlihy, and have no problem doing it again if need be and then the other discussions will continue.”

Certainly, the WNBA rookie money is such that if a nice NIL package could be put together, that could be tempting.

Villanova would certainly be celebrated as a super team, nationally, and Siegrist’s NCAA career scoring average, that has a chance to make the all-time Top 25 when the season ends, could land much  higher.

Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne, now with the WNBA Washington Mystics, who missed a bunch of games for various reasons, in her four-year career, finished with 3,039 points.

The WNBA Las Vegas Aces’ Kelsey Plum at the University of Washington holds the record at 3,527, reached through finishing in the NCAA tournament after breaking the Jackie Stiles mark of 3,393.

In a recent interview on the subject, Siegrist said words similar to Candice Parker, who still had a year of eligible when leaving Tennessee.

“When it’s time to leave, I’ll know.”

Local Look: Temple Edged at UCF

There was one other game on the local card, Temple fell down the stretch, losing to UCF 57-53 in an American Athletic Conference game in Orlando, Fla.

Already short-handed following the departure of four players last month plus one other lost for most of the season with an injury, the Owls (10-16, 5-9 AAC) were hampered further when Caranda Perea got hurt in the first quarter and was gone for the entire game.

The loss to the Knights (12-13, 3-10), who are headed to the Big 12 after this season, was the fifth straight following a brief three-game win streak that came after the departures.

Aleah Nelson scored 18 for Temple, while Tarriyonna Gary, in front of fans from her nearby hometown of Brookeville, scored 12 and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.

UCF got 17 points and 11 rebounds from Anzhane Hutton.

Temple next goes to Wichita State in Oklahoma on Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

Nationally Noticed: UConn and Iowa Suffer Upsets

Though the national card didn’t have many games, the two out there were big and also each had some connection to Villanova.

After UConn survived the Wildcats on Saturday and moved up two AP Poll spots to fourth, the Huskies fell to St. John’s for the first time in 11 years in Tuesday’s Big East game in Hartford 69-64 in the XL Center.

Danielle Patterson and Kadaja Bailey each scored 20 points while Jayla Everett scored 17.

Villanova completed a sweep of the Red Storm beating them in Queens last Wednesday.

Just three days earlier the visitors (20-7, 11-7 Big East) were held to 38 points in a 23-point loss to Marquette, which plays Creighton Wednesday night.

“It’s just an unbelievable win for our program and these kids,” said Red Storm coach Joe Tartamella. “They’ve been waiting for a game like this all year and I’m just so proud of them.”

UConn (24-5, 16-2), which likely won’t have a No. 1 seed in Thursday’s reveal, got 18 points from Lou Lopez Senechal, and Dorka Juhasz and Aaliyah Edwards each scored 14.

Off UConn forced to foul at the finish, Bailey made four shots on the line to seal the triumph.

DePaul goes to UConn Saturday from here, playing at 2 p.m. on FOX.

It’s the first time since 2013-14 the Huskies have dropped multiple conference games the same season.

“St. John’s from the opening tip played like their life depends on every game for the rest of the season, that they need to win every single game out pretty much to make sure that they are in the NCAA tournament,” Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said. “It would have been a sin if they lost that game, to be honest, with you, because they played so well and so hard and they played like they were the better team — and they were … Against a team that came out (like) we’re entitled to the Big East championship. So each team got what they deserved, 100%.

“Let’s not confuse the issue here. St. John’s played about as well as I’ve seen a team play against us.”

Thanks to No. 7 Maryland, the Big Ten regular season race is over after beating No. 6 Iowa 96-68, the Hawkeyes’ worst loss to date, resulting in idle No. 2 Indiana claiming its first outright crown instead of this weekend’s showdown that could have resulted in a shared title when the Hoosiers visit Iowa Sunday.

More reserves than starters for the Terrapins (23-5, 14-3 Big Ten), Brinae Alexander scored 24 points, including tying a personal best six from deep, while Lavender Briggs scored 19.

“When you look at our bench points, and the 43 bench points from those two, it absolutely was the X-factor,” said Maryland coach Brenda Frese. “It was the reason why we dominated that game.”

Shyanne Sellerds added 17 points with 10 rebounds, and seven assists for Maryland in the home game at the XCELLCenter in College Park.

Caitlin Clark was held to 18 points, her second lowest scoring game of the season, for Iowa (22-6, 14-3).

Clark, who had been trailing Villanova’s Siegrist (29.1) in second in the national scoring race, recently slipped to third behind Drexel’s Keishana Washington (27.7) with a 27.3 average.

Looking Ahead: Wednesday is road night for the locals — in the Atlantic 10, Saint Joseph’s is at George Mason 7 p.m. in Fairfax, Va., while La Salle is at Dayton the same time, both games on ESPN+.

Penn State is at Purdue at 7 p.m. in the Big Ten on the subscription Big Ten plus network.

In the Patriot League, Lehigh will be at Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa., at 6 p.m., while Lafayette will visit Colgate at 7 p.m. in Hamilton, N.Y., both games on ESPN+.

On the Thursday local mix, Mount St. Mary’s, a new league member, will visit Rider at 11 a.m. in Alumni Gym in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game in Lawrenceville, N.J., on ESPNU, while Rutgers will be at Michigan at 7 p.m. on the B1G+ network.

Nationally, Tennessee, which has lost to every ranked team played when the opposition was in the poll — they beat Colorado prior to the Buffs’ appearance, gets its last season shot in the Southeastern Conference hosting No. 1 South Carolina at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

NC State visits Duke at 8 p.m. in Durham, N.C., on the ACC Network, while on the Regional Sports Network in the ACC at the same time Virginia Tech visits North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

In the PAC-12 at 5 p.m. No. 3 Stanford visits No. 21 Colorado.

And that’s the report.