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.