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.