Team Black/Jefferson Claims Another Unbeaten Regular Season in Philly/Suburban Women’s Summer League
By Bob Heller and Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru
HATBORO, Pa. – As it turns out, Team Black, also known in the winter as D2-Jefferson, rallying opening night back in mid-June on its narrow overtime win against Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family) set the table for Tuesday night’s 1-2 regular season finish headed by the two rivals from the Southern Division of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference in the Philadelphia/Suburban Women’s Summer Basketball League.
Jefferson from there kept on going the rest of the way in the twice-weekly four-game action in the nine-team league, easily gaining a 72-41 win Tuesday over Team Red (D2-Chestnut Hill), another local CACC rival, to finish unbeaten at 8-0.
“I’ve always believed this league really helps us get ready for playing in the winter,” said Jefferson longtime coach Tom Shirley recently when stopping by to watch his team play, which is allowed by the NCAA for D2 and D3 teams in summer action.
Entire units can also play in the summer, and six of the nine this summer are so multi-designated, while the other three Teams, Kelly Green, Pink, and Sun, are draft squads whose rosters are dominated more by other players and alums, some who played in D-1, who individually enrolled or requested to play with one or two similar types who were friends and/or teammates.
Meanwhile, Holy Family did not sit back after the early loss, winning the rest of the way to finish a game back at 7-1 and serving the last of the team byes Tuesday.
Unlike some wild finishes in the past, two close outcomes, Purple/D2-West Chester with a 67–66 win over Kelly Green (Draft Team-1) and Royal Blue (D3-Cabrini) with a 56-51 triumph over 0-8 winless Sun (Draft Team-3) broke the right way in terms of a rarity in which no ties exist in the final standings that had to be broken.
The other game had now 4-4 Pink (Draft Team-2) gain a 72-49 win over 1-7 Maroon (D3-Arcadia).
That has resulted in this Thursday night’s playoff opening singleton in which 8-seed Maroon meets 9-seed Sun, the only team it beat, at 7 p.m. on Court 1.
The final night brought a small glut of 20 or more points scorers for the individual citation, West Chester’s Alexa Abbonizio on Purple scored 24 in her team’s one-point triumph, former USciences star Taylor Hamm scored 21 in Pink’s win, and Cabrini’s Miranda Liebtag scored 20 for Royal Blue in a win that brought a bye with the other six teams who head straight for next Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
These are tough times for Cabrini, recently announced closing shop at the end of the winter season, the property being purchased by Villanova.
However, with many players jumping into the portal after the recent announcement, it is unknown if there will be enough players to field a squad this winter so the last hurrah could come in the playoffs here.
In next Tuesday’s quarterfinals, Black meets the Thursday night 8-9 winner at 6:30 p.m. on Court 1 while Purple and Kelly Green, having just met in the one-point win, meet again Tuesday at the same time on Court 2.
The late games feature Sky Blue meeting Royal Blue at 7:45 p.m. on Court 1 while at the same time Red and Pink meet on Court 2.
Next Thursday’s semifinals, a doubleheader on Court 1, get a re-seed out of the quarterfinals outcomes.
The championship at 7 on Court 1, Tuesday, August 1, will again be live streamed by Ari Bluestein’s Sports Fan Base Network, details to come.
Though Jefferson will again be unbeaten, in a recent season the squad got upset by Chestnut Hill in a quarterfinal which later transferred the upset to the squad’s best winter.
Now here’s Bob with the game recap details from Tuesday night.
RECAPS
Purple 67 Kelly Green 66
Leah Johnson’s basket with just under 30 seconds left allowed team Purple (D2-West Chester University) to clinch the #3 seed for the upcoming Philadelphia/Suburban Women’s Basketball Summer league playoffs as they held off Team Kelly Green with a 67-66 win.
Purple finishes the regular season with a 6-2 record. Kelly Green finishes with a 3-5 mark and will be the #6 seed in the upcoming playoffs. The two teams will face each other again next week in the quarterfinal round.
Alexa Abbonizio led Purple with 24 points while Johnson had 13 points. Rachel Conran chipped in 12 for the victors.
Kelly Green placed five players in double figures led by Sydney Blum’s (College of New Jersey ’23) 16 points. Dana Bandurick (Swarthmore ’24) added 14 while Ally Trebelev (Franklin and Marshall ’25) scored 11. Natalie Kolb (Franklin and Marshall ’24) and Reagan Chrencik (Gettysburg ’27) chipped in ten apiece.
A back and forth first quarter saw five lead changes before Purple closed out the period with a 7-3 run to take a 15-12 lead.
Baskets from Kyla Glasser-Hyman and Abbonizio increased Purple’s lead to 19-12 before Kelly Green came roaring back, exploding with a 22-5 run to take 34-24 lead late in the quarter and maintaining the double-digit advantage to hold a 39-29 lead at halftime.
Abbonizio put the burden of the deficit her team faced on her shoulders in the third quarter, scoring 14 of her team’s 20 points as Purple rallied to tie the game at 49-49 heading into the final period.
Morgan Warley pulled Purple within two 46-44 before Blum sank a three-point basket to extend her team’s lead back to five.
Conran added a basket and Abbonizio sank a three-ball in the final seconds to tie the game.
Bandurick opened the fourth quarter with a layup to break the tie before Conran sank a three-point to give Purple their first lead 52-51 since midway through the second quarter Johnson then took over, scoring five of Purple’s next seven points as they extended their lead to 59-53.
Kelly continued to stay close as the quarter wore on, and used a 6-0 run, capped by a Kolb basket to tie the game at 63-63.
Conran broke the tie with a pair of free throws with just over a minute left before Blum sank her fourth three pointer of the game with 40 seconds left to put Kelly on top 66-65.
Johnson then drove to the hoop and scored again, her 11th point of the quarter with just under 30 seconds left to give Purple the lead.
Purple then held off three attempts by Kelly Green to score the game winner as they hung on for a one point win.
Royal Blue 56 Sun 51
The second of two early games also produced a barnburner as team Royal Blue (D3-Cabrini University) held off Team Sun 56-51 in the regular season finale for both teams.
Royal Blue finished the season with a 2-6, finishing in seventh place. Sun finished the season with an 0-8 record and will play in the 8-9 play-in game on Thursday.
Miranda Liebtag led Royal with 20 points while Tamia Wessels added 11 and Delaney Finnegan chipped in 10.
Rachel Sexton (Muhlenberg ’25) led all scorers with 22 points while Abigail Marino (Illinois Institute ’27) chipped in ten.
Royal had the upper hand early but Sun fought back, scoring 13 straight points late in the first quarter to turn an eight-point deficit into a 17-12 lead.
A three-ball from Sexton tied the game while a basket from Emily Orth (Lycoming ’27) gave Sun the lead. Sexton capped the run with another three-ball at the end of the quarter.
Five lead changes highlighted the second quarter.
A traditional three-point play from Royal’s Amanda Jackson gave Royal a 28-26 lead. Liebtag and Finnegan added two more points apiece as Royal held onto a 32-29 lead at the half.
Sun opened the third quarter with a 9-4 run to retake the lead 38-36.
Another three-ball from Sexton extended the lead to five 41-36 equaling their biggest lead of the game.
Royal crawled back within one, before two free throws by Marino gave Sun a 45-42 lead heading into final period.
Allie Sillo (Illinois Tech ’25) again put Sun up by five 49-44 in the fourth quarter before Royal began a comeback to take control with an 8-0 run.
Emma Stanfield’s basket with just 2:22 left gave Royal a 50-49 and Wessels pushed the lead to three.
Saxton’s basket with 1:14 left brought her team within one but Royal scored the final three points of the game to seal the win.
Pink 72 Maroon 49
Unlike the two early games, both late games were decided early with the game on Court Two between Team Pink (alumni team) and Team Maroon (D3-Arcadia University) turning into a blowout early as Pink used a solid second quarter to cruise to a 72-49 win.
Pink finished the season in fifth place with a 4-4 record. Maroon finished eighth at 1-7 and will play in the 8-9 game against Sun on Thursday.
Taylor Hamm (USciences’22) reached the 20-point plateau for the second time this season with a 22-point effort to lead Pink. Cassie Sebold (Chestnut Hill ’22) and Vanessa Amsinger (Colorado College ’21) added 13. Lexie Edwards (Cabrini ’21) added ten points.
Hannah Rhoads was the only Maroon player in double figures, leading her team with 17 points.
Maroon did have an early 9-4 lead before Pink used an 11-2 run to take their first lead of the game 15-11.
Pink expanded the lead to 21-15 as Sebold produced a traditional three-point play towards the end of the quarter.
Pink quickly pushed the lead to double digits, outscoring Maroon 18-7 in the second quarter to lead 39-22 at halftime.
Abbey Spratt’s basket in the third quarter capped an 11-5 run that saw Pink expand their lead to 50-27 as the third quarter wound down.
A three-ball from Rhoads cut the lead to 20, 52-32 as the teams headed into the final ten minutes of action.
Pink scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to take their largest lead of the game at 57-32.
Maroon would come no closer than 20 points following a three-pointer late in the game from Dayna Balasa. Pink scored five of the remaining seven points to complete the 23-point win.
Black 72 Red 41
The last game to finish Tuesday night was a battle between two teams that are Division II area rivals during the winter months.
Team Black (D2-Thomas Jefferson University) took on Team Red (D2-Chestnut Hill College) on Court One with Black finishing the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record with a 72-41 victory.
Black placed four players in double figures, led by Cassie Murphy’s 13 points.
Emily Spratt added 12 while Sam Yencha scored 11. Emily Keehfuss chipped in ten.
Avery White was the only player on Red to reach double figures with 12 points.
Trailing by one early in the opening quarter, Black exploded with an 18-3 run to take a 21-7 lead late in the first quarter.
Baskets by Red’s Caraline Herb and Jess Mangoni cut the gap to ten to open the second quarter, 26-16 but Black quickly expanded the lead again, leading by as many as 19, 38-19 before settling in for a 43-28 lead at the half.
The final two quarters were all Black as they limited Red to just one field goal (a three-point basket from Bridie McCann with 1:51 left in the period) and outscored Red 17-4 to lead 60-32 heading into the final quarter.
Black again outscored Red, 12-9 in the final period to cruise to the 31-point win.
Final Season Standings (Thru ., Tues., July 18)
Team W L Pct. GB PF PA
X-Black 8 0 1.000 — 470 365
Sky Blue 7 1 .875 1 517 412
Purple 6 2 .750 2 594 474
Red 5 3 .625 3 451 446
Pink 4 4 .500 4 409 455
Kelly Green 3 5 .375 5 361 374
Royal Blue 2 6 .250 6 413 496
Maroon 1 7 .125 7 367 429
Sun 0 8 .000 8 351 421
X-Clinched top seed
Players Scoring 20 or More Points
29-Cassie Murphy, Black, W, vs. Royal Blue, June 15
24-Alexa Abbonizio, Purple, W, vs. Kelly Green, July 18
23-Michelle Kozicki, Purple, W, vs. Maroon, June 15
22-Anna McTamney, Purple, W, vs. Royal Blue, June 29
21-Taylor Hamm, Pink, W, vs. Maroon, July 18
20-Miranda Liebtag, Royal Blue, W, vs. Sun, July 18
20-Ava Morrow, Sky Blue, W, vs. Pink, June 29
20-Sam Yencha, Black, W, vs. Maroon, June 27
20-Bridie McCann, Red, W, vs. Royal Blue, June 27
20-Taylor Hamm, Pink, W, vs. Sun, June 27
20-Valerie McGriff, Purple, W, vs. Maroon, June 15
22-Haley Meinel, Black, (W-OT) vs. Sky Blue, June 13
20-Cassie Murphy, Black (W-OT), vs. Sky Blue, June 13
20-Ava Morrow, Sky Blue (L-OT), vs. Black, June 13
Running Results/Advance Schedule
Playoffs
Thursday, July 20
Play-In Round
7 pm.
Court 1: 8th seed/Maroon (Arcadia)(8-1) vs. 9th seed/Sun (Draft Team-3(0-8) (Winner advances)
Tuesday, July 25th
Quarterfinals
Early Games (6:30 p.m.)
Court 1: 1-seed/Black (Jefferson) (8-0) vs 8-Maroon/Arcadia – 9-Sun Draft Team-3 winner
Court 2: 3-seed/Purple (West Chester) (6-2) vs. 6-seed/Kelly Green (Draft Team-1) (3-5)
Late Games (7:45 p.m.)
Court 1: 2-seed/Sky Blue (Holy Family) (7-1) vs. 7-seed/Royal Blue (Cabrini) (2-6)
Court 2: 4-seed/Red (Chestnut Hill) (5-3) vs. 5-seed/Pink (Draft Team-2) (4-4)
Thursday, July 27
Semifinals
Early Game (6:30 p.m.)
Court 1: Highest Advancing Seed vs. Lowest Advancing Seed
Late Game (7:45 p.m.)
Court 2: Other Advancing Seeds Meet
Tuesday, August 1
Championship (7 p.m.)
Court 1: Semifinal Winners Meet
Tuesday, July 18 (Regular Season Ends)
Royal Blue (D3-Cabrini) 56, Sun (Draft Team-3) 51
Black (D2-Jefferson) 72, Red (D2-Chestnut Hill 41
Purple (D2-West Chester) 67, Kelly Green (Draft Team-1) 66
Pink (Draft Team-2) 72, Maroon (D3-Arcadia) 49
Bye: Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family) (7-1)
Thursday, July 13
Black (Jefferson) 58, Pink (Draft Team-2) 38
Sky Blue (Holy Family) 62, Red (Chestnut Hill) 43
Purple (West Chester) 79, Sun (Draft Team-3) 59
Kelly Green (Draft Team-1) 2, Maroon (Arcadia) 0, forfeit
Tuesday, July 11
Red (Chestnut Hill) 51, Sun (Draft Team-3) 50
Pink (Draft Team-2) 40, Kelly Green (Draft Team-1) 37
Black (Jefferson) 65, Purple (West Chester) 62
Sky Blue (Holy Family) 80, Royal Blue (Cabrini) 45
Bye: Maroon (Arcadia)
Tuesday, July 4/Thursday July 6
Dark (Holiday Week)
Thursday, June 29
Purple (West Chester) 84, Royal Blue (Cabrini) 55
Maroon (Arcadia) 58, Sun (Draft Team-3) 55
Black (Jefferson) 55, Kelly Green (Draft Team-1) 43
Sky Blue (Holy Family) 67, Pink (Draft Team-2) 51
Bye: Red (4-1)
Tuesday, June 27
Sky Blue (Holy Family) 70, Purple (West Chester) 63
Black (Jefferson) 83, Maroon (Arcadia) 52
Pink (Draft Team-2) 59, Sun (Draft Team-3) 52
Red (Chestnut Hill) 61, Royal Blue (Cabrini) 47
Bye: Kelly Green (2-2)
Thursday, June 22
Black (Jefferson) 2, Sun (Draft Team-3) 0, forfeit
Red (Chestnut Hill) 67, Pink (Draft Team-2) 51
Royal Blue (Cabrini) 61, Maroon (Arcadia) 48
Sky Blue (Holy Family) 50, Kelly Green (Draft Team-1) 41
Bye: Purple (3-0)
Tuesday, June 20
Purple (West Chester) 62, Red (Chestnut Hill) 52
Pink (Draft Team – 2) 49, Royal Blue (Cabrini) 42
Kelly Green (Draft Team -1) 59, Sun (Draft Team – 3) 40
Sky Blue (Holy Family) 63, Maroon (Arcadia) 54
Bye: Black (Jefferson)
Thursday, June 15
Black (Jefferson) 64, Royal Blue (Cabrini) 61
Red (Chestnut Hill) 76, Kelly Green (Draft Team-1) 54
Sky Blue (Holy Family) 57, Sun (Draft Team-3) 44
Purple (West Chester) 94, Maroon (Arcadia) 58
Bye: Pink
Tuesday, June 13
Black (Jefferson) 71, Sky Blue 68 (Holy Family), ovt.
Kelly Green (Draft-1) 59, Royal Blue (Cabrini) 46
Purple (West Chester) 83, Pink (Draft-2) 49
Red (Chestnut Hill) 60, Maroon (Arcadia) 48
Bye – Sun (Draft-3)
Season Seed Tracker
Codes: BK – Black; KG – Kelly Green; MR-Maroon; PK- Pink; PU-Purple; RD-Red; RB-Royal Blue; SB-Sky Blue; SU-Sun; FW – Forfeit Win; FL-Forfeit Loss
*Black (D2-Jeff) 8-0: W-SB (OT); W-RB; Bye; FW-SU; vs. W-MR; vs. W-KG; vs. W-PU; vs. W-PK; vs. W-RD
Sky Blue (D2-Holy Fam) 7-1: L-BK (OT); W-SU; W-MR; W-KG; vs. W-PU; vs. W-PK; vs. W-RB; vs. W-RD; Bye
Purple (D2-West Chester) 6-2: W-PK; W-MR; W-RD; Bye; vs. L-SB; vs. W-RB; vs. L-BK; vs. SU; vs. W-KG
Red (D2-Chestnut Hill) 5-3: W-MR; W-KG; L-PU; W-PK; vs. W-RB; Bye; vs. W-SU; vs. L-SB; vs. L-BK
Pink (Draft-2) 4-4: L-PU: Bye, W-RB; L-RD; vs. W-SU; L-SB; vs. W-KG; vs. L-BK; vs. W-MR
Kelly Green (Draft-1) 3-5: W-RB; L-RD; W-SU; L-SB; Bye; vs. L-BK; vs. L-PK; vs. FW-MR; vs. L-PU
Royal Blue (D3-Cabrini) 2-6: L-KG; L-BK; L-PK; W-MR; vs. L-RD; vs. L-PU; vs. L-SB; Bye; vs. W-SU
Maroon (D3-Arcadia) 1-7: L-RD; L-PU; L-SB; L-RB; vs. L-BK; vs. W-SU; Bye; vs. FL-KG; vs. L-PK
Sun (Draft-3) 0-8: Bye; L-SB; L-KG; FL-BK; vs. L-PK; vs. L-MR; vs. L-RD; vs. L-PU; vs. L-RB
*-Clinched Top Seed
posted by Mel Greenberg | 1:31 AM
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