The Guru Report: It’s a Big Five Sweep Saturday With Penn’s First Action, Saint Joseph’s On The Road, and Temple and La Salle Reversing Upwards at Home

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

PHILADELPHIA — Following on the heels of Villanova’s lopsided opener Friday night at Portland in the Pacific Northwest, the Wildcats’ first game of the post-Maggie Siegrist era, Penn did likewise in The Palestra Saturday afternoon with a 74-51 thumping of Marist (1-1) in the Quakers’ first game with standout Kayla Padilla gone back to her hometown to spend her graduate year at Southern Cal.

 

Siegrist forewent her fifth year allowed off the Covid pandemic to be drafted third overall by Dallas in the WNBA while Padilla had to move on to stay in college, the Ivies being less liberal than the NCAA. Four other Quakers also reached the end of their league eligibility.

 

Though missing several players to injuries at the moment, Penn slowly built a 12-point lead 18-6 at the end of the first quarter and dominated the rest of the way in what was an overall good afternoon for those on the local slate.

 

Saint Joseph’s made it 2-0, the Hawks winning with a strong finish on the road 66-45 in New Haven, Conn., against Yale (0-2), an Ivy rival of the Quakers.

 

It was also a good tuneup for both winning teams who are headed for a clash here Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the season’s first Big Five women’s game (ESPN+).

 

La Salle in the first part of a women’s/men’s homecoming doubleheader at Tom Gola Arena bounced back from Thursday’s home loss to Maine, beating American University 62-53.

 

Temple kept the run going later at night, easily beating Bucknell 77-53 at home in the Liacouras Center to bounce back from Thursday’s rout here by Georgetown ahead of a key stretch of games facing the Owls. 

 

The sole setback was suffered by Lafayette, yielding an early lead to fall at East Tennessee 51-43.

 

But the Leopards’ rival Lehigh in the Patriot League prevailed 62-50 at Stonehill of the Northeast Conference in Easton, Mass.

 

Back here in the Cathedral of Basketball, Penn’s junior guards Stina Almqvist from Sweden and Lizzy Groetesch from Sewickley both far exceeded their personal bests, Almqvist with a game-high 24 points besides dishing seven assists and grabbing eight rebounds, her tops in each category, while likewise for  Grotesch, who scored 18 and grabbed nine rebounds.

 

“I thought they were awesome,” said Penn coach Mike McClaughlin now in his 15^th season running the program. “Lizzy was all over the court on both ends, Stina made big basket after big basket, every time.

 

“She defended, she kept the ball alive and rebounded the ball,” he continued.

 

“Both of these guys maybe hadn’t played as much their first two years, and to grow and learn the way they they have, I thought it was awesome, I really did.”

 

Almqvist, though, who had been a substitute, was in strange territory for her, expecting to be the starter at 3 until Floor Toonders came up with a foot injury that could be healed by this week, but McClaughlin doesn’t want to rush things if it’s better to wait a little longer.

 

He’s also looking for Michaela Stanfield, who suffered an ACL in mid-January to return soon.

 

“It kinda changed over the preseason, because Floor got injured so I had to take a different role,” Almqvist said of the move. “But Jordan (Obi) has been a great leader, so I just follow in her footstep.”

 

Said Groetesch of her performance, “I know I can really compete at a high level and bring a lot of grittiness, toughness, go after all the loose balls, so that’s always my focus going into a game.”

 

Obi also scored in double figures with 10 points and dealing seven assists besides grabbing seven steals while freshman guard Metaya Gayle from Woodstock, Ga., just missed double figures taking a starting role in her first collegiate game with nine points.

 

Marist has been a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference contender and champion over the past several decades, but this year is the Red Foxes’ first in the wake of the retirement of longtime coach Brian Giorgist, who is now a member of the committee in charge of the NCAA’s new Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament which will select teams not making it to the Big Dance.

 

Zaria Shazer and Julia Corsentino each scored 12 for the opposition, now under former longtime assistant Erin Doughty, who graduated from the school in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in 2006.

 

Defensively, the Quakers mined 33 points off 26 Marist turnovers.

 

In Saint Joseph’s victory, the Hawks pulled away in the second half, helped in the fourth quarter with a 15-for-15 effort on the line.

 

Mackenzie Smith and Davidson graduate transfer Chloe Welch blended for 50 points and 17 rebounds, Smith with 25 points and nine carooms, while Welch had 25 points and eight boards.

 

The Hawks return home for a trio of games against three Big Five rivals, two City Series game against Penn and at Temple at 6 p.m. on November 22, the other next Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at Drexel.

 

The Dragons are now part of the Big Five but the women won’t be involved in City Series clashes until next season.

 

La Salle, which also has continued to play Drexel as have the Hawks, got 22 points from freshman Nicole Melious and junior Gabby Turco grabbed 10 rebounds.

 

The Explorers (2-1) still had ball control issues with 20 turnovers but the visiting Eagles (1-1) of the Patriot League gave up 23.

 

Emily Johns scored 22 points for American and Lauren Stack scored 16.

 

The Explorers head to Drexel Wednesday at 6 p.m. playing in the Daskalakis Athletic Center in West Philadelphia.

 

Temple (2-1) went ahead early and the Owls stayed there with an offensive thrust similar to the opening night blowout they delivered at home to Delaware State.

 

The stating five each delivered in double figures besides substitute Kendall Currence, a talented transfer from Northeastern who missed last season due to an injury.

 

Defensively, Temple forced 22 turnovers and grabbed 48 turnovers, besides owning the glass with 48 rebounds, the most in three seasons. And the offensive thrust of those carooms, 22, were the most in seven seasons.

 

Second-year coach Diana Richardson saw her group moved to a 15-6 first-quarter advantage and then jumped on the Bisons (0-2) for a 26-11 advantage the next to control control the action the rest of the way.

 

She said her team moped a little bit following the loss to the Hoyas but then quickly refocused on Saturday night’s contest.

 

Ines Piper had 13 points, Aleah Nelson scored 12, while Tiara East, Rayne Tucker, Demi Washington, and Currence each score 10 points.

 

In crashing the board, Piper, Washington, and substitute Jaleesa Molina each grabbed six boards while East and Tucker grabbed five apiece.

 

Bucknell’s Emma Theodorsson scored 12 points and Grace Sullivan scored 10.

 

The Bisons used to own the Patriot League but are picked behind Holy Cross and Boston U., for example, so while the Owls are greatly improved with more talented bodies on the roster, the true indication of where they might be will happen the next three games.

 

On Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. they head south to play at No. 12 Ole Miss, though that ranking will likely be lowered in Monday’s first in-season Associated Press women’s poll following an upset home loss during opening week to Oklahoma in Oxford.

 

Then two strong Big Five contests await, visiting Villanova at the Wildcats’ Finneran Pavilion before returning on the eve of Thanksgiving to host Saint Joseph’s.

 

A few more non-conference games are also on the slate before moving into the American Athletic Conference race later next month.

 

But for the moment, Temple certainly can’t be denied from enjoying a return to the winning side of the results board.

 

Especially with Currence feeling closer to her form when she starred at Northeastern, which gave Richardson an in-person demonstration of her talents while coaching Towson prior to Temple in the then-named Colonial Athletic Association.

 

“Feeling great, still getting into it,” he smiled after Saturday night’s win. “But love playing with my team, they’re really supportive. I’m starting to really feel like myself again.”

 

Currence had been a starter at Northeastern, she was on restrictive minutes going into the current season, but Richardson said that time should soon be on the rise.

 

“She was scary when we played against her,” Richardson recalled. “And we see that now, and she’s very efficient with her minutes. Even though she’s not playing the minutes that she’s used to, she’s been very efficient. That comes from her basketball IQ.”

 

In keeping Stonehill out of the win column for its third straight game at the start of the new season, Lehigh (2-0) got a double double 16 points and 12 rebounds from sophomore Lily Fondre while Meghan O’Brien scored 12 points with eight rebounds and off the bench freshman Whitney Lind from Florence, Ky., had nine points and nione boards.

 

Jada Thornton had 10 points, the lone Stonehill player scoring in double figures, and Paige Martin grabbed 10 rebounds.

 

The Mountain Hawks next visit Delaware this week Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark.

 

Lafayette (0-2) was competitive in its game at East Tennessee through the first half until the home team (1-1) was able to keep the outcome in its direction the rest of the way.

 

The Leopards’ Abby Antognoli had 17 points but a trio of ETSU players combined to counter that effort, Kendall Foley scoring 14, Courtney Moore with 13, and Nevah Brown with 10.

 

Lafayette next hosts Marist at 6 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN+.

 

The National Scene: Only one game on the national card Saturday featured a ranked team, but it became another upset as Marquette, which hosts Penn next month and plays Villanova in the Big East, took down No. 23 Illinois 71-67 at home in Milwaukee.

 

Liza Karlen scored 22 for the Golden Eagles (2-0), Jordan King scored 19, Rose Nkumu scored 12, and Lehigh transfer Frannie Hottinger scored scored 11 with eight rebounds.

 

Camille Hobby scored 18 for the Illini (1-1), Kendall Bostic scored 14, and Genesis Bryant scored 11.

 

 Duquesne got its first win of the season to even up at 1-1 knocking off MAAC preseason pick Niagara 82-79 in upstate New York as Tess Myers scored 17 points and Megan McConnell scored 16 with 10 rebounds for a double-double.

 

Destiny Strother scored 23 for the Purple Eagles (1-1), who fell after opening with a triumph, and Chardonnay Hartley scored 21.

 

On Tuesday, Duquesne is at MEAC favorite Howard in the nation’s capital while Niagara visits nearby Buffalo.

 

Looking Ahead: On Sunday, Villanova will attempt to make its season opening two-game trip to the Pacific Northwest a sweep when the Wildcats visit Oregon State at 4 p.m. on the PAC-12 network.

 

Princeton visits Middle Tennessee at 2 p.m. on ESPN+, while both at 5 p.m. in Central New Jersey, Rider hosts Merrimack and Rutgers hosts Auburn on a day the Scarlet Knights will also pay tribute to the memory of former assistant coach Nikki McCray-Penson, who succumbed to cancer earlier this year.

 

McCray-Penson starred at Tennessee, played on the Olympic team, in both the WNBA and ABL, and was an assistant to Dawn Staley at South Carolina.

 

Following the win at Tennessee, the USA Basketball training squad will play another exhibition game at Duke at noon in Durham, N.C., at the Blue Devils’ Cameron Indoor Arena.

 

A giant triple header of two games on ABC and one of ESPN highlights the day’s action.

 

The ABC games come first with No. 14 Maryland visiting No. 6 South Carolina at 1 p.m., followed by No. 2 UConn, bidding for the top spot in the next Associated Press poll on Monday following LSU’s opening day upset loss to No. 20 Colorado, visiting NC State at 3 p.m.

 

The game in Raleigh, N.C., is the Huskies’ first against the Wolfpack since beating them two seasons again up in Bridgeport in overtime in an Elite Eight game that sent UConn to what was to be its 14^th straight but last in that streak of advancing to the Final Four.

 

No. 15 Stanford at 5 p.m. on ESPN hosts No. 9 Indiana.

 

The PAC-12 heading into Sunday has already combined opening week with a 22-0 mark from the conference not likely to exist by next summer with ten members realigning to the Big 12, Big Ten, or Atlantic Coast Conferences.

 

Only Oregon State and Washington State with their entire athletic programs are unsure where their futures might lie.

 

And that’s the report.