The Guru Report: No. 2 UConn Felled by Unranked NC State; No. 6 South Carolina Routs No.14 Maryland; Likewise No. 15 Stanford to No. 9 Indiana; Villanova Edged at Oregon State

Guru’s Note: Information from email, school website and wire service reports were used to help compile the report.

 

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

Poised to replace reigning NCAA women’s basketball champion LSU at the top of The Associated Press rankings on Monday when it is breaking the consecutive appearance mark at 566 straight weeks, No. 2 Connecticut instead got joined with the Tigers in another kind of history suffering a dubious 92-81 payback Sunday afternoon at the hands of unranked NC State in Raleigh, N.C.

 

Just two seasons ago, UConn, which has won a record 11 NCAA titles but none since 2016, took NC State, then a No.1 regional seed, down in an NCAA Elite Eight round in double overtime in a thrilling game in Bridgeport, Conn., that sent the Huskies to their 14^th straight Women’s Final Four, a streak that finally ended last March when they fell to Ohio State in the Sweet 16.

 

Recalling the defeat, NC State coach Wes Moore said the outcome “will haunt me forever.”

 

Sunday’s loss wasted a 21-point performance from UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards and a team-high 27 from former national player of the year Paige Bueckers, who missed last season with a knee injury.

 

She scored eight in limited minutes Wednesday in the Huskies’ home-opening 100-point win over Dayton in the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.

The UConn ranking streak began with a No. 18, its only time that low, in the preseason poll of 1993-94 and has continued 30 full seasons plus two weeks in the current one after Monday’s release occurs in the early afternoon.

 

The opening day shocker to LSU at the hands of No. 20 Colorado in Las Vegas and the Huskies’ first loss to the Wolfpack in 26 years since 1998 as Saniya Rivers scored a career-high 33 points marked the first time in the 48-year history of the AP Women’s Poll that the 1-2 teams in the preseason vote lost during opening week.

 

The game was the second in a broadcast triple header on Disney’s ABC and ESPN and each was an eye-opener with No. 6 South Carolina blasting No. 14 Maryland 114-76 in the Gamecocks’ home opener in Columbia after dismantling No. 10 Notre Dame 100-71 last Monday in Paris.

 

The win over the Terrapins saw the most points ever placed on a ranked team by the program Philadelphia’s Dawn Staley has turned into a powerhouse program with two NCAA titles.

 

It is also a program that saw a departure of seven South Carolina players with all five starters taken in the WNBA draft following a wire-to-wire No. 1 ranking as the 2022 reigning champs before its NCAA semifinals upset loss to the Caitlin Clark-led Iowa Hawkeyes last April in Dallas. 

 

“This team has really, they’re playing together, they have buy in with the coaching staff,” Staley said afterwards. “I really didn’t see it.”

 

Out West No. 9 Indiana didn’t see No. 15 Stanford at home in Maples Pavilion coming either, the Cardinal in the third game of the trifecta routing the Hoosiers 96-64 as Cameron Brink double-doubled with 20 points and 17 rebounds.

 

“I think this is just the tip of the iceberg how good this program can be,” said Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer, whose women’s all-time coaching win record is now seven in front of UConn Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma at 1188.

 

Both were able to pass the previous holder, the late Tennessee legend Pat Summitt after she stepped down from a lengthy career in a battle with dementia.

 

Stanford is headed for the Atlantic Coast Conference next season, part of a 10-member defection from the PAC-12 headed to either the ACC, Big Ten, or the Big 12.

 

In the present, though the PAC-12 is likely in its final season, the league is off to a 28-0 start, among the victims Villanova which fell Sunday to a closing rally 63-56 at Oregon State to drop to 1-1 and be part of a split among the four local teams who played.

 

On the winning side multi-Ivy reigning champion Princeton won a gritty 65-60 contest over Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, while Rider bounced back from its opening night loss at Saint Joseph’s to take its home opener, 61-47 over Merrimack of the Northeast Conference in Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J.

 

But the other playing local that’s just up the road, Rutgers, took its first loss in three opening home games, falling 76-56 to Auburn of the Southeastern Conference at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J.

 

The game also marked the local remembrance of the late Rutgers assistant Nikki McCray-Penson, who lost her battle with cancer earlier this year. A former Tennessee all-American and Olympic gold medalist who played in the former ABL and WNBA, she was also an assistant to Staley and last month the Scarlet Knights and Gamecocks played an exhibition game in Columbia in her memory.

 

The Local Action: Out at Oregon State in Corvallis at Gill Coliseum on its season-opening road trip to the Pacific Northwest after a Friday night lop-sided win at Portland, Villanova suffered a revenge loss from the Beavers, who lost to the Wildcats (1-1) on the Main Line two seasons ago.

 

Villanova’s Lucy Olsen had a game-high 24 points with three steals and a pair of blocked shots.

 

Maddie Burke scored nine points and Bella Runyon had nine rebounds and four assists.

 

Midway through the first period the Wildcats overcame a 5-0 Oregon State start with a 9-2 run to edge in front and hold a one-point lead at the end of the quarter.

 

Though suffering a four-minute drought in the next period the Villanova defense yielded a 29-28 lead at the half.

 

The Beavers (2-0) opened up a small gap at the end of the third 46-42 with a buzzer-beating 3-ball from Talia von Oelhoffen, who along with Kelsey Rees each scored 11 behind a team-high of 20 and 14 rebounds from Raegan Beers.

 

Villanova went in front on an 8-0 run one last time in the fourth before Oregon State came back to secure the win.

 

The Beavers and No. 24 Washington State are the only PAC-12 schools whose future affiliation are yet to be determined.

 

Villanova is off until Sunday’s home opener at Finneran Pavilion hosting Temple at 2 p.m. in a big Five game airing on FloHoops.

 

Meanwhile Princeton (2-0), which struggled in its home opener before rallying over Duquesne, fell behind by 14 to Middle Tennessee (2-1) at the Murphy Center before forging ahead.

 

The Tigers were able to win despite losing their top two scorers in Madison St.Rose and Kaitlyn Chen.

 

Amelia Osgood hit two foul shots at the finish to seal the win.’

 

Trailing 30-16 with 4 minutes, 34 seconds left in the first half, Princeton used a 10-1 run to close ghe gap to 31-26 at intermission.

 

Skye Belker got the Tigers soaring with 10 of her team best 18 points in the third.

 

They opened a 53-44 lead with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation, but the home team got within a basket before Princeton rode eight made foul shots to win.

 

The 14-point rally is the second best since Carla Berube became coach, second to the larger one a year ago to Rutgers.

 

Chen scored 14 points.

 

Playing a non-conference schedule befitting of a Power Five school the Tigers visit fourth-ranked UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in Westwood, Calif., Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the East on the PAC-12 network.

 

Rider (1-1) dropped behind Merrimack 9-2 before reversing with a 9-0 run. However, the visitors struck back with a 7-0 run and 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.

 

The Broncs used a 14-1 run to regain control in the second quarter and an 8-0 surge in the third led to a 45-34 advantage after three periods to go on and secure the win.

 

“I thought we were really resilient today,” said veteran coach Lynn Milligan. “We started to really buy in on the defensive end. I thought we challenged our kids to lock in on defense and we definitely saw the improvements we worked on.”

 

Makayla Firebaugh had 19 points for Rider in the first meeting between the schools that next season will become MAAC games when Merrimack and Sacred Heart switch affiliations.

 

Graduate guard Taylor Langan made her debut with 16 points with eight rebounds and four steals.

 

Rider next visits NJIT nearby in Newark at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

 

In Rutgers’ game, Chyna Cornwell had 11 points and 13 rebounds against the unbeaten Tigers (3-0).

 

Kaylene Smikle had a team-high 19 points and four steals.

 

Freshman Jillian Huerter scored 11 powered by 3 of 6 deep.

 

But the Scarlet Knights squandered an opening 13-2 lead.

 

On Wednesday Rutgers takes the short trip north to South Orange to face Seton Hall at Walsh Gym at 7 p.m. on FloHoops.

 

The National Scene: In other games involving ranked teams No. 10 Notre Dame (1-1) followed up its loss in Paris to South Carolina by giving freshman Hannah Hidalgo a homecoming trip playing at NJIT and the Irish newcomer responded in the 104-57 rout with 26 points and a program record-tying 12 steals.

 

Hidalgo, who went to Paul VI in Haddonfield in South Jersey, scored 31 in the loss in Paris setting a male/female record for most points in a Notre Dame debut. 

 

Sophia Citron also scored 26 against the Highlanders (2-1) with all five starters in double figures. Maddy Westbeld had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

 

NJIT’s Alejandra Zuniga scored 14 points and Lyzi Litwingo scored 10.

 

No. 3 Iowa (3-0) with a chance for its first No. 1 ranking from the NCAA runnersup since 1988 won 94-53 at Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls as reigning national player of the year Caitlin Clark scored 24 and securing another triple double with 11 assists and 10 rebounds becoming the Hawkeyes’ all-time scoring leader.

 

Her 12^th triple double enabled her to join former Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu, now with the WNBA New York Liberty as the only two Division I players to collect triple doubles in four different seasons. 

 

Clark now with 2,813 career points, passing former Hawkeye Megan Gustafson (2,804; 2015-19), said, “l think it was a good week” that included beating No. 8 Virginia Tech in Charlotte, Thursday. “It gets you off on the right foot. But our group is mature enough to know this is just the starting point.”

 

In the past week, No. 1 LSU, No. 2 UConn, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 8 Virginia Tech, No. 9 Indiana, No. 10 Notre Dame, and No. 11 Tennessee all lost, only Virginia Tech and Notre Dame to teams ranked ahead of them.

 

“It really doesn’t matter if we are or not,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said of the potential ranking at the top. “It’s a long year. What are we this week? Three? That’s darn good too.”

 

Said Northern Iowa coach Tanya Warren, “Caitlin Clark is the best player in the country. No ifs, ands or buts about it. You’re not going to stop her, you’re not going to contain her. You just want to make things tough for her.”

 

Northern Iowa was the preseason pick in the Missouri Valley Conference.

 

The Iowa men’s record is held by Luka Garza with 2,306 points.

 

Kansas State visits Iowa Thursday.

 

Noteworthy: Saniya Rivers on her performance against UConn, said, “I just knew I had to show up today for my teammates. Whether it was scoring, on the defensive end, giving assists to my teammates, it didn’t matter.”

 

Auriemma said Rivers was “by far the most dominant player on the floor today.”

 

On the way it went for his own team, he said. “I think getting rebounds is just an attitude, and we’ve got a (expletive) attitude toward rebounding, because it’s hard work. It’s hard work, and everybody’s got to be engaged in it.”

 

Bueckers said of her return from a missed season, “ i’m still getting my conditioning and game rhythm back, getting playing under my belt. But I feel fine, great physically. Just got to be better.” 

 

Ironically, Maryland and UConn off Sunday’s losses next meet each other, the Terrapins visiting the Huskies in Storrs, Thursday.

 

USA Basketball completed its two-game exhibition trip against Division I teams Sunday winning 87-58 at Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. The group won at Tennessee last Sunday.

 

The training camp squad, part of the assessment for next summer’s Olympics group coached by former La Salle star Cheryl Reeve, coach of the WNBA Minnesota Lynx, was led by former Rutgers star Kaleah Copper, the Philly native on the WNBA Chicago Sky, who scored 21 points, her personal best in an USA uniform.

 

Looking Ahead: Penn State is the only local team in action Monday, hosting Kansas of the Big 12at 6 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center in State College on the Big Ten network B1G.

 

The first Big Five City Series clash in the ten-game round robin has Saint Joseph’s visiting Penn Tuesday at The Palestra on ESPN+

 

Delaware hosts Lehigh at 7 p.m. in the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark on FloHoops.

 

Nationally, No. 5 Utah visits No. 19 Baylor at 7:30 p.m. in a Preseason WNIT  game in Waco, Texas, on ESPN+.

 

On Wednesday La Salle is at Drexel at 6 p.m. on FloHoops, the game is not a Big 5 counter until next season for the women. 

 

Temple visits No. 12 Mississippi, though the ranking will change with the new poll Monday afternoon. Lafayette hosts Marist at 6 p.m. in Easton, Pa.

 

Nationally, Northwestern is at Notre Dame at 7 p.m. on the ACCN.

 

USBWA Expands Weekly Awards Program: Beginning Tuesday, the United States Basketball Writers Association will expand its weekly player awards for men and women from a choice of one each to groups of five each while continuing with a freshman recipient and team of the week. 

And that’s the report.