The Guru Report: Saint Joseph’s Takes First Big Five Game Beating Penn; Lehigh Nips Delaware; No. 21 Baylor Ends PAC-12 Unbeaten Streak Upsetting No. 4 Utah

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

PHILADELPHIA – For years playing Big Five games here in the the local round robin has been spoken of in terms of Army-Navy football – A fight to the finish. Anything can happen. Especially those games held in Penn’s Palestra.

 

And that was demonstrated Monday night when the host Quakers topped the mighty Villanovans in a men’s matchup.

 

But occasionally all that gets tossed when it comes to an experienced squad playing one with a youthful roster, especially in more recent times where the growth of conference memberships has relegated these affairs to be staged much earlier than the past when the City Series onset was a late December/early January highlight.

 

All that was displayed Tuesday night on the women’s side where the first of the ten-game series saw Saint Joseph’s pull away to a 77-49 victory over Penn to move to 3-0 while the Quakers dropped to 1-1 after having shown a promising look in beating Marist Saturday in its season and home opener.

 

“We certainly knew Penn was a good team and they were going to get back in the game,” said veteran Hawks coach Cindy Griffin. “With our activity defensively and our ability to get really good looks offensively, we changed the momentum of the game and we were able to pull away.”

 

For years, playing Penn for the most part locally was like picking up points for writing one’s name on a college entrance exam.

 

Then Mike McLaughlin, a Father Judge grad who built Holy Family in the City’s Northeast section into a Division II powerhouse, came along, and the doormat tag disappeared with the Big Five becoming as meaningful as the Ivy League.

 

Despite dealing with a slew of newcomers and the transfer of All-Ivy Kayla Padilla to Southern Cal’s nationally rising force from her hometown in Los Angeles – the Ivies have nixed the NCAA extra pandemic-driven fifth season – Penn was in this one within five late in the first half of a Hawks squad that came down to The Palestra on the heels of two dominating triumphs over Rider in the opener last week at home and at Yale, an Ivy rival of the Quakers.

 

Then just as time in the second quarter was expiring, Chloe Welch, a graduate transfer from Atlantic Ten rival Davidson, nailed a near half-court shot for three and the visitors headed into the break up eight points and held control the rest of the way.

 

The Denmark born Laura Ziegler, who followed teammate Talya Brugler, in consecutive A-10 rookie of the year honors to Hawk Hill, had a double-double 18 points and 14 rebounds, Brugler playing with her in the post scored 10 as did Mackenzie Smith, Welch scored 13, and freshman Gabby Casey, the Gatorade Pennsylvania Girls Player of the Year back in The Palestra for the first time since winning last season’s Catholic League crown with Lansdale Catholic, was 5-for-6 from the field scoring 16 points.

 

“We have so much fun playing together,” Ziegler said of her pairing with Brugler. “I think compared to last year we’re even closer than we were, and it’s obviously affecting our play.”

 

The Hawks had a hot start last season but faded at the close. This time, though, the offense is showing more cohesion and so far they are showing more scoring threats, as displayed with Welch and Casey, who was turned loose for the first time.

 

“We knew she was ready, and we knew that given the opportunity, she was going to come in and help us,” Griffin said. “She took advantage and we’re really proud of the way she gave us that punch off the bench.”

 

This was the start of a three-game local stretch for the Hawks, continuing at Drexel Sunday at 4:30 p.m. (FloHoops) and next Wednesday at Temple.

 

The twin-engine attack from Penn continued with Stina Almqvist from Sweden in the backcourt getting a double-double 13 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Mataya Gayle from Woodstock, Ga., scored 14, and Jordan Obi had eight points and nine rebounds.

 

“She is going to be a special player, here,” McLaughlin said of Gayle. “Sometimes it takes you to get your butt kicked. There’s a lot of responsibility on this young 18 year old trying to run a team at this level. This is going to be really good for her and she's going to have moments like this where it didn't go our way.”

 

As for his assessment of the game, he said, “Outside of the first quarter, I just thought they outplayed us. They ran better offense than we did at times, we struggled to guard them at certain points, they’re a tough matchup.

 

“I was disappointed that we couldn't find an answer to slow them down.”

 

Penn next visits Siena at 2 p.m. Sunday (ESPN+) in suburban Albany, N.Y., ahead of a West Coast trip to Chapman, San Diego State and UC San Diego. The Quakers will return to The Palestra, Nov. 29, playing another Big Five game when La Salle visits at 6 p.m.

 

 Lehigh Holds off Delaware: In the only other local action Tuesday, Lehigh in an upset of sorts, won 78-77 at Delaware in the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark.

 

The Mountain Hawks (3-0) built a 78-72 lead with Ella Stemmer making a jump shot off an assist from Lily Fandre with 2:43 left in regulation, then went scoreless the rest of the way as the Blue Hens (1-1) squandered several opportunities to reverse the outcome.

 

Klarke Sconiers brought the home folks to 78-75 but missed her second foul shot with 1:31 left but Tara Cousins made it a one-point game with 40 seconds left at 78-77.

 

Stemmer missed a three-pointer with 15 seconds left, Delaware got the rebound, called time, and then Chloe Wilson missed a layup as time expired.

 

“Any road win is a good win,” texted Lehigh coach Addie Micir, who played at Princeton.

 

Stemmer had 26 points while Lehigh’s Whitney Lind scored 11 off the bench and reserve Jamie Behar scored 12.

 

Delaware got 33 points and 10 rebounds from Sconiers and Wilson scored 18.

 

The Mountain Hawks host Yale Friday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem while the Blue Hens are off until Nov. 24, playing Florida Gulf Coast in the Gulf Coast Showcase at 5 p.m. in Estero, Fla.

 

The eight-team event is in a true tournament format.

 

The National Scene: In games through Monday, the PAC-12 continued at 31-0 with Arizona winning over visiting San Diego 79-66 and No. 24 Washington State winning 61-49 at Big Sky contender Montana.

 

However, in yet another big upset by ranking number, the perfection ended in the scaled-down Preseason WNIT as No. 21 Baylor at home in Waco, Texas, beat future Big 12 rival and No. 4 Utah 84-77, taking down the PAC-12 favorite of the conference media and coaches in preseason polls.

 

The Bears (2-0) got 18 points from Sarah Andrews, including 12 in the fourth quarter, while Aijha Blackwell had 13 points and eight rebounds. 

 

The team talked about returning to the Final Four standards they held under former coach Kim Mulkey, who won her fourth title with LSU in April, her second season since the return to her home state.

 

Utah (2-1), which plays at Saint Joseph’s next month and returned all five starters from the team that advanced to Elite Eight was hampered when Alissa Pili got in early foul trouble.

 

The reigning PAC-12 player of the year did score 22 points, shooting 9-of-11 from the field.

 

Baylor is hosting Harvard Sunday while Utah is giving Pili a homecoming in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage.

 

Elsewhere, in a game between two conference favorites Maine of the America East at home gave a 59-48 upset to Rhode Island of the Atlantic 10.

 

Duke edged Columbia 66-62 in New York, Austin Peay won 68-63 at Kentucky, and Buffalo at home beat MAAC favorite and neighboring Niagara 92-75.

 

Looking Ahead:  On Wednesday, Drexel hosts La Salle in a local game at 6 p.m. on FloHoops; Lafayette hosts Marist at 6 p.m. on ESPN+, while Rutgers is at nearby Seton Hall at 7 on Flo Hoops, and Temple is at No. 23 Ole Miss at 7:30 p.m. on SECN+.

 

On Thursday in a clash between two teams who suffered big losses Sunday, at home in Storrs No. 8 UConn, which lost to then-unranked NC State on the road, meets No. 20 Maryland, which got wiped out by then-No. 6 South Carolina in Columbia enabling the Gamecocks to reach No. 1 in the current poll.

 

And that’s the report.