The Guru Report: Chen’s Career-High helps Princeton Edge Villanova

BY Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

VILLANOVA, Pa. — A year ago, in the first week of the season the Villanova women went up to play perennial Ivy champion Princeton, which was enjoying an early national ranking by the Associated Press, and led by all-American Maddy Siegrist down the stretch the Wildcats pulled an upset and went on to experience a lights out ride into the program history books the next several months.

 

On Monday night, the Tigers came down to Finnernan Pavilion and became the third team of four in the past eight days and second Ivy power to turn the lights out on Villanova down the stretch and left for home with a 61-58 victory.

 

The tough loss came just 48 hours after nearby Saint Joseph’s rallied for a win that likely ended the Wildcats’ string of Big Five titles.

 

Princeton (7-3), which has loaded up on playing Power 5 teams on its non-conference slate, got the job done with reigning Ivy player of the year Kaitlyn Chen scoring a career-high 31 points playing all 40 minutes while sophomore Madison St. Rose and freshman Skye Belker each scored 12 points and Ellie Mitchell had another night feasting on the backboards adding 19 rebounds against the home team.

 

Villanova’s Lucy Olsen, who to date has been as good as could be hoped for as the new primary option with Siegrist graduated and off to the WNBA, had 21 points with a pair from deep and dealt four assists while Christina Dalce double doubled with 16 points and 12 boards, and freshman Maddie Webber just missed another outing with double digits scoring nine points.

 

A week ago, regular-season Ivy co-champion Columbia up in New York bottled up Olsen in the closing seconds and foiled a Villanova comeback.

 

On Monday night Olsen had a chance to keep things going, drawing a foul on St. Rose with two seconds remaining and shooting three from the line.

 

But the first attempt did not go down and now a point short following the other two attempts connecting, the Wildcats (6-4) were forced to foul, and Belker wrapped things up for the Tigers.

 

Chen turned the tide Princeton’s way in the fourth quarter erasing a five-point deficit and scoring her team’s first ten points and 21 overall in the second half while Olsen had 11 and had also been limited in the second period with her second foul.

 

“The last time we were here, (Chen) was a freshman and had seven turnovers,” said Princeton coach Carla Berube, a former UConn star who has maintained the dynasty built by Courtney Banghart, now at North Carolina. “She was hoping this would be a better game for her.

 

“In her last game she had ten assists. She swapped those for points tonight, and she was feeling it. We want to give her the ball and give her as many opportunities as we can and get her shots.”

 

Olsen’s basket with 2:35 left in regulation gave Villanova a brief lead after Chen tied it and before Chen got it back for the Tigers, who spent the weekend working on defense for this one.

 

It paid off as Olsen’s field goal would be the last to go down for the Wildcats.

 

“We wore down a little and you can see even in the fourth quarter, the numbers drop with the percentage. We’re just needing ‘all’ our Wildcats to contribute on both ends of the floor,” said Villanova coach Denise Dillon.

 

Dalce missed a shot in crunch time that went in and out off the rim.

 

“Our defense has been a work in progress this season,” said Berube, who many believe is destined to succeed her Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma, when he eventually decides to retire.  “We finally got the stops we needed down the stretch, and that's what we want to hang our hats on, and we did it.”

 

Of her getting to the line with a chance to tie, Olsen explained, “If there was an open shot, I would have taken it, but I saw her coming at me. I was still trying to make it.”

 

In defending Olsen, Berube said, “Everybody's helping out, everybody's digging. We are lucky she got a couple fouls in the first half when she was sitting for a little bit. She's just a really really good player. It's just working really really hard and trying to limit her opportunities.”

 

Princeton hosts Rutgers at Jadwin Gym at 7 p.m. (ESPN+) Wednesday, part of the mini round-robin of Jersey schools that includes Seton Hall.

 

Villanova opens it Big East slate with St. John’s Saturday playing the Red Storm at 6 p.m. in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

 

There’s some regret not being able to play there last year instead of Carnesecca Arena on campus in Queens. Considering the crowd from Siegrist’s hometown in Poughkeepsie that would come to the ‘Nova visits, playing in the home of the NBA Knicks would likely have turned the place into ‘Maddy’ Square Garden.

 

Delaware and Lafayette Fall: It became 0-for-3 for the locals Monday night with host Lafayette losing 68-47 to Monmouth at Kirby Sports Arena in Easton, Pa., while Delaware dropped one 64-55 in Richmond, Va.

 

It was the third loss in a row for the Leopards (4-6), the others at Rutgers and No. 14 Notre Dame, following a four-game win streak.

 

Monmouth (5-4), which won the then-named Colonial Athletic Association last season after realigning from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), got 17 points from Kaci Donovan, while Sandrine Clesca scored 14 points, and Ariana Vanderhoop scored 13.

 

Abby Antognoli scored 14 points and Makayla Andrews scored 13 for Lafayette, which next after finals goes to Dartmouth at noon (ESPN+) on Dec. 21 in Hanover, N.H.

 

Delaware (4-5), which dropped its second straight, got 15 points from Tara Cousins, while off the bench Rebecca Demeke scored 12 against VCU (9-1) of the Atlantic Ten.

 

The Blue Hens go to Temple at the Owls’ Liacouras Center Thursday at 7 p.m.

 

With finals beginning, the overall slate is not plentiful.

 

Of the two games on the tracker, Seton Hall routed Fairleigh Dickinson 67-27 at home in Walsh Gym to improve to 7-3 while FDU fell to 2-9.

 

Oregon (7-3) gained a 67-37 win over Southern (1-7) in Eugene.

 

There are no local games Tuesday, while Towson is at Maryland at 11 a.m.

 

On Wednesday, No. 5 Texas is at Arizona at 9 p.m., while in a Big East opener at 8 p.m. on FloHoops No. 20 Creighton is at No. 19 Marquette.

 

As expected, Penn State following two losses after reaching No. 25 in the AP Poll fell out as did Washington State, which lost its PAC-12 opener at home to in-state rival Washington. 

 

Miami and UNLV moved in. Baylor took a big leap to 10^th.

 

And that’s the report.