The Guru Report: Saint Joseph’s Takes Its Hawk Classic; Villanova Stops Slide With Big Five Win at La Salle; Hidalgo Powers Notre Dame and Clark Likewise at Iowa With Triple Doubles

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

PHILADELPHIA — Late in Thursday’s title game of the annual Hawk Classic at Saint Joseph’s with 4:50 left in regulation here at Hagan Arena, a 15-point lead for the host squad had shriveled to just one over UAB and the opposition Blazers were heading down court with a chance for the go-ahead basket.

 

But Mia Moore missed a layup, Laura Ziegler grabbed the rebound and Talya Brugler in a flash missed a chance to create insurance but grabbed an offensive rebound, made the shot while getting fouled and picked up an additional point from the line.

 

The threat didn’t immediate subside as the lead swung between six and two points.

 But with 25 seconds left Davidson transfer Chloe Welch sank two shots for a six-point lead again, UAB cut it to four with 13 seconds left, then Brugler answered for the game’s final points and for the first time since 2017-18 Saint Joseph’s claimed its tournament crown.

 

It may have been 24 hours after its normal position on the weekly calendar, but hump day was navigated in a huge way by the Hawks.

 

After two straight seasons of suffering a loss after reaching 10-1, Saint Joseph’s closed out its non-conference side of the slate at 11-1, the new best 12-game start in the 23-year era of Cindy Griffin coaching at her alma mater.

 

Brugler, who had 24 points, including her 1,000^th career point, in Wednesday’s opening win, scored 15, while matching a personal best six assists and five rebounds to be named the most outstanding player of the tournament.

 

Ziegler had 20 points, shooting 9-for-16 from the field, while grabbing seven rebounds.

 

But beyond the two former back-to-back Atlantic 10 freshmen of the year, Welch has clearly become the X-factor so far, getting a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. She averaged 15 points and nine rebounds across the two-day tournament.

 

“Very, very proud of our team today, I thought we played against a very talented, well-coached team, we’re not very familiar with them, we don’t cross paths, we knew it was going to be a battle today, and I thought our players came out and ready and do whatever it takes to win the game,” Griffin said.

 

“You could see how it was near the end. These guys make plays for and with each other.”

 

UAB (9-3), who this season moved into the American Athletic Conference of which Temple is a member from C-USA, was led by Moore, with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Maddie Walsh scored 13.

 

The championship meeting was the first between the two schools.

 

“You take it possession by possession on the defensive end,” Welch said of playing the opposition’s top player, “stay down, stay low, keep my girl in front of me,” don’t do too much. And then on the offensive end, execute what we’re running, and it worked out well for us.”

 

She said of her decision to come to Hawk Hill, “When I first started talking to this team, I really loved what they stood for. I Thought when I talked to them, what I can do with this team. There’s no limit on this team, so it was pretty easy.’’

 

Brugler said of Welch’s addition, “Chloey brings a lot of energy on the defensive end and she’s one of our bigger guards, so she’s a good matchup, and on the offensive end, she does a good job, she just opens up the floor and creates different plays.

 

“Obviously, she can drive, she can shoot, she does a good job meshing within parts of our offense and make us meshing in with her.”

 

Behind Brugler, Welch, Ziegler, Moore and UAB teammate Kylee Schneringer, made the all-tournament team as did Breezie Williams of New Hampshire, which beat Wagner in the third-place game.

 

One could say in the process of winning the championship, the Hawks may have learned how to win a championship with an eye toward the Atlantic 10 tournament title and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in March.

 

“Well, I hope so,” Griffin said. “That was the point.

 

“To play back-to-back, you have a short prep time. You just have to play. You have to be able to make adjustments on the fly and I thought our players really, really well handled the defensive end of things, offensively, we struggled a little bit at times, I think we shot 17 percent the first quarter, 21 percent the third, the second and fourth we shot 50 percent.

 

“We’re trying to get a little more consistent but at the same time at the end of the day, and learning how to win these games drama, you can see the growth with this group.”

 

Early in the A-10 slate in January, off Villanova snapping a three-game losing streak Thursday winning at La Salle to finish 3-1 in the Big Five, Saint Joseph’s has a chance to claim the City Series outright at 4-0 when the Hawks host La Salle on January 15 at noon on the CBS Sports network.

 

“That was one of our goals, but we have some A-10 games first to take care of,” Griffin said.

 

In this one, after a struggling first quarter leaving Saint Joseph’s trailing 14-11, the Hawks opened the next stanza with a 16-0 eruption leading to a 12-point lead at the half.

 

 But the next 20 minutes would see cruise transform into grind, UAB getting back into the game with a 16-7 third quarter as the Hawks mid-range attempts were going anywhere but in the basket.

 

That all set the stage for a close fourth quarter in which key shots and the Saint Joseph’s defense, a long bend but not break, secured the outcome for the Hawks.

 

“Yes, we talked about being relentless. At the end we talked about switching on their guards, they have very quick guards, and I thought our kids handled that very very well,” Griffin said. “And with poise and determination. It showed another growth point with this team.”

 

After the holiday break Saint Joseph’s will open its a-10 schedule on Dec. 30, traveling to the Bronx to play Fordham at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.

 

“We talk about writing our book, right?” Griffin said. “And this is the first chapter, now over, being 11-1, think we’ll have a lot to look back to, in terms of types of teams we played. We’ve been road warriors, we've won on the road, which is really hard to do, and we'll bring a lot of confidence on the road against Atlantic 10 teams that maybe know you a little more.

 

“That’s going to work very well as we start writing the next chapter, winning the Atlantic 10.”

 

Temple Succumbs to Northwestern Rally

 

The Owls got off to a good start at home in the Liacouras Center finishing up the non-conference portion of the season against Northwestern of the Big Ten, but shots stopped dropping and the three-game win streak ended as the Wildcats (5-7, 0-1 Big Ten) rallied for a 72-68 victory.

 

“Northwestern’s Melanie Daley had a game-high 21 points, while Temple’s Tiarra East scored 20, with seven rebounds and four steals.

 

Rayne Tucker had 19 points and Aleah Nelson scored 16 for the Owls (6-6).

 

“We saw (Northwestern) have a surge in the third quarter, and we couldn't stop it,” said temple coach Diane Richardson. 

 

The game was a homecoming for coach Joe McKeown, a graduate of Father Judge.

 

“We didn't knock down shots,” Richardson said. “Sometimes, we get in a rut when we're not making shots. They get their heads down, and we have to fix that because I have confidence in them, and I want them to keep shooting the ball.”

 

After the break, the Owls open play in the AAC hosting new member UTSA (6-5) at 1 p.m. on Dec. 30.

 

“That was the talk in the locker room, that our new season starts when we get back from the break,” Richardson said. “Our goals are still the same, and we know that we gotta play tough, we gotta play hard and we gotta be consistent.”

 

Villanova Stops Slide with a Big Five Win at La Salle

 

In a collision of two teams in an ongoing struggle for wins, the visiting Wildcats dispensed with their three-game slide and reverted at Tom Gola Arena to their earlier season success, winning 74-60 to continue the 15-year domination of the Explorers (3-8, 0-3 Big Five), whose losing streak was extended to six games.

 

Villanova (7-5, 0-1 Big East) finishes the City Series at 3-1, but can catch Saint Joseph’s in a tie if La Salle wins on Hawk Hill, Jan. 15, the first of two games with the Explorers on the A-10 slate.

 

Lucy Olsen, coming off her worst shooting night at 2-for-15 in Saturday’s loss at Madison Square Garden to St. John’s in a Big East opener, was much improved at 10-of-21 for 23 points, while Christina Dalce was back to double-double action with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

 

Bella Runyan had 11 points, seven assists, and nine rebounds.

 

After the break, Villanova resumes Big East play the rest of the way by hosting Xavier at 2 p.m. on Dec. 30 at Finneran Pavilion on FloHoops.

 

Villanova, known for ball control, didn’t have it in this one, committing 17 turnovers as a 21-point second quarter lead was reduced to a somewhat competitive differential.

 

“Sometimes we get a little too dribble happy, and that's when turnovers happen, travels, dribbling off our foot.” Runyon said. “We stayed in our offense, let the system work for us. When we're sharing the ball, setting good screens, using screens, good things always happen. It's easy buckets too.”

 

A day after Saint Joseph’s Talya Brugler reached her 1,000^th career point, La Salle fifth-year guard Molly Masciantonio, whose freshman year was at Holy Family, achieved the milestone on the way to scoring a team-high 15.

 

“I honestly didn't think I was going to get there, but within five years I got it,” Masciantonio said of her landmark achievement. “I just enjoy being on the court and playing for La Salle women's basketball and I couldn't do it without them. I've just love improving every day and I want to win.”

 

Villanova coach Denise Dillon talked about needing to rely on defense with the offense still a work in progress. 

 

“That's what we try to emphasize because offensively, it's a lot of ups and downs with us,” she said. “The uncertainty is who is doing what on that day, who might be feeling it.

 

 “We are still trying to find that consistency, so staying focused on the defensive end. I always feel like if you're staying focused on defense and rebounding, you're not overthinking the offensive end and then things just start to fall into place for you.”

 

La Salle got hot in the fourth quarter to move within 10 but the outcome never got to be in doubt.

 

Gabby Turco had 14 points for the Explorers and Tiara Bolden scored 12.

 

Of his team’s recent downward trend, Explorers coach Mountain MacGillivray said, “Every single day, we take a stride forward and then we realized there's some more things we gotta work on.

 

 “We get better at this and then there's some other things. We are just growing. It's tough when the scores were lopsided, and it feels a little better no when we were in the hunt, and we had a chance in this one. 

 

“The vibe from the team has been good and that's what I was worried about after that real bad stretch we had in three games in five games, but they responded.”

 

The Explorers begin their A-10 slate Dec. 30 at George Mason in Fairfax, Va., near Washington, D.C. (ESPN+).

 

Lafayette Edges Dartmouth

 

The Leopards in their last non-conference game before heading into Patriot League action starting with Army after the break secured a 57-55 win against the Big Green (5-6) of the Ivy League in Hanover, N.H., when Makayla Andrews hit two free throws in regulation with eight seconds left to withstand Nina Minicozzi’s layup at the buzzer.

 

Andrews had a game-high 18 points for Lafayette (5-6), while Halee Smith scored 17 points. Minicozzi led Dartmouth with 16 points.

 

After snapping a three-game losing streak, the trip to West Point is Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. (ESPN+).

 

Drexel and Delaware Suffer Setbacks

 

The two local Coastal Athletic Association teams nearing the end of non-conference play had less happy results heading into the break.

 

In the second day of the Homewood Suites Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., Drexel’s losing streak extended to three games, falling to Cleveland State 69-59.

 

Brooke Mullin shot 6-for-11 from deep, scoring 20 points while Amaris Baker had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Dragons (4-6).

 

The Vikings (11-2), reigning Horizon League champions, got 20 points from Colbi Maples and 18 from Jordana Reisma.

 

Before heading into the CAA race Drexel on Dec. 29 will host area Division Iii Arcadia at 2 p.m. on FloHoops.

 

Meanwhile, Delaware (4-7) in an in-state contest was upset in Dover at Delaware State, 69-66 at Memorial Hall, extending the current losing streak to four games.

 

Tara Cousins scored 22 points and Rebecca Demeke had 19 for the visiting Blue Hens against the Hornets (4-8) of the MEAC.

 

Delaware will wrap up non-conference play on New Year’s Eve hosting Ivy League power Harvard at 2 p.m. on FloHoops.

 

The National Scene: Speaking of the Crimson, former Ivy star McKenzie Forbes had a career high 36 points while former Penn star Kayla Padilla scored 16 for No. 6 Southern Cal in an 85-77 win at longtime rival Long Beach State. The visit by the Trojans (10-0) in their final non-conference game was actually their first true road game in visiting the 49ers (5-5).

 

It’s the first time and third overall since the Cheryl Miller ’84 and ’85 seasons USC has started 10-0 and with their 12^thstraight win in the series the Trojans are now even at 28-28.

After the break, USC will start PAC-12 play with a bang heading across town in Los Angeles to visit No. 2 UCLA on Dec. 30^th at Pauley Pavilion 8 p.m. on the PAC-12 network.

 

Haddonfield native Hannah Hidalgo in the last non-conference game before ACC play for No. 14 Notre Dame (9-1) had her first triple double — 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists besides five steals as the Irish whipped visiting Western Michigan 4-47, dropping the opposition to 5-5.

 

Iowa’s reigning national player of the year Caitlin Clark is drawing sellout crowds everywhere (Rutgers, Jan. 5), and the home crowd got to see what they paid for in the team’s last non-conference game before the resumption of Big Ten play, Clark getting a unique triple-double with 35 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in a 98-69 win over Loyola Chicago of the Atlantic 10.

 

It’s the 13^th triple-double of her career, the 17 rebounds a career-high, and she and former Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu of the WNBA New York Liberty are the only two achieving triple doubles in four straight seasons.

 

Clark is now seventh on the all-time NCAA scoring list and she leads men and women over the last 25 years with 43 30+ point performances.

 

The win gave the Hawkeyes their eighth program-best 12-1 start, four under current coach Lisa Bluder.

 

“We are always a work in progress,” Bluder said. “I feel like we are good right now, but I think we can get a lot better.”

 

Ramblers coach Allison Guth said she didn’t have any bag of tricks to slow Clark.

 

“She's really hard to play against. Her range is insane. I've seen teams try to box and won her, send two players at her. And she can do it all.”

 

UNLV beat host Fairleigh Dickinson 71-59 while in a MAAC game contending Stony Brook won at Iona 71-49.

 

No. 10 Baylor (11-0) beat South Florida 73-50 as Sarah Andrews scored 19 and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had 18 points and 13 rebounds against the Bulls (8-5) on the final day of the West Palm Beach Classic.

 

Oregon (9-4) took a 70-63 win over Oklahoma State (7-4) in the Trailblazer Classic.

 

Richmond (10-3) took third place with a 64-60 win over Chattanooga (11-3) as Maggie Doogan scored 17 points in the Cherokee Invitational near ASHEVILLE, N.C.

 

The locals are done but among a group of games Friday until Division I shuts down until next week No. 13 Ohio State host Belmont at 1:00 p.m.; No. 20 Gonzaga host New Mexico at 4:00 p.m. on ESPN+; No. 16 Indiana host Bowling Green at 6:00 p.m. on the Big 10 network and No. 25 TCU host Mount Saint Mary's at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

 

 That's the report.