The Guru Report: Saint Joseph’s and Temple Upset; Caitlin Clark Achieves the Combo AIAW/NCAA eras Career Mark Passing Kansas Star Lynette Woodard

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

PHILADELPHIA — There was a nice symmetry at one point Wednesday night for the local teams with NCAA aspirations until disaster struck across the board that didn’t necessarily leave all in shambles, but it certainly made things a little tougher than it was earlier as games got under way.

 

Nationally, No. 3 Texas became the latest squad to become a victim of the curse of the top five teams, er let’s correct that to, the curse of the four top teams not named No. 1 South Carolina, though in recent weeks No. 2 Ohio State had remained stable after reaching the runner-up spot and on Wednesday the Buckeyes clinched an outright Big Ten regular season crown.

 

In Minneapolis, where the Big Ten tourney will be held next week and for the first time is a sellout, No. 6 Iowa’s Caitlin Clark in a win over Minnesota posted another triple double and claimed the major collegiate women’s scoring title set in the AIAW, pre-NCAA era.

 

Next goal is the men’s mark set by LSU’S Pistol Pete Maravich.

 

But you’re going to have to wait for those details as we go through the local implosions and we begin here on Hawk Hill at Hagan Arena where Saint Joseph’s got stunned by Fordham 62-57 for a season split and technically 3-2 against teams in the Atlantic 10 with Rams as their mascot. (Rhode Island 2-0, VCU 0-1).

 

“We somehow just weren’t ourselves tonight,” said veteran coach Cindy Griffin.

 

But the impact quote “bad timing” said it best as did the justifiable bandage words of “not the last game.”

 

Let’s deal with the bad timing first. 

 

For one, the night began in a tie with Richmond (25-5, 15-2) though the Spiders by winning out, the head-to-head victory here in early January gives the Spiders the No. 1 seed. 

 

However, they clinched it Wednesday by decimating visiting Duquesne 90-74 as four players scored in double figures, including Cardinal O’Hara grad Maggie Doogan with 14 points.

 

The Hawks (25-4, 14-3) dropped into a second-place three-way tie with VCU (25-4, 14-3), which beat preseason favorite and host Rhode Island 69-59, and George Mason (23-5, 14-3), which rolled over visiting Dayton 78-53.

 

Duquesne (18-10, 13-4) is one-game back in fifth and hosting the Hawks Saturday at 2 p.m. (ESPN+) in Pittsburgh.

 

George Mason is at VCU Saturday, so if Saint Joseph’s wins, the Hawks clinch a double bye that goes to the top four teams.

 

Where remains to be seen in terms of the seed.

 

Bad timing number one: If this happened midseason, it would be yesterday’s news, but unlike if the loss had been one of the top contenders, the word “bad” comes into play considering the Rams (13-15, 8-9) record, which is not good when being called a just outside the bubble team.

 

Furthermore, if the losses had been spread out to this point, the lingo would have been different but enjoying the best season record-wise the Hawks arrived like a rolling freight train.

 

But that said, unlike last year, when bounced out of the quarters by Saint Louis, which went on to win the league, Saint Joseph’s has leeway to win the rest of the way to the title game, and then if it’s a respectable loss, an at-large bid may still be possible.

 

As for the details of Wednesday, very much part of attached to the implication of the final score, the Hawks after an 0-4 start went on an 11–0 run and looked like business as usual.

 

“It was fool’s gold,” Griffin said. “It may have looked like it was going to be easy, but the entire coaching staff knew what we’d be up against, and Fordham did a very good job.”

 

In the fourth quarter, separation seemed to be going the home team’s way early with a 50-44 lead.

 

But Fordham did not go away and trailing 57-56 with a minute to play, Taylor Donaldson, who made the visitors’ only two threes of the night, off an offensive rebound, nailed her second for a 59-57 lead with 31 seconds on the clock.

 

Then with 13 seconds left Mackenzie Smith missed a shot grabbed the rebound, Griffin was asking for a time out and the official called a travel.

 

People not having a dog and evaluate officials referred to the move as bad and one saying you can show on the tape what should be done, but it’s not going to get a do-over.

 

“Bad timing,” Griffin said. “We didn’t have a controversial call affecting a game all year.”

 

And there’s no guarantee they score, though chances would have improved.’

 

As the saying goes, never put the game in the hands of the officials.

 

The Hawks were then forced to foul, which Fordham cashed in for a four-point lead.

 

Smith scored 24, while Talya Bruglar scored 13.

 

Fordham’s Donaldson scored 18, and Emy Hayford scored 11.

 

Meanwhile, La Salle, which goes to Fordham Saturday to finish its A-10 schedule, wrapped up the home slate at Tom Gola, losing to Saint Louis 78-57.

 

The Explorers are at 7-21 overall and 4-13 in the A-10, at 13^th and could finish in a three-way tie for 11^th.

 

Tiara Bolden scored 13 points, Nicole Melious had 12, Jolene Armendariz scored 11, and Molly Masciantonio scored 10.

Fourth Quarter Fade for Temple: At the same time across town the Owls’ ups and downs were occurring the same moments as Saint Joseph’s.

 

Holding first place in the American Athletic Conference, Temple (17-11, 11-5) had a five-game win streak and the largest crowd of the season at the Liacouras Center to host Tulsa, which the Owls had already beaten.

 

In the fourth quarter, though, Tulsa outscored the locals 30-20, winning 76-67 and dropping the Owls, picked ninth in the 14-team preseason poll, down to a third-place tie with themselves and North Texas.

 

Temple finishes with East Carolina on the road Sunday and hosting Florida Atlantic next Wednesday before the AAC tourney in Fort Worth, Texas, where they’ll likely have a double bye.

 

Temira Poindexter with 30 points overall and Delanie Crawford with 24 led the way for Tulsa in the final period, which Temple second-year coach Diane Richardson called “self-sabotage.”

 

The Owls’ Aleah Nelson and Tiarra East each collected 16 points while Demi Washington scored 15.

 

Temple has to win the AAC to get to the NCAA but likely, especially with a two or three seed, could land in the new NCAA-run 32-team WBIT or 48-team WNIT.

 

But Richardson isn’t ready for happy talk.

 

“There's no such thing as a pretty good spot when you lose,” she said. “Our goal was to win every game to be sure. This was a setback today, I told them we've got to get back on our horse and ride it, and I don't think they knew what that meant because I'm so old and that's an old saying. 

 

“I was a little disappointed in our effort today. We know how to bounce back. I don't think this is going to happen again.”

 

Villanova Repulsed by No. 10 UConn: The Wildcats couldn’t flip the script, like they did several years ago, at Storrs, losing to the injury-riddled but still Big East-dominating Huskies 67-46 for a season-sweep by the home team (25-5, 17-0), who own the No. 1 seed for next weekend’s tournament at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.

 

The Wildcats after hosting DePaul Sunday at 5 p.m. at Finneran Pavilion, will be either a 4 or 5, which is the same quarterfinal game with Marquette, who they swept.

 

Paige Bueckers had 31 points, while Aaliyah Edwards, who got visiting defenders Christina Dulce and Kaitlyn Orihel in foul trouble, had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

 

Orihel had 15 points and Zanai Jones scored 10 for ‘Nova (17-11, 10-7), but Lucy Olsen with six points was defended into her worst night of the season.

 

“We’ve got to figure it out, you know, regroup and get a win on Sunday before we head to the tournament,” Villanova coach Denise Dillon said.

 

Penn State Stops Slide: On the road in the Big Ten, the Lady Lions (17-11, 8-9) snapped their six-game slide with a narrow 93-88 win at Purdue (12-16, 5-12) in West Lafayette, Ind., as Ashley Owusu scored 23 points, Makenna Marisa scored 17, reserve Jayla Oden scored 15, Leilani Kapinus scored 14 points, and Shay Ciezki scored 10.

 

PSU currently sits in a two-way-tie with Michigan for seventh a half game behind Maryland and finishes Sunday hosting Minnesota at 1 p.m.

 

Patriot Locals Swept: Lehigh fell at Boston University 89-78, while at home in the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa., Lafayette was beaten by Navy 58-49.

 

Lehigh (15-12, 7-9) got 22 points from Ella Stemmer, a total cancelled by the 22 scored by Alex Giannaros scored for the Terriers (17-10, 9-7).

 

Makayla Andrews had 18 for the host Leopards (10-17, 5-11).

 

Lafayette hosts Bucknell Saturday at 2 p.m., while Lehigh hosts Colgate the same day at 4:30 p.m. at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., both on ESPN+.

 

On Thursday, the only local action, Rider with a four-game win streak is at preseason favorite Niagara in the MAAC at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

 

The National Scene – Clark Explodes Again: No. 6 Iowa in the Big Ten downed host Minnesota 108-60 as Caitlin Clark passed former Kansas star Lynnette Woodard of the pre-NCAA era scoring 33 points to reach 3,650 points topping Woodard’s 3,3649.           

 

“Tonight is the night of the real record,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said.

 

Clark with eight makes from deep set the NCAA single season record with 156. She also got her 17^th career triple double adding 12 assists and ten rebounds for the Hawkeyes (25-4, 14-3 Big Ten).

 

Sunday’s senior day game has a $403 price in Iowa City, which could be Clark’s last regular season home appearance if she foregoes her fifth-year option and declares for the WNBA.

 

And that’s the report.