The Guru NCAAW Report: Penn and Princeton Wrap Up Non-Conference Games With Wins Looking to Ivy Openers This Saturday

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

The local Ivy duo of Penn and Princeton finished up non-conference on the final day of 2024 winning games Tuesday afternoon in advance of the league wars kicking off this weekend.

Penn (9-4), out west in the Arizona desert, finished the Quakers’ two-day trip with a split, beating Benedictine Mesa 86-75 while Princeton at home in Jadwin Gym handled Le Moyne 75-43.
After narrowly almost upsetting Arizona State, coach Mike McLaughlin’s group was led by Stina Almqvist, who had a career-high 28 points, shooting 11-6 from the field for 68.8 % while she also grabbed 10 boards.

Mataya Gayle scored 18, freshman Sarah Miller, on what was a homecoming trip hailing from the Phoenix area, collected 15 points, and Saniah Caldwell matched a personal best with 12 points, while Katie Collins, another freshman, grabbed 11 rebounds.

Benedictine Mesa is a non-Division I squad while Le Moyne is in the Northeast Conference going through reclassification to Division I.

Penn comes home and goes into the deep end of the Ivy poll, opening Saturday at 2 p.m. (ESPN+) in The Palestra against regular season co-champion Columbia.

Princeton (9-4), which had struggled after losing Madison St. Rose to a season-ending injury earlier this season, is showing signs of replicating one of the Tigers’ final seasons under Courtney Banghart in which they struggled due to injuries on the front end but when crunch time came, they were still standing holding another league title.

But in terms of reality check, Le Moyne (0-13) is still seeking its first win of the season.

Ashley Chea had 16 points and six assists for the Tigers, Tabitha Amanze scored 11 with four boards, Parker Hill dealt a personal best five assists, and Katie Thiers matched her career-high with eight points.

While Penn on Saturday will be dealing with a league frontrunner, Princeton will be in the shallow end hosting Cornell at 2:30 p.m. in Jadwin Gym (ESPN+) in central New Jersey/

The National Scene

In games finishing up, considering New Year’s no longer treated by schedule makers with the reverence they hold for Christmas, in the Big Ten, New member Washington’s two-game jaunt to the Midwest finished perfect, winning 84-75 at Illinois in Champagne, while new member Oregon got its first conference win besting Northwestern 85-65, and Minnesota won at Wisconsin 59-50.

In the Washington game, the Huskies (11-4, 2-1 Big Ten) got 24 points, four boards, and eight assists, from Sayvia Sellers, who had five makes in seven attempts from deep; Dalyah Daniels had 16 points and 12 boards; and reserve Teagan Brown scored 10.

All of that cancelled 32 from Genesis Bryant for the Illini (11-3, 1-2), who were ranked early in the season.

Oregon (10-4, 1-2) got 14 points from Deja Kelly and 12 points and nine boards from Phillipina Kyei among the starters while off the bench, Nani Falatea scored 13, Alexis Whitfield scored 11, and Ehis Etute scored 10 against the Wildcats (7-7, 0-3), who got 17 from reserve Melanie Daley, 15 from Caileigh Walsh, and 14 from Kyla Jones.

Minnesota (14-1, 2-0) in its win over Wisconsin (10-4, 1-2) got 13 points from Amaya Battle, 12 from Grace Grocholski, and 11 points and eight boards from Sophie Hart.

Tori McKinney, the reigning USBWA national freshman of the week, dealt six assists to go with her seven points.

The Badgers’ Serah Williams scored 16 with 11 boards for a double-double, while Ronnie Porter scored 13.

Looking Ahead

Locally on New Year’s Day, No. 23 Iowa is at Penn State at 1 p.m., the next closest Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen will be to home after being in Brooklyn next month. The host Nittany Lions have yet to win in the early Big Ten schedule.

Temple will look to augment a fast start in the American Athletic Conference as the Owls host East Carolina at 4 p.m in the Liacouras Center (ESPN+), Villanova will seek to go 2-0 in the Big East, hosting Seton Hall at 8:30 p.m. in Finneran Pavilion on FS1.

Nationally, No. 7 Connecticut is at Marquette at 2 p.m. in Milwaukee on SNY; In the Big 12, Colorado will be looking for a second upset when the Buffs visit No. 11 TCU (ESPN+) at 7:30 p.m. in Fort Worth, Texas. UCF in another Big 12 affair, visits No. 18 West Virginia in Morgantown at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. No. 12 Kansas State at 3 p.m. is at Houston on ESPN.

In the Big Ten, No. 4 Southern Cal in the Galen Center is hosting Nebraska at 3 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, which also has No. 1 UCLA hosting No. 24 Michigan at 9 p.m., both games originating in Los Angeles. Purdue is at No. 21 Michigan State at 2 p.m.

On Thursday, the local lineup has Rider hosting defending MAAC champion Rider at 6 p.m. in Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J. (ESPN+).

Rutgers is at No. 8 Maryland in a Big Ten clash at 7 p.m. at the Terrapins’ XFINITY Center in College Park; The Patriot League gets under way as Lehigh at 6 p.m. visits Bucknell in Lewisburg while Lafayette at 2 p.m. is at Boston U. in Beantown, both on ESPN+.

Saint Joseph’s has a second straight key Atlantic 10 game to start conference play visiting George Mason in Fairfax, Va., at noon on ESPN+ while on the same network La Salle in the A-10 visits Davidson at 7 p.m. in North Carolina.

The Southeastern Conference gets under way Thursday night and the major game involves the two new members from the Big 12 with No. 5 Texas at 9 p.m. visiting No.  9 Oklahoma in Norman on ESPN2.

No. 2 South Carolina is at Missouri at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network, while No. 15 Tennessee is at Texas A&M at 8 p.m. as new Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell makes her debut in league competition.

The new Bay Area teams formerly with the former PAC-12 are making ACC visits, Stanford is at SMU at 8 p.m. while N0. 20 California is at Clemson at 7 p.m., the latter on the main ACC network, the former on the auxiliary ACCNX.

And that’s the report.

  

 

 

The Guru NCAAW Report: Penn Suffers Tough Narrow Loss at Arizona State; Portland Loses Perfect Record in Overtime to Oregon State

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

With Delaware’s visit to Harvard cancelled Monday due to the Blue Hens’ lack of players, attention shifts to the other local in action where Penn came close to a shocker threatening an upset of Arizona State until the closing minutes with the Sun Devils edging away to a 73-67 victory.

It was the first meeting of the two programs and played as the first collegiate basketball game in Arizona State’s Mullett Arena, which opened in 2022 for a variety of sports.

Two streaks concluded — the five-game win streak for Penn (8-4) and the three-game slide for Arizona State (6-7), which is about to become deeply involved in the Big 12 having broken away from the PAC-12 with Arizona, Colorado and Utah, the latter two actually returning to a former home.

It was a close affair with eight ties and 11 lead changes with Penn ahead during most of it but not at the end.

The Sun Devils are coached by former Delaware coach Natasha Adair.

Quakers freshman Katie Collins had 16 points and 11 boards, while reaching a personal best six assists. Mataya Gayle, playing all 40 minutes, had 10 points and five boards.

Stina Almqvist had 21 points, shooting 9-14 from the field.

Nevaeh Parkinson for the Sun Devils had 22 points and13 boards, while Jyah Lovett had 16 points and former Blue Hen Ty Skinner scoring 12.

Penn led as late as 65-64 with 4:22 left in regulation, but then the Quakers couldn’t find the hoop the rest of the way, losing on a closing 9-1run.

The Quakers, the trip partially for freshman Sarah Miller from the Phoenix area, complete road action Tuesday playing Benedectine Mesa and then come home to open Ivy play Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in The Palestra hosting contender Columbia.

On the small national slate Monday, No. 25 Ole Miss at home in Oxford easily beat Alcorn State 93-41 as Starr Jacobs scored 14 for the Rebels (10-3), Sira Thienou and Tameiya Sadler each added 13 points.

The home team dominated the paint 56-16.

Ole Miss opens play in the SEC on Thursday visiting Texas A&M in College Station.

Elsewhere out West, Washington State, a PAC-12 refugee in the West Coast Conference, won 74-66 at Pacific as Eleonora Villa scored 20, while Astera Tuhina scored 16 off 5-10 from the field and three makes from deep; while reserves Jenna Villa scored 13 with five boards and Alex Covill scored 12 for the Cougars (8-6).

But the big story on Guru news to paraphrase old time local TV news, now its down to seven unbeatens in Division I after the other match in the WCC between a Pac-12 immigrant and long-time WCC squad member, saw Oregon State (6-8) remove the perfect record of Portland (14-1) with a 76-72 win in overtime.

Kelsey Rees, a senior member of the Beavers, scored 25 points with 12 boards, AJ Marotte scored 14, while Tiara Bolden and Catarina Ferreira each scored 10 with Ferreira also added 10 boards for a double-double.

The Pilots got 21 each from Maisie Burnham and Emme Shearer.

The Beavers next host Loyola Marymount at at 6 p.m. Thursday on ESPN+, while the Pilots Thursday host preseason favorite Gonzaga (7-8) at 9 p.m. (ESPN+).

Looking Ahead

On Tuesday, with Penn out west for one more, the Quakers’ Ivy partner Princeton (8-4) will undergo its league tuneup facing Le Moyne at noon home in Jadwin Gym.

Nationally, key games on the New Year’s Eve slate, has Washington at Illinois at 1 p.m. on the league network; a Big 12 meeting between Utah and host Arizona at 1 p.m. at 2 p.m.; Oregon at Northwestern at 3 p.m. on the league network.

On Wednesday, New Year’s Day, locally, No. 23 Iowa is at Penn State in the middle of the state at 1 p.m.; while in the AAC East Carolina is at Temple at 4 p.m. (ESPN+) and Seton Hall in the Big East is at Villanova at 8:30 p.m. in Finneran Pavilion.

 

 

 

 

The Guru NCAAW National Report: Watkins Scores 31 Leading No. 4 USC over Michigan While Norfolk State of the MEAC Stuns SEC Auburn on the Road

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

It was a one-game week for America due to the break for Christmas but what a one-game list for the roundup from Sunday.

Since conference play got under way in many places and we’re already in breakout mode from the locals due to volume, that’s the way we’ll recap.

And so we begin with MEAC contender Norfolk State, who bagged another Southeastern Conference team, a road win at Auburn 63-57 as graduate guard Diamond Johnson scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, swiped four steals, and dished three assists, while Da’Brya Clark added 15 points to the attack.

The Spartans (12-4) shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and owed the boards for the game 42-33.

Norfolk State previously won at Missouri 57-54 during the season’s opening week and in December went 5-1.

Auburn (9-4) wasted a 29-point, 12-rebound performance from Deyona Gaston, while Mar’shaun Bostic added 11 points and eight assists.

Johnson was an individual USBWA honoree the opening week of the season for the win over Missouri.

Watkins keeps the big in Big Ten

In the wake of realignment Sundays will never be the same in the Big Ten, especially when Southern Cal is tipping off at 10 p.m. (that’s later than recent games in the PAC-12).

Now that last season’s USBWA national freshman of the year is among a handful of players such as Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers are in the same aura under which Iowa’s Caitlin Clark grew beyond greatest it is not safe to sign off for the night until these stars have completed their games on the schedule.

Sure enough, in No. 4 Southern Cal’s 78-58 win over No. 23 Michigan in the Galen Center, Watkins scored a game-high 31 points with five boards seven assists, three steals and three blocks. The Los Angeles sophomore also was 13-14 on the line while in the game teammate and Stanford transfer Kiki Iriafen scored 18 points for the Trojans (12-1, 2-0 Big Ten).

Michigan (10-3, 1-1) got 19 points from Jordan Hobbs, while Greta Kampschroeder added 14 points and Olivia Olson scored11.

Michigan, which lost to all three ranked team opponents, next stops at No. 1 UCLA on Wednesday, the second time facing the No. 1 team after being edged opening day by Southern Cal.

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, No. 8 Maryland had to squelch a late rally from No. 19 Michigan State (11-2, 1-1) before emerging with a 72-66 win at home in the XIFINITY Center in College Park.

Rutgers transfer Kaylene Smikle had 19 points for the Terrapins (12-0, 2-0), one of eight remaining teams unbeaten and four in the Big Ten, including UCLA, Ohio State and Southern Cal.

Michigan State was down 17 in the second quarter, eventually rallied to tie late before the Terrapins broke away on Saylor Poffenberger’s shot from deep to win it.

Villanova transfer Christine Dalce sealed it with a layup with 36.3 seconds left and then grabbed a steal on the next Spartans possession.

Maryland was hounded into 25 turnovers but made big plays at the end of preserve the win.

As mentioned, Maryland and Rutgers hook up on Thursday while Michigan State hosts Purdue on Wednesday, New Year’s Day.

No. 1 UCLA (13-0, 2-0) at home in Pauley Pavilion in Westwood in Los Angeles easily won 91-54 over Nebraaska (10-3, 1-1), which fell out of the rankings last week.

Lauren Betts, a Stanford transfer who missed the two previous games due to an injury in the game at Long Beach State, scored 21 points for the Bruins, while Kiki Rice scored 18.

The Huskers got 12 from Amiah Hargrove.

It was Cori Close’s 300th victory in Westwood, now in her 14th season after being 300-140.

The UCLA defense shut down Alexis Markowski from her team high 15 point and 8.3 rebound average to three points and two boards.

The Huskers visit Southern Cal on Wednesday.

No. 24 Iowa (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) routed visiting Purdue (7-6, 0-2) at Hawkeye-Carver Arena 84-63 in Iowa City as nine players had a balanced attack, each scoring nine. Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen scored six, After the Penn State visit Wednesday, coach Jan Jensen’s team is back home Sunday with Maryland.

Miles Makes ACC History with No. 3 Notre Dame

Olivia Miles had the first back-to-back triple double in history with the Irish (11-2, 2-0) scoring 11 points, grabbing 10 boards and dealing 14 assists in a 95-54 win over Virginia (8-6, 0-2) at home in South Bend, Ind. While explosive scoring from sophomore Hannah Hidalgo with 28 points for the Merchantville (N.J.) sophomore from suburban Philadelphia.

Sonia Citron scored 25, including five makes from deep, and had 11 boards.

On the sidelines, Niele Ivey came up with her 100th win that occurred in her five seasons coaching her alma mater.

The Cavaliers in one stretch were scoreless for 11:44 without connecting with a basket.

Virginia will host Wake Forest Thursday and ND travels to No. 17 North Carolina in Chapel Hill Sunday.

The Tar Heels (13-2, 1-1) were on the road Sunday winning 69-60 at Miami (11-2, 1-1) in Coral Gables as Maria Gakdeng scored 21 and grabbed 12 boards while Alyssa Ustby had 19 points and 13 rebounds.

The Hurricanes had won four straight and got 19 points with 11 rebounds and five assists from Hannah Cavinder.

No. 22 North Carolina State (10-3, 2-0) trailed most of the way against visiting Clemson (8-5, 1-1) before the Wolfpack rallied for an 83-79 victory as Zoe Brooks scored 18, Aziaha James scores 15 and Saniyah Rivers scored 12 of her 14 in the second half in the game at home at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.

No. 13 Georgia Tech extended its best unbeaten start to 14-0, including 2-0 in the ACC, winning 100-61 as Karah Dunn had a season-high 28 points, while freshman Dani Carnegie has a new personal best with 24 points in a 100-61 rout Pitt.

The Yellow Jackets are two short of their best-ever ranking at 11 in February, 2022.

Syracuse visits Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Thursday, while Pitt on Sunday is at No. 14 Duke.

No. 7 UConn Routs Providence as Beckers Scores 23

 Eight days after losing to then-No. 7 Southern Cal, the Huskies (11-2, 2-0) returned to Big East play and dominated Providence 67-41 playing in their second home at the XL Center in Hartford.

Paige Bueckers scored 23 as Geno Auriemma’s NCAA record for wins increased to 11-2, 2-0 in the Big East. Freshman Sarah Strong had 14 points against the Friars (7-8, 0-2).

UConn next plays

Azzi Fudd had eight points in 24 minutes and freshman redshirt freshman Jana El Alfy also made her first start.

UConn is at Marquette Wednesday.

South Carolina Wins Last Nonconference Game Ahead of SEC Wars

The No. 2 Gamecocks (12-1) used a 17-0 run in the second quarter to go on to a 93-47 victory over Woford (6-5) winning their 65th straight home game in Columbia as freshman Joyce Edwards scored 16 points.

South Carolina next opens play in the Southeastern Conference at Missouri Thursday.

With the exception of Auburn stunned by Norfolk State all the SEC teams won on Sunday shaking their rust off, including new members No. 5 Texas (13-1), which beat visiting UT Rio Grande 94-35 in Austin as Kyla Oldacre scored 21 points, and next plays its former Big 12 rival No. 9 Oklahoma (12-1) Thursday in Norman at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.

The Sooners got ready for the Longhorns by beating New Mexico State 82-64 as Oregon State transfer had 19 points and 12 boards.

No. 6 LSU (15-0) trailed Albany at the half before rallying home in Baton Rouge to win 83-61 as Aneesah Morrow had 20 points and 18 rebounds. Mikaylah Williams added 18 points, Flau’Jae Johnson collected 15 points and nine boards as the Tigers tied their second best start in history.

LSU on Thursday will open its SEC race at Arkansas.

No. 15 Tennessee at home in Knoxville rolled over Winthrop 114-50 as the Lady Vols improved to 12-0 for the seventh time in program history as Sarah Puckett scored 17 points and Ruby Whitehorn scored 16.

New coach Kim Campbell gets her first taste of the SEC Thursday at Texas A&M and then hosts Oklahoma Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPN.

No. 20 Alabama beat visiting Jacksonville 93-46 as Aaliyah Nye hada personal best 30 points and matching career-high eight makes from deep for the Crimson Tide (13-1), who open hosting Florida Thursday.

Vanderbilt beat Alabama A&M 93-64 at home in Nashville to improve to 13-1 with the Commodores hosting Georgia Thursday.

In games elsewhere, Columbia (9-4) won easily 73-53 at Towson with Riley Weiss scoring 22 points the Lions grabbed 60 rebounds as they head to Penn Saturday at 2 p.m. (ESPN+).

South Florida after its win last week over Duke opened its play as the AAAC favorite winning at Rice 74-64 in in Houston as Sammi Puisis scored 23 for the Bulls (8-6, 1-0), who next host Charlotte Wednesday in Tampa.

Fairleigh Dickinson continued a two-day sweep winning its MTE event which predetermined matches on the week and concluding with a 63-49 triumph of Bryant.

And that’s the roundup.

  

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guru NCAAW Local Report: Smith Leads Saint Joseph’s in A-10 Opening Win on VCU; Temple Opens AAC With Big Road Triumph; Princeton Tops Middle Tennessee

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA — Once a team gets to start conference play, a coach with a team holding title desires and access to the NCAA field needs to strike a balance between having the squad game day ready without creating undue pressure.

Thus, once a person with familiarity glances at the schedule, what’s important is easily discernible.

In the world of realignment on the women’s side this season, the mid-majors know they are caught with a small part of the meal at the table and there is not much wiggle room through errors as existed five years ago.

The Saint Joseph’s schedule was quite revealing for opening week, hosting VCU here on Hawk Hill Sunday afternoon at Hagan Arena and then a few days later there’s a trip with a noon tip at George Mason, two of the teams in the league’s preseason top five besides the Hawks, defending champion Richmond and Davidson.

“No, we don’t spend on that with them, and they’re smart, they’re not stupid, they know what’s what and what needs to be done beyond the want to win every game,” Saint Joseph’s  coach Cindy Griffin said after her bunch emerged with a gritty 70-62 win over the Rams (6-7, 0-1) that much closer than the final score indicates.

But in her own mind, “This is a very talented league with a bunch of good teams and you look what we got the first week.

“So, this game, we’re home, we better win it.”

The fact that Saint Joseph’s (10-2, 1-0) has had several similar encounters in its non-conference run including the recent two-game Hawk Classic before the holiday break helped forged Sunday’s win over a team that could have easily come to town at 9-3 overall instead of 6-6.

“Actually, the Utah game,” Griffin referred to the one-point overtime loss out west last month. “We didn’t rebound in key parts down the stretch, today we did.”

Trailing 31-28 at the break, statistically the game was won in the third quarter which Saint Joseph’s owned 17-9.

But the reality was an 8-0 run by the opposition in the final period wiped out that advantage and as the game neared its finish but Laura Ziegler quickly made the deficit vanish, the defense got stops on the boards and steals on the floor with two straight and-ones from Emma Boslet and Mackenzie Smith to put Saint Joseph’s into safe territory.

At the outset, Ziegler took care of some unfinished business from the title game last weekend which saw her second triple double within a month zipping a three-ball and thus becoming the 31st member of the program’s 1,000-point club.

She finished with 18 points but Smith was a bigger story shaking a slow start and then getting a hot hand to shoot 8-14 from the field, 5-of-8 critical makes from deep, sand 4-5 from the line with eight boards and fourt assists.

Talya Bruglar was 6-9 from the field with six boards and four assists with 13 points.

Bostlet and Rhian Stokes each scored six running the offense.

VCU’s Valentina Ojeda was unstoppable with 31 points on 8-9 from the field, a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc, and two foul shots in two tries, while Grace Hudson scored 12, with four from deep, and Mary-Anna Asare scored 11.

In some ways the league schedule makers seeking to bolster its better squads with the ratings dynamics that are part of the NCAA deliberations bears responsibility on the A-10’s title run side of things while the teams themselves attempt to create strong non-conference slates.

Between now and the conference tournament in suburban Richmond will see VCU again on the road next week, home-and-homes with Richmond, Davidson on the road, and home-and-homes with George Mason.

“This is a confidence builder,” Griffin said. “But it’s not going to get any easier.”

La Salle, meanwhile, returned to it’s A-10 action after winning at Loyola Chicago earlier this month and the Explorers fell at home in John Glaser Arena 65-54 to George Washington.

Through the third quarter the Revolutionaries (8-5, 1-1) built a 55-37 lead before La Salle (7-8, 1-1), which dipped under .500 overall again, sliced seven points off the final differential in the fourth quarter.

Ashleigh Connor scored 12 points, while Anna Przyszlak and Ivy Fox each scored 10.

George Washington got a double-double 18 points from Paige Mott, while Makayla Andrews had 14 points and eight boards, and Gabby Reynolds scored 12.

La Salle will be at Davidson Thursday at 7 p.m. in North Carolina. The George Mason game with Saint Joseph’s will be in suburban Washington in Fairfax, Va., and both will air on ESPN+.

Temple Gets Robust Start in The American Athletic Conference

The Jekyll-Hyde act Temple ran through a rigorous non-conference slate showed the nicer side opening AAC play on the road with a high-scoring 97-74 victory over UAB in Birmingham.

The Owls (7-5, 1-0) jumped to a 34-16 lead in the first quarter, was held even 21-21 in the second, added seven more points to the differential in the third, before being edged by a basket for two points in the final ten minutes.

Four of the visitors scored in double figures with Tiarra East, the MVP of the Big Five Classic, scoring 21, Jaleesa Molina scored 17, Anissa Rivera scored 13, and Tristen Taylor matched it.

UAB (9-4, 0-1) got 15 points from Eleecia Carter, while Maddie Walsh scored 13.

Temple resumes AAC play with its conference home opener Wednesday hosting East Carolina at 4 p.m. (ESPN+) in the Liacouras Center.

Drexel and Lehigh Gain Non-Con Tuneup Wins

The Dragons and Mountain Hawks like others early in the season and before the break stepped out of Division I to ready for conference action as Drexel routed Lebanon Valley 71-30 at home in the Daskalakis Athletic Center in West Philadelphia while Lehigh handled Misericordia 81-22 at home upstate in the Stabler Sports Arena in Easton, Pa.

Drexel (4-6), which is scheduled to play long-time rival Delaware to open defense of the Coastal Athletic Association tournament title that the Dragons claimed as a seventh seed to make their third NCAA appearance, got 20 points from Cara McCormick, 15 points, five boards, and four assists from Amaris Baker, and 10 points and seven boards from Chloe Hodges.

But until it is actually occurring Friday, whether it will happen is open to question because the Blue Hens, which is in their last year in the CAA before moving to Conference USA, has been having difficulty due to injuries fielding a team.

When Villanova won down at the Robert Carpenter Center in Newark, recently, Delaware could only compete with the minimum six players but went on to lose at Navy in its next game.

Then a visit to Old Dominion just before the break was listed as postponed, an attempt to reschedule later in the season. Monday’s final non-conference game on the original slate to Ivy contender Harvard is now cancelled to be made up next season.

Meanwhile in its final non-conference game before starting in the Patriot League, Lehigh (9-3), got 13 points from Gracyn Lovette, while Keshia Vitalicio off the bench, scored 10 points.

The Mountain Hawks are set to visit mid-state rival Bucknell (5-6) Thursday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) in Lewistown, Pa.

Princeton Tops Middle Tennessee

The Tigers (8-4), picked to again win the Ivy League but have struggled to remain powerful after losing Madison St. Rose to a season-ending injury, got a nice 64-51 win over the Blue Raiders (8-5), the preseason favorite in Conference USA.

Fadima Hall got a double-double that contained a personal best 16 points with 13 boards, in the game in Jadwin Gym, while Skye Belker scored 17 points and reserve Tabitha Amanze picked up 10 points.

Princeton takes its 23-game home win streak, third longest in the NCAA, in a final non-conference game on Tuesday, New Year’s Eve, hosting Le Moyne of the Northeast Conference, which is reclassifying to Division I.

Rutgers Falls to No. 10 Ohio State

In the gauntlet that is now the Big Ten, Rutgers fell to longtime conference rival No. 10 Ohio State 77-63 as despite a game-high effort from Destiny Adams with with 31 points and 17 boards for the Scarlet Knights (8-5, 0-2).

Freshman Kiyomi Miller added 14 points, while reserve Chyna Cornwell grabbed seven boards.

The Buckeyes (13-0, 2-0 Big Ten), one of eight remaining unbeaten teams, got two double-doubles from Ajae Petty (16 points, 10 boards) and Cotie McMahon (16 points, 11 boards), while Taylor Thierry scored 14, and Chance Gray scored 15.

Ohio State hosts Northwestern Sunday while it doesn’t get easier for Rutgers, visiting longtime region rival No. 8 Maryland Thursday at 7 p.m. and then hosts No. 4 Southern Cal and JuJu Watkins 8:30 p.m. Sunday night. 

Looking Ahead

Penn is wrapping up its non-conference slate on the road Monday and Tuesday visiting Arizona State Monday at 3 p.m. on ESPN+ in Tempe and then facing Benedictine Mesa on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

It’s the first meeting with both teams for the Quakers (8-3), with Monday’s game being the first Arizona State basketball game to be played in the Sun Devils’ Mullett Arena, built in 2022 for the school’s Ice Hockey, gymnastics, volleyball, and wrestling teams, besides the NBA G League’s Valley Suns.

Arizona State may have been the then still-alive and thriving Pac-12 when the game was scheduled, but the Sun Devils, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado are now realigned in the Big 12.

The hosts have lost three straight and this is Penn’s 12th game against an opponent from the Big 12, the last win occurring Dec. 29, 1991, against Kansas State at home in The Palestra.

The trip also serves asa homecoming visit for Penn freshman Sarah Miller from Phoenix, while ASU coach Natasha Adair is in her third season after having left Delaware to succeed the legendary Charli Turner Thorne, who had retired.

Penn opens Ivy play Saturday hosting league regular season co-champion Columbia at 2 p.m. in The Palestra (ESPN+).

There are three games with local teams on New Year’s Day, beginning with Penn State hosting No. 24 Iowa in a Big Ten clash at 1 p.m. on the Big Ten Network from the Bryce Jordan Center in State College.

The Hawkeyes have Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen, making her second closest trip back to the area after having lost to then-unranked Tennessee in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center earlier in the month.

As mentioned, Temple hosts East Carolina at 4 p.m. and Villanova in a Big East game hosts Seton Hall at 8:30 p.m. on FSI from Finneran Pavilion.

Rider hosts defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Fairfield at 6 p.m. Thursday (ESPN+) at Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J.

That’s your local report.