The Guru NCAAW Report: Penn State Loss Costs Spot in Big Ten Tourney; Upsets Dealt No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 8 UNC, Almost No. 1 Texas

By Mel Greenberg@womhoopsguru

Stunning upsets nationally, one local team dead, another hanging by a thread and another not far behind.

March Madness got more intense 48 hours before March’s actual arrival.

That was the story in both categories Thursday night in which Penn State was eliminated from the Big Ten tournament, Rider stayed alive in the race for the last MAAC spot, No. 3 Notre Dame got stunned at home by No. 24 Florida State, No. 15 Kentucky at home crushed No. 11 Tennessee, No. 1 Texas dodge at bullet at Mississippi State, but No. 7 LSU also was a stunner victim upset at No. 20 Alabama, No. 16 Duke ambushed visiting No. 8 North Carolina, but No. 5 Connecticut made it a sweep of No. 22 Creighton and added another Big East regular season title to its massive collection.

Let’s get started.

Penn State took the floor on senior night at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College hosting Purdue, both teams needing a win to stay alive in the race for the final spot in next week’s Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

The visiting Boilermakers prevailed 92-85 and the Lady Lions, who have been in last place for several weeks, fell to 10-18 overall and 1-16 in the conference and reduced to a final regular season game at Rutgers Sunday at 2 p.m. at Jersey Mike’sArena in Piscataway, N.J.

The one win was a surprising upset at home over nationally ranked Ohio State.

Realignment and expansion has affected the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conferences, resulting in the last three teams in each league sliced from chances at long shot runs for NCAA automatic bids.

“You have to do your part and we didn’t,” said coach Carolyn Kleiger.

Gabby Elliott matched a career high with 32 points while Grace Hall scored 16 points, and Gracie Merkle scored 11. Alli Campbell dealt seven assists against Purdue (10-18, 3-14).

The sole achievement left would be revenge on Rutgers (10-18, 2-15), which in an earlier meeting rallied to down the Lady Lions.

In the only other Big Ten game Thursday No. 19 Maryland (22-6, 12-5) won 74-60 at Indiana (17-11, 9-8) in Bloomington as Shyanne Sellers scored 21 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter by making three from deep, shooting 5-7 overall from the field, and shooting 7-7 from the line to equal the Hoosiers’ team total.

Rutgers transfer Kaylene Smikle scored 16 points and Villanova transfer Christine Dalce scored 11.Allie Jubek grabbed 11 rebounds for the Terps, who are in fourth place and Sunday at 4:30 p.m. host No. 12 Ohio State at the XFINITY Center in College Park on FOX.

First place and top seed will be decided Saturday night when No. 4 Southern Cal looks for a sweep traveling across town to Pauley Pavilion to play No. 2 UCLA at 9 p.m. on FOX.

Both teams were on the top line Thursday night on the NCAA Committee’s second and final 16-team reveal before the whole 68-team field is announced at 8 p.m. on ESPN on March 16.

Meanwhile, Rider (7-20, 5-13) stayed alive in the MAAC race for the last spot with a 64-61 win over Merrimack (12-15, 88-10) at home in Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J.

In the closing minutes Camryn Collins’  three-ball snapped a tie and La Salle transfer Gabby Turcol went 4-4 from the line before the Warriors cut the deficit to 64-61 and then forced a turnover but failed to make a game-tying shot as time expired.

“It was a gut check game,’” said veteran coach Lynn Milligan. “It was a game we had to win. It's no secret, we knew that situation we put ourselves in. We still have some control over that.

“I was really happy with the way we prepared this week. This team wasn't afraid of the challenge before them. I saw veterans out there. I saw maturity.”

Winner Bartholomew scored 15 points while Turcol and Collins each scored 14 points.

Rider finishes next week at Canisius, which is holding the 10th and last berth for the MAAC tourney at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The Broncs go last to Niagara.

If Canisius loses to Iona, Saturday, Rider and St. Peter’s next week and the Broncs also win at Niagara they will grab the last spot.

The frontrunners continued to dominate, first-place Fairfield (23-3, 17-0) won 81-61 at Mount St. Mary’s while Quinnipiac (23-3, 15-2) won 74-65 at St. Peter’s.

In the Fairfield game Meghan Andersen scored 25 points for the Stags while Riana Brown scored 13 off the bench, Emina Selimovic scored 17 points with nine boards and Kaety L’Amoreux scored 11 with six rebounds.

The Stags, who ran the MAAC table last season, have won 40 straight in the conference and can clinch a tie for the regular season crown when they host Sacred Heart at Leo D. Mahoney Arena Saturday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+)

In Quinnipiac’s win, freshman Gal Raviv tied her personal best with 32 points shooting 12-for-24 from the field, and made six from deep, besides grabbing nine boards and dealing six assists.

Looking Ahead Local

Penn at 8 p.m. has a must-win game Friday (ESPN+) at Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H., which could result in getting the fourth and final spot in next month’s Ivy Madness at Brown in Providence, R.I.

If the results in the remaining schedule play out with first-place Columbia winning at home this afternoon against Brown, the Quakers and Brown will tie and the third tie break will be needed which is the .Net which Penn has a large advantage.

Princeton in second a game back tied with Harvard can knock the Crimson into third when they meet at 8 p.m. (ESPN+) Friday night in Cambridge, Mass., though either way they are likely to meet in the semifinals.

Drexel can move closer to gaining at least the second seed in next month’s Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) when the Dragons host Monmouth at 6 p.m. (FloSports) in the Daskalakis Athletic Center followed Sunday at at 2 p.m. hosting Campbell on senior day.

Delaware is at Stony Brook at 7 p.m. (FloSports) Friday on Long Island.

Temple can look up the fourth seed in next month’s American Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Worth, Texas when the Owls at 7 p.m. (ESPN+) Friday night host Rice in the Liacouras Center on senior night.

The National Scene – The Upsets

A week removed from a seven-day run at No. 1, third-ranked Notre Dame (24-4, 15-2) is likely to drop further after a stunning 86-81 home loss featuring a blown 15-point lead in South Bend, Ind., to No. 24 Florida State (23-6, 13-4) in an ACC matchup that likely cost the Irish a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney as well as next week’s conference tourney in Greensboro, N.C.

It’s only the second time since Niele Ivey became coach (2020-21) Notre Dame has squandered that advantage, the first at Syracuse on Jan. 31, 2021.

That’s two straight losses the second time this season after dropping a pair in a Thanksgiving weekend tourney in the tropics.

No other team in the current top ten has lost two straight, according to ESPN.

Ta’Niya Latson, the nation’s leading scorer, collected 23 points for the Seminoles while Makayla Timpson scored 22.

The Irish were led by Sonia Citron with 21 points while Pitt transfer Liatu King scored 17 and Hannah Hidalgo scored 16 but struggled shooting 4-18 from the field.

Meanwhile No. 16 Duke at home in Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., took down nearby No. 8 North Carolina 68-53 as Reigan Richardson scored 13 of her 23 points for the Blue Devils (22-7, 13-4) in the third period.

Freshman Toby Fournier had 19 points and 10 boards.

UNC (25-3, 13-4) got 17 points from Lanie Grant.

Though neither are now ranked California, which was lower, at home in Berkeley beat Georgia Tech 79-65, the winning Bears one of three ACC newbies along with SMU, not likely to make the ACC tourney, and Stanford, which beat visiting Miami 86-69.

The Hurricanes are also in danger of not making the ACC cut.

In the SEC, No. 15 Kentucky (22-5, 11-4) thrashed visiting No. 11 Tennessee 82-58, the largest winning margin over the Lady Vols (21-7, 8-7) ever by the Wildcats in Lexington as Clara Strack made all 11 of her shots, a program record, while she also set a season record with 67 blocked shots after getting three more. She also had 15 rebounds.

Tennessee’s Talaysia Cooper had 25 points, though no other Lady Vol scored in double figures.

No. 20 Alabama at home in Tuscaloosa, brought down No. 7 LSU 88-85 in overtime as Aaliyah Nye scored 28 and Sarah Ashlee Barker had 21 for the Crimson Tide (23-6, 10-5), while Essence Cody blocked Mikaylah Williams’ attempted game-winner, her fifth rejection, to go with 17 points.

The Tigers (27-3, 12-3) got 22 points from Williams and 16 from Aneesah Morrow.

Texas (28-2, 14-1) nearly went the same way as other marquee teams but held on for a 68-64 win over Mississippi State (19-10, 6-9) in Starkville marking Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer’s return to the place he built into a national power between 2012-20.

Shay Holle got all 16 of her points in the second half for the winners, who stayed on course for a coin flip needed between them and No. 6 South Carolina Sunday if tied for the top seed in next week’s SEC tourney in Greenville, S.C.

The Gamecocks (26-3, 14-1) easily won their contest 75-59 at Ole Miss (18-9, 9-6) in Oxford as Sania Feagin scored 22 points and Chloe Kitts triple doubled her way to 16 points, 13 boards, and 10 assists.

Coach Dawn Staley’s team hosts Kentucky Sunday while Texas hosts Florida.

No. 5 Connecticut (27-3) won its fifth straight regular season Big East crown since returning to the league, completing a season sweep of No. 22 Creighton 72-53 with the home half in Hartford.

Freshman Sarah Strong had 22 points and nine boards against the Bluejays (23-5, 15-2), who’s only league losses are to the Huskies and are back home in Omaha, Neb., Sunday night hosting Villanova ahead of next weekend’s tournament in Uncasville, Conn., at the Mohegan Sun.

Paige Bueckers had 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen had 11 points and Azzi Fudd scored nine as Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma’s all-time NCAA collegiate coaching record reached 1,243 wins.

Creighton’s Morgan Maly had 11 points.

And that’s the roundup.