The Guru’s WNBA Report: Minnesota Behind Collier Tops New York Missing Stewart; Indiana Stiil No Clark Rides McDonald’s Night to Down Phoenix; Hillmon’s Three at End Propels Atlanta Over Dallas

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

One night after presenting a triple header involving teams just inside and outside the eight-team playoff mix the WNBA on Wednesday offered another triple header involving the top of the league and it was quite the extravaganza.

Deep into the season the 1-2 standings leaders met for the first time since last October when New York edged Minnesota at the finish in overtime in a decisive Game 5 of the finals in Brooklyn for the Liberty’s first WNBA title in their then 28-seasons dating to the league launch in the summer of 1997.

Before a Target Center crowd of 10,824 in Minneapolis the Lynx (23-5) and MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier bounced back from Sunday’s first home loss, dealt by Atlanta, to make it 15-1 with a 100-93 victory handing the Liberty (17-9) their third straight loss pushing them five games back and closer to the teams right behind them.

The game was a contrast of a healthy team opposed to one hit with injuries.

Minnesota, led by Collier with 30 points and nine boards and Kayla McBride with with 24, have been rolling after since opening day.

“It's fun to compete at a high level against the second best team in the league,” McBride said. “We didn't need a lot of motivation. We had just lost our last home game. The main thing was protecting our home court before anything.”

New York at the season’s outset was right with the Lynx off to a franchise best 9-0 start and Wednesday’s game drew great anticipation though at the time the match drew queries on how the first reunion was so deep in the schedule.

But then finals MVP Jonquel Jones was lost for a month with an ankle injury, returning to the Liberty last week.

However, now a new absence in multi-MVP Breanna Stewart has cropped up and it’s likely to last until the playoffs approach.

“We want to make sure she’s right,” New York coach Sandy Brondello said of not providing a timeline. “But hopefully, we can get her back sooner than that.”

Stewart, the four-time NCAA finals MOP with UConn on their equal string of titles that now number an extended record 12 overall, left early in Saturday’s loss at the finish to Los Angeles at home in the Barclays Center.

Early reports indicated imaging showed no serious damage, which was reversed Wednesday when it was revealed Stewart has a bone bruise in her right knee.

New York’s next stop is Friday at last-place Connecticut and if recently signed Belgian Emma Meesseman can get her visa situation settled some help can come from the post player who was the first reserve one to be named Finals MVP in 2019 with Washington when the Mystics won their only title.

While New York has to figure how to make do, Indiana is starting to gain traction without reigning rookie of the year Caitlin Clark, who remains sidelined with her second groin injury.

The Fever (15-12) won their third straight as recent signee Aari McDonald, a former Arizona standout, had a career-high 27 points and Aliyah Boston scored 22 with 12 boards for a 107-101 home win over Phoenix (16-10) before a Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd of 17,274 in Indianapolis.

 Though Indiana remains in sixth place one ahead of Las Vegas, the Fever are 1.5 behind third place Phoenix and one behind Atlanta and Seattle, who are both 16-11.

Atlanta barely kept its tie Wednesday in the other game winning 88-85 at 12th-place Dallas (8-20) on Naz Hillmon’s 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left before a crowd of 5,228 at College Park Center on the campus of Texas-Arlington.

The Wings, who got 21 points from overall No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers, had just beaten New York at home Monday and were contending for a second straight high-quality victory.

On Thursday the league schedule with just one game returns to the back door of the playoff race as eighth-place Washington (13-13), a game behind idle Las Vegas (14-13), hosts ninth place Golden State (12-13) at 7:30 p.m. on Amazon Prime.

The expansion Valkyries, whose All-Star Kayla Thornton recently suffered a season-ending injury and have sold out all their home games in the 18,000+ seats in the Chase Center in San Francisco, are trying to be the first WNBA team to make the playoffs their first year in operation.

Minnesota Threatens Break Away from Pursuers After Topping New York

Though many expected Wednesday night to be a revenge game for Minnesota after the Lynx disputed a foul call that enabled Stewart to force overtime where the Liberty won the title five minutes later, the team, ahead of the first meeting with three more coming over a shortened span next month, treated the controversy as yesterday’s news.

Besides the play of Collier and McBride, Bridget Carleton made a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter to put the Lynx up 79-66 and under two minutes later she connected from deep again for an 84-69 lead.

Minnesota made 15 3-pointers.

Though the differential grew to 15 at 92–77, the visitors struck with an 11-0 run over two minutes, moving within four before Collier, who was 11-for-16 from the field and 6-for-9 from the line, put on the brakes inside the last minute with a long shot from outside.

It was her fifth game reaching 30 points and the Lynx have hit 100 four times.

“I thought New York played great,” said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve. “Maybe the time they spent together post Dallas game (long team meeting) showed itself our game.

“They were a handful. Luckily, we scored a little more than them. If the game went a little longer, that might not have been the case. Fourth quarter, not great. But we found a way to win, it’s a good win, because in this league, it’s not easy to do.

“The last time we saw them, they were in confetti, and we were not.”

Alanna Smith added 12 points while Carleton and Natisha Hiedeman each scored 10 and Courtney Williams dealt a personal best 13 assists with six points and nine boards.

New York’s Sabrina Ionescu also had a big game scoring 31 points, while Isabelle Harrison scored 15 and Marine Johannes scored 14.

‘This is one of those losses, we can live with,” Ionescu said. “We came out, we competed. Everyone played as hard as they could. Just proud we played hard and came back. That’s the standard we have to come out every night. We could have made a million excuses, but we didn’t. I’m proud of each and every player.’’

“We never gave up,” Brondello said. "Although we lost it was a good performance after a terrible game we had.”

Minnesota next visits Las Vegas Saturday at 3 p.m. on ABC and ESPN+.

The two teams meet again next month, Aug. 10 in New York at 12:30 p.m. on ABC; back in Minnesota the following Saturday at 2 p.m. on CBS; and back to Brooklyn on Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. on NBA TV.

Indiana Still Missing Clark Beats Phoenix

The Fever, getting closer to the leaders, are now 7-7 in games Caitlin Clark has not played besides her missing the Commissioner’s Cup, the All-Star 3-point contest and the game itself, the latter two at home, of which she was a team captain.

There’s still no timetable for her return from her third injury following a quad and previous groin injury.

Boston has collected four straight double doubles and scored Indiana’s initial 14 points of the fourth quarter for an 88-79 lead.

In the middle of the period Chloe Bibby connected from deep, the Fever’s 10th 3-pointer of the game for a 91-83 lead. Sophie Cunningham added four more by connecting a three and added a foul shot after being sent to the line on the play.

It was the Fever’s third 100+ game and Cunningham and Damiris Dantas each scored 12 points.

The Mercury, who were recently piling up wins, have since lost four of their last five games.

Alyssa Thomas had 32 points for Phoenix with 15 boards and seven assists, the third straight game she has approached adding to her career mark of 17 triple doubles.

Rutgers grad Kahleah Copper out of Philadelphia scored 22 in her 10th game since returning from an injury. Sami Whitcomb scored 18 for the Mercury and made a deep shot going into the half to trail 55-50.

Fever coach Stephanie White, in her locker room speech afterwards posted by the team on their social media, said, “Just a hell of a job. That was a big win. We stacked a day. We got to continue to stack. OK? We ain't got no room for sliding back, OK? No room for slippage. Every day, there's a sense of urgency. OK?”

Indiana next is at Dallas Friday at 7:30 p.m. on the five-game ION broadcasting card. Phoenix is at Atlanta the same time, and so is the New York-Connecticut game besides the Chicago game hosting Golden State. Los Angeles is at Seattle at 10 p.m.

Atlanta Wins at the Buzzer

Naz Hillmon, who had the game-winner for Atlanta in Dallas, had 12 of her career-high 21 points in the final period.

Allisha Gray added 15 points, Brionna Jones scored 14, and Maya Caldwell added 13 for the Dream to stay tied for fourth.

Dallas’ Bueckers, who has 11 20-point games, had nine of her 21 points in the closing five minutes.

In the last minute, Te-Hina Paopao scored on possessions for a two-point Atlanta lead with 34 seconds left but 13 seconds later it was tied again on a shot by Arike Ogunbowale before Hilmon’s game-winner.

As mentioned previously both teams play Friday night. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guru’s WNBA Report: The Playoff Gridlock for Slots Continues as ‘Vegas Ruins Brink’s Return at L.A.; Citron and Iriafen Power Washington, and Golden State Downs Atlanta at the Buzzer. Minnesota and New York meet at last while Indiana hosts Phoenix

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

When the time came for the opening tip to the last of Tuesday night’s three-game package in the WNBA, 10th-place Los Angeles hosting seventh place Las Vegas (14-13) had momentum with a five-game win streak closing in on the last playoff slot in the standings with little over a month until the postseason.

The Sparks had the crowd: 12, 449 fans in Crypto.com Arena, formerly the Staples Center.

And after more than a year when second overall 2024 pick Cameron Brink out of Stanford had her rookie season vanish in Game 15 with an ACL, significant depth was back on the roster.

Despite all this, 40 minutes later the visiting Aces (14-13) were the ones who had the game, winning 89-74 after blasting out of the gate for a 31-18 lead after a quarter trailing idle and sixth-place Indiana (14-12) by a half-game, as All-Star Jackie Young had her first triple double with 18 points, 11 boards and 11 assists, and reigning MVP A’ja Wilson had 34 points and 10 boards.

Omens loomed early against the home team, moving across the country before L.A.’s turn, that the basketball Gods weren’t wearing Sparks jerseys bsed on the results from the other two games.

 Expansion Golden State (12-13) in Atlanta tossed the Dream (15-11) a nightmare 77-75 in a home setback delivered 3.9 seconds before the buzzer as Cecilia Zandalasini’s 17th and 18th point gave the visiting Valkyries a 77-75 victory.

That gave Golden State a mood change from dealing with the recent season-ending injury to All-Star Kayla Thornton to show hope might still be realized to become the first WNBA team to make the playoffs in their first season of existence as they hold ninth place, a half-game behind eighth and a game behind the Aces.

For Atlanta, the loss heading to the second of a back-to-back in Dallas Wednesday (8 p.m., ESPN3), wiped Sunday’s uplifting gain dealing first-place Minnesota its first home loss following a 14-0 Target Center start as the Dream dropped 1.5 games behind third-place Phoenix (16-9), and back into fifth a half-game behind Seattle (16-11) and just one game in front of Indiana (14-12).

A crowd of 3,265 fans attended the game in the Gateway Center in suburban College Park, Ga.

The third game of the night coupled with the Los Angeles loss to come saw eighth-place Washington (13-13) take advantage of an injury-riddled lineup from 11th-place Chicago (7-19) for a 103-86 powerful win to the delight of the 4,200 fans at home at CareFirst Arena that not only kept the Mystics in the thick of the tight race for the lower berths while opening a two-game lead on the Sparks.

The win also shone a bright spotlight on the franchise future with the careers-best tandem rookie performances from third pick Sonia Citron with 28 points for the former Notre Dame standout while fourth pick Kiki Iriafen, both who made the All-Star team, scored 22 from the former Stanford and Southern Cal notable.

Brittney Sykes, also on the recent All-Star roster, added 18 points as the Sky in their sixth straight loss got bench crushed 21-7 from Washington.

Chicago did get some help as second-year pro Angel Reese suited up from a two-game absence with back problems. The native of nearby Baltimore out of LSU and before that Maryland, had 22 points and 13 boards, while sister pro sophomore Kamilia Cardoso out of Oregon and South Carolina had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Rachel Banham gave the visitors 19 points.

Washington saw a 19-point lead from the third reduced to eight with 3:22 left but the Mystics countered as Jade Melbourne and Citron shared six points equally and Iriafen scored two in the middle of that run to lock up the win.

The home team shot 51 % with 10 makes from deep.

The two newbies are the first in franchise history to each score 20 plus points in a game.

“First and foremost, just how lucky we are to have them in a Mystics uniform,” said first-year coach Sydney Johnson, who once was in charge of the men’s squad at Princeton. “To come to this league and really want to be great and open to coaching through the highs and lows, through the pressure defense and officiating and the different scheme…I don’t know what to tell you.  But the future’s really great with the pair — it’s just clear as day.”

Citron was 5-for-6 from deep while Iriafen had 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

“It’s a very unforced friendship that we have, which is why we’re able to be so successful on the court,” Iriafen said of their relationship and bonding after April’s draft.

“And, truly, I want Sonia to succeed so much. When she makes a three, to me, I made the three. So, I just feel super happy whenever she does well.”

Off the bench, Collegeville’s Lucy Olsen, a second round pick out of a combo collegiate career at Villanova and Iowa, played 11 minutes shooting 2-for-4 from the field and collecting six points.

Olsen recently signed to play pro in Australia this winter.

The lower gridlock playoff wars out of this game continue this week with Washington hosting Golden State at 7:30 on Thursday night on Amazon Prime, the only game on the league slate, and then Chicago gets the Valkyries Friday on a traveling back-to-back, part of a five-game slate on Ion, four of them at 7:30 p.m., that also has Indiana at Dallas, Phoenix at Atlanta, and New York at Connecticut, while the late night attraction has Seattle hosting Los Angeles.

In the Golden State win, Brittney Griner missed a shot to try to tie it at the end after the Valkyries’ score.

The visitors’ Tiffany Hayes scored 15 points, while reserve Caria Leite had 12 points and Veronica Burton scored 10, while their bench outscored the Dream 39-16.

Atlanta’s Jordin Canada scored 21 with eight assists, Naz Hillmon had 14 points and eight boards while Alyssa Gray scored12.

Back out West, Brink, whom first year Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said Monday would be on restricted minutes on her return, scored five points in 13 of the 40.

She last played on June 18 a year ago.

The Aces shot their way to a 31-18 lead after a quarter in which Wilson made all eight of her attempts.

Besides Young’s triple-double for Las Vegas, Dana Evans scored 10, while Wilson had 10 boards, and Chelsea Gray dealt nine assists.

All-Star Kelsey Plum scored 22 for the Sparks, while Rae Burrell scored 17, and Dearica Hamby scored 15.

Los Angeles’ high-powered scoring act during the win streak ended after collecting 90+ points, a team mark, over the five games.

Looking Ahead

The Sparks are off until the Friday game at Seattle while the Aces are off until hosting Minnesota Saturday at 3 p.m. on ABC and ESPN+ and then have another game Sunday.

The Lynx on Wednesday will be greeting New York at 8 p.m. on ESPN, the two meeting for the first time since the Liberty last October won at the finish in overtime in the decisive Game 5 of the finals at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the franchise’s first WNBA title in their then 28-year existence, matching the length of the league’s history.

“We expect both teams to come out swinging,” Minnesota’s coach Cheryl Reeve, the former La Salle star out of South Jersey, said at Tuesday’s practice. “Common sense says the two teams should have played earlier in the season but the Rubik’s Cube that is the WNBA schedule is not solvable.

“Certainly, there’s challenges, but I think it’s a big miss for sure.”

At one point, with New York’s best team start at 9-0 and the Lynx keeping pace, this game loomed as a potential battle of unbeatens considering if the two met earlier in the Commissioner’s Cup, almost none of it, including the win and loss, is associated with the regular season other than home court goes to the team between the Eastern and Western representatives with the best record.

Things took a downturn beforehand with the Liberty when Jonquel Jones, the Finals MVP for New York, went down with an ankle injury, not returning until last week.

Minnesota kept winning, going 14-0 at home until Atlanta’s win Sunday in the Target Center, though Indiana won the Commissioner’s Cup despite Caitlin Clark not playing at the time.

On Saturday, All-Star Breanna Stewart went out of the game early for New York with a lower leg injury in what what became a one-point loss to visiting Los Angeles.

The Liberty lost again Monday at Dallas but still hold second four games behind Minnesota and a game in front of Phoenix, which they rallied to beat at home Friday night after two prior losses in the series.

Stewart is on the trip, and the Associated Press citing an anonymous source, said imaging showed no serious injury.

Both teams have come out passively in recent games, but Reeve said this one gets each other’s attention.

“That’s what you expect. Both teams, obviously, we have high aspirations. They do; we do.

“Playing each other, right? Will it bring it out the best of one another and so sits should be, you know, the intense battle that we all anticipate,” Reeve continued.

Referring to Sunday’s game when the Lynx were down early and then rallied, but failed to get the win, Reeve noted, “Obviously, a very slow start. We got it together.

 “It’s 55-51 and (Napheesa Collier) doesn’t get a touch, as good as she was, you know, obviously as good as she was.

“So just then when we got ourselves back in it, we just didn’t have, maybe, now the mental focus of what we needed to (execute what) happen next. So missed opportunity for us to win the game.”

The Liberty did have big news right after the All-Star game announcing the free agent signing of Emma Meesseman, who hasn’t played recently in the WNBA but in 2019 off the bench she became the first Finals MVP in WNBA history as a reserve when Washington won its lone title beating Connecticut in five games.

The other game Wednesday is alsoa key one as Phoenix visits Indiana at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.

Clark, suffering her second groin injury, and third overall including a quad early in the season, has continued to be listed as out for the Fever.

After being injury-free her entire collegiate career as well as rookie pro season in 2024 after being the overall No. 1 pick, Clark will be missing her 14th contest.

 Additionally, she’s missed the Commissioner’s Cup the team won, nor participate in the 3-point contest at the All-Star weekend hosted by the Fever or suit up for the game of which she was one of the captains as the leading vote getter ahead of Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier.

The Fever, however, have been a little more solid since the break and Sunday won at Chicago to go 3-0 in the series between the two as the game was still a sellout of 19,000+ in being moved to the larger United Center, home of the NBA Bulls.

The earlier game between the two in the Windy City was also at the arena and was also a sellout with Clark on the bench but on Sunday Kelsey Mitchell made up for her teammates’ absence by scoring 35 points.

 

 

 

 

The Guru’s Philly Summer League Report: Black Stays Perfect in Quarterfinals That Saw Cyber Pink’s Triple Title Run Blunted by Lemon Gold Which Meets Sky in Semis Purple Edges Kelly

By Bob Heller and Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

HATBORO, Pa. – Unbeaten Black (D2-Jefferson), which finished the regular season 8-0, easily helped itself Tuesday night with an opening quarterfinal 75-51victory over 8th-seed Royal (D2-Goldey Beacom) and got some big help elsewhere in the Philadelphia/Suburban Women’s Basketball Summer League at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades.

Though Jefferson during its perfect run, which included a 78-48 win over Royal last Thursday heading to the playoffs, had twice gained 54-48 and 64-55 victories over Cyber Pink, the alums from the former University of the Sciences of Philadelphia, potentially meeting a third time in the championship could be a recipe for the kind of past disasters that saw Black knocked out short of a title after a dominating summer.

But that particular hurdle is no longer a concern courtesy of the night’s big upset with 3rd-seed Cyber Pink (5-3) being felled by 6th-seeded Lemon Gold (D2-Kutztown) 77-72, which now advances against Black in the first semifinal game Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. on Court 1.

Oddly, Lemon Gold (2-6) was to meet Cyber Pink last Thursday but forfeited due to a lack of eligible players when time approached for the opening tip.

USP went out of business several seasons ago as a school, merging with Division I Saint Joseph’s, but a core of alumnae has continued to come to the summer league to compete and have won the last three titles.

While one dangerous hurdle is no more, Jefferson can’t be considered out of the woods.

On the other side of the bracket, second-seeded Sky (D2-Holy Family), which was 6-2, pounded seventh-seeded Maroon 86-50, ending D3-Arcadia’s season, which was 2-6 on the schedule.

That was the same as Lemon Gold, but the teams split their two games and Lemon Gold was able to move up a seed slot on the separation because it had a better win than Maroon having downed 5th-seed Kelly (D2-East Stroudsburg), which was 3-5.

Tuesday, however, was as far as Kelly was able to advance as 4th seed Purple (D2-West Chester), which was 4-4, avenged a regular season loss with a narrow 62-58 win setting up Thursday’s second game at 7:45 p.m., also on Court 1.

A game between Black and Sky in the championship would match two of the top teams from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), who both compete in the Southern Division.

The semifinal winners will meet for the title next Tuesday at 7 p.m. on Court 1 and Ari Bluestein’s Sports Fan Based Network (SFBN) will stream the contest. The URL will be published here in the advance of the game, but you can also search for SFBN on Youtube.

Four players in the quarterfinals joined the summer-long nightly performance roll in reaching 20 or more points: Cyber Pink’s Rylee Derr, in a wasted cause, had the night’s best number, scoring 25 points against Kelly, while Black’s Kaci Mikulski helping the team to remain perfect, scored 24.

In the other two games, both on the winning sides, Purple’s Sa’ni Savage scored 21 while Sky’s Taylor Hinkle scored 20 points.

Here’s Bob with the details from the four games, the last night all eight teams will have competed this summer, which got off to a delayed start when in week one weather affected the floor causing two games suspended on opening night night and two postponed while the next night all four games had to be postponed.

All those contests were inserted into last Tuesday and Thursday with the playoffs placed on delay to start this week.

Recaps

#6 Lemon gold 77 #3 Cyber Pink 72

Third-seed Cyber Pink’s (alumni +) bid to win their fourth straight championship came to an end Tuesday night in the early game on Court Two as #6 seed Lemon gold (Kutztown University +) held off the defending champions with a solid fourth quarter to earn a 77-72 win.

Lemon Gold will move on to the semi finals and face top seed Team Black (Jefferson University) on Thursday.

Fiona Reckner (Franklin & Marshall ’29) led the victors with 16 points while Kathryn Randa (Kutztown ’28) added 14. Lilianna Metrick (Widener ’29) and Taylor Gurysh (Kutztown ’27) had 13 and 10 points respectively.

Rylee Derr (Kutztown ’21) led Pink with 25 points, while Taylor Hamm (USciences’ 22) had 19 points and Holly Gohl (Millersville ’28) added 11.

Pink trailed by as many as eight points in the third quarter but closed out the period with a 16-8 run to head into the final quarter deadlocked at 54-54.

The two teams exchanged baskets early in the fourth quarter with Pink taking a brief 58-56 lead on a Hamm basket before Katie Purpura (St. Thomas Aquinas ‘ 28) tied the game at 58-58 starting a 10-0 run to give Lemon Gold a 66-58 lead with just under four minutes left.

A three-point basket from Gurysh pushed the lead to nine at the 3:07 mark prompting a Pink timeout.

Following the Pink huddle, Hamm completed a traditional three-point play and Gohl added a three-point basket to enable the team within three at 69-66 with 2:34 remaining, raising hopes the championship run might continjue.

 But Pink was now forced to foul and send Gold to the line, where they converted eight of 12 free throws in the final 1:42 while Pink scored just two field goals and Derr added a pair of free throws to make the final score 77-72.

Pink had control early but could never really pull away, holding a five-point lead at the end of one quarter with Gohl increasing the margin to seven with a basket to open the second quarter.

Lemon Gold chipped away at the margin and eventually took the lead 32-30 on a Gurysh three-ball. The re-gained leaders then outscored Pink 16-4 as the period wound down taking a nine-point advantage before Derr hit a three-point basket with just seconds on the clock to make the score 42-36 at the half.

#4 Purple  62  #5 Kelly  58

Court Two was the site of a second close contest Tuesday night as#4 seed Purple (West Chester University +) held off #5 seed Kelly (East Stroudsburg University +) 62-58 to advance to Thursday night’s semi-finals.

Purple will play #2 seed Sky (Holy family University), who won their late game on Court One over Maroon (Arcadia University+)

Sa’ni Savage (Chowan ’27) led Purple with 21 points while Aaliyah Solliday added 14 points.

 Avery White (East Stroudsburg ’26) led Kelly with 19 points, while Daniella MacDonald (Wheaton College ’28) added 13 points and Kaitlyn McGeary (East Stroudsburg ’27) chipped in 11.

Neither team led by more than six points throughout the first half with Purple holding down a 32-27 lead at halftime.

Kelly scored the first six points of the third quarter to retake the lead 33-32 and Sabria Mann’s (Chestnut Hill ’29) basket later put Purple back on top 36-35 and triggered a 17-6 spurt as Purple took a 51-41 lead heading into the final period.

Purple increased their lead to 12 twice in the fourth quarter, the last time at 60-48 midway through the period.

MacDonald sank a three-point basket and Keara McCaffrey (DeSales ’29) added a two-point bucket to cut the lead to seven 60-53.

White followed with a three-point basket with 2:42 left to pull her team within four before McCaffrey cut the lead to two 60-58 with 2:27 left.

Then neither team scored until Kelly was forced to foul putting Brianna Seltzer (West Chester ’23) at the free throw line with just ten seconds left.

Seltzer sank both free throws to make the final score 62-58. Green missed their final three-point attempt as Purple hung on for the win.

 #1 Black 75 #8 Royal 51

Top seed Team Black (Jefferson University) cruised to a 75-51 win over #8 seed Royal (Goldey-Beacom College +) in the first of two quarterfinals games played on Court One Tuesday night.

Black will play #6 seed Lemon Gold, an upset winner over defending champions Cyber Pink in the early game on Thursday night.

Kaci Mikulski (Jefferson ’28) led Black with 24 points while Emily Spratt (Jefferson ’27) chipped in 16, and Tori Nigro (Jefferson ’27) and Ana Pellecchia (Jefferson  ’28) added 13 and ten points respectively.

Eva Walker (Goldey-Beacom ’29) led Royal with 17 points while Angelina Zagone (Goldey-Beacom ’28) added ten.

Royal kept the score close in the first 15 minutes of action, trailing by just four, 30-26 with three minutes left.

Black closed out the half with ten straight points, fueled by two Mikulski three-balls to lead 40-28 going into the third period.

Maroon never got any closer than 12 points in the second half as Black increased the lead to 21 points in the third quarter and increased the margin to as many as 24 in the final period enroute to the 75-51 win.

#2 Sky 86 #7 Maroon 50

Second-seed Team Sky (Holy Family University) led wire-to-wire as they easily won their quarterfinal game 86-50 over #7 seed Maroon (Arcadia University +).

Sky will face #4 seed Purple who squeaked by fifth seed Kelly 62-58 in the late game on court one Thursday night.

Five players reached double figures for the victors led by Taylor Hinkle’s (Holy Family ’26) 20 points, while Amy Ngo (HFU’ 28) and Kara Meredith (HFU ’27) added 18 and 15 points, respectively. Rounding out the double figure scorers were Claire Dougherty (HFU ’26) (13 points) and Dani Brusha (HFU ’29) (ten points).

Taylor Koenig (Arcadia ’28) led Maroon with 19 points while Lizzie Halligan (Scranton ’28) chipped in 16.

Fueled by three-point baskets by Dougherty and Meredith, Sky jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back, increasing their lead to 18-7 on a Hinkle three-ball.

Sky closed out the quarter with a 12-6 run to lead 30-13 after one period.

Sky scored the first six points of the second quarter and continued to increase their lead as the period progressed, leading 58-29 at halftime.

Maroon opened the third quarter with a 7-2 run, starting with a basket from Hanna Rhoades (Arcadia ‘26) and two buckets from Koenig, as the lead was reduced to 25 at 61-36.

Maroon would get no closer as Sky exploded with a 21-5 uprising to close out the quarter leading 82-41.

Sky would score just four points in the final period as Maroon outscored the victors 9-4 to make the final score 86-50.

Results and Schedule

 

Playoffs

Records Are Regular Season Results

Tuesday July 29

Quarterfinals

6:30 p.m.

Court 1

1-Black 75, 8-Royal 51

6-Lemon Gold 77, 3 -Cyber Pink 72

2-Sky 86, 7-Maroon 50

4-Purple 62, 5-Kelly 58

 

Thursday July 31

Semifinals

Court 1

6:30 p.m.

1-Black (8-0) vs. 6-Lemon Gold (2-6)

7:45 p.m.

2-Sky (6-2) vs. 4-Purple (5-3)

 

Tuesday, Aug. 5

Championship

Court 1

7 p.m.

Semifinal Winners

 

Standings (Final July 24)

Team   W L Pct. GB PF   PA

S-Black 8-0 1.000 — 568 392

S-Sky 6-2 .750 2 416 400

Q-Cyber Pink 5-3 .625 3 440 383

S-Purple 4-4 .500 4 485 432

Q-Kelly 3-5 .375 5 386 465

S-Lemon Gold 2-6 .250 6 298 353

Q-Maroon 2-6 .250 6 469 572

Q-Royal 1-7 .125 7 314 480

Q-quarterfinalist; S-semifinalist

 

Individual 20+ Nights

 

28-Taylor Hamm, Cyber Pink W over Maroon, Thurs., July 18

27-Caleigh Sperling, Black W over Kelly, Thurs., July 10

26-Caleigh Sperling, Black W over Royal, Thurs., July 24

26-Hannah Rhoades, Maroon L to Lemon Gold, Tues., July 8

25-Rylee Deer, Pink L to Lemon Gold, Quarters, Tues., July 29

25-Lizzie Halligan, Maroon L to Kelly, Thurs., June 26

25-Dani Brush, Sky W over Royal, Wed., June 25

24-Kaci Mikulsi, Black W over Royal, Quarters, Tues., July 29

24-Emily Spratt, Black W over Sky, Thurs., July 18

23-Talia Battavio, Royal L to Cyber Pink, Tues., July 15

23-Hannah Rhoades, Maroon W over Royal, Thurs., July 10

22-Emily Chmiel, Kelly over Purple, Thurs., July 18

22-Hannah Rhoades, Maroon L to Sky, Tues., July 15

22-Sabrina Mann, Purple W over Royal, Thurs., June 26

21-Sa’ni Savage, Purple W over Kelly, Quarters, Tues., July 29

21-Rylee Derr, Cyber Pink W over Maroon, Thurs., July 18

21-Emily Spratt, Black W over Maroon, Wed., June 25

20-Taylor Hinkle, Sky W over Maroon, Quarters, July 29

20-Caleigh Sperling, Black W over Cyber Pink, Tues., July 22

20-Taylor Hamm, Cyber Pink W over Royal, Tues., July 15

20-Claire Dougherty, Sky W over Maroon, Tues., July 15

20-Claire Dougherty, Sky W over Lemon Gold, Thurs., July 10

20-Sa’ni Savage, Purple W over Cyber Pink, Thurs., July 10

20-Taylor Hamm, Cyber Pink L to Purple, Thurs., July 10

20-Alainna Hopta, Purple L to Sky, Tues, July 8

20-Brianna Seltzer, Purple W over Royal, June 26

 

Thursday, July 24

 

End of Regular Season

Cyber Pink 2, Lemon Gold 0, forfeit

Black 78, Royal 48 makeup from Thurs., June 19

Purple 72, Maroon 45 makeup from Thurs., June 19

Sky 58, Kelly 42 makeup from Thurs., June 19

 

Tuesday July 22

Black 64, Cyber Pink 55 makeup from June 18

Kelly 66, Royal 61 makeup from June 18

Sky beats Purple,2-0, wins suspended game June 18

Maroon 56, Lemon Gold 47 — Maroon declared suspended winner

 

Thursday, July 17

Black 67, Sky 60

Cyber Pink 85, Maroon 59

Kelly 66, Purple 58

Lemon Gold 0, Royal 0

 

Tuesday July 15

6:30 p.m.

Lemon Gold 48, Kelly 40

Sky 79, Maroon 50

Black 63, Purple 49

Cyber Pink 70, Royal 49

 

Thursday July 10

Black 87, Kelly 44

Maroon 75, Royal 46

Sky 67, Lemon Gold 47

Purple 61, Cyber Pink 57

 

Tuesday July 8

Royal 2, Kelly 0, forfeit

Black 54, Cyber Pink 48

Lemon Gold 74, Maroon 62

Sky 60, Purple 56

 

Thursday July 3

Dark – Holiday

 

Tuesday July 1

Dark – Holiday

 

Thursday June 26

Cyber Pink 57, Sky 52

Kelly 81, Maroon 67

Purple 100, Royal 59

Black 67, Lemon Gold 33

 

Wednesday June 25

Sky 97, Royal 49

Purple 57, Lemon Gold 49

Cyber Pink 64, Kelly 44

Black 88, Maroon 55

 

Wednesday, June 18

6:30 p.m.

Court 1

Sky vs. Purple suspended to Tues., July 22

Sky Blue 33, Purple 32 halftime

Court 2

Maroon vs. Lemon Gold suspended to Tues., July 22

Maroon 56, Lemon Gold 47 4th quarter 2:02

 

7:45 p.m.

Court 1

Cyber Pink vs. Black, postponed to Tues., July 22

Court 2

Kelly vs. Royal, postponed to Tues., July 22

 

Thursday, June 19

6:30 p.m.

Court 1

Cyber Pink vs. Lemon Gold, postponed to Thurs., July 24

 

Court 2

Royal vs. Black, postponed to Thurs., July 24

 

7:45 p.m.

Court 1

Purple vs. Maroon, postponed to Thurs., July 24

Court 2

Sky vs. Kelly, postponed to Thurs., July 24

 

Team Schedules

 

Black (Jefferson) 8-0- Semifinalist – Seed 1

7:45 p.m. Wed. June 18 vs. Cyber Pink – Court 1 (postponed to July 22)

6:30 p.m. Thurs. June 19 vs. Royal – Court 2 (postponed July 24)

7:45 p.m. Wed. June 25 vs. Maroon W 88-55 

7:45 p.m. Thurs. June 26 vs. Lemon Gold – W 67-33

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 8 vs. Cyber Pink – W 54-48

6:30 p.m. Thurs. July 10 vs. Kelly – W 87-44

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 15 vs. vs. Purple – W 63-49

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 17 vs. Sky – W 67-60

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 22 vs. Cyber Pink – W 64-55 (makeup from June 18)

6:30 p.m. Thurs. July 24 vs. Royal – W 78-48 (makeup from June 19)

6:30 p.m.Tues., July 29 vs. Royal – Quarterfinals W 75-51

6:30 p.m. Thurs., July 31 vs. 7-Lemon Gold (2-6); Court 1 - Semifinals

 

Cyber Pink (USP Alums+) 5-3 Quarterfinalist Seed 3

745 p.m. Wed. June 18 vs. Black – Court 1 (postponed to July 22)

6:30 p.m. Thurs. June 19 vs. Lemon Gold – Court 1 (postponed to July 24)

7:45 p.m. Wed. June 25 vs. Kelly – W 64-44

6:30 p.m. Thurs. June 26 vs. Sky – W 57-52

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 8 vs. Black – L 48-54

6:30 p.m. Thurs. July 10 vs. Purple – L 57-61

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 15 vs. Royal – W 70-49

6:30 p.m. Thurs. July 17 vs. Maroon – W 85-59

745 p.m. Tues. July 22 vs. Black – L 55-64 (makeup from June 18)

6:30 p.m. Thurs. July 24 vs. Lemon Gold – W 2-0, forfeit (makeup from June19)

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 29 vs. 7-Lemon Gold – L 72-77

 

Kelly (East Stroudsburg+) 3-5 Quarterfinalist Seed 5

7:45 p.m. Wed. June 18 vs. Royal – Court 2 (postponed to July 22)

7:45 p.m. Thurs. June 19 vs. Sky – Court 2 (postponed to July 24)

7:45 p.m. Wed. June 25 vs. Cyber Pink – L 44-64

6:30 p.m. Thurs. June 26 vs. Maroon – W 81-67

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 8 vs. Royal – L 0-2, Forfeit

6:30 p.m. Thurs. July 10 vs. Black -L 44-87

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 15 vs. Lemon Gold – L 40-48

6:30 p.m. Thurs. July 17 vs. Purple – W 66-58

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 22 vs. Royal – W 66-61 (makeup from June 18)

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 24 vs. Sky – L 42-58 (makeup from June 19)

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 29 vs. Purple – L 58-62 Purple

 

Lemon Gold (Kutztown) 2-6 Semifinalist Seed 6

6:30 p.m. Wed. June 18 vs. Maroon – (suspended to July 22)

6:30 p.m. Thurs. June 19 vs. Cyber Pink – (postponed to July 24)

6:30 p.m. Wed. June 25 vs. Purple – L 49-57

7.45 p.m. Thurs. June 26 vs. Black – L 33-67

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 8 vs. Maroon – W 74-62

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 10 vs. Sky – L 47-67

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 15 vs. Kelly – W 48-40

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 17 vs. Royal – L 0-0

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 22 vs. Maroon – L 47-56 (score froze with 2 min left)

6:30 p.m. Thurs. July 24 vs. Cyber Pink – 0-2 forfeit (makeup from June 19)

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 29 vs. Cyber Pink —Quarterfinals W 77-72

6:30 p.m. Thurs. July 31 vs. Black – Court 1 Semifinals

 

Maroon (Arcadia) 2-6 Quarterfinalist Seed 7

6:30 p.m. Wed. June 18 vs. Lemon Gold -Court 2 (suspended to July 22)

7:45 p.m. Thurs. June 19 vs. Purple – Court 1(postponed to July 22)

7:45 p.m. Wed. June 25 vs. Black – L 55-88

6:30 p.m. Thurs June 26 vs. Kelly – L 67-81

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 8 vs. Lemon Gold – L 62-74

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 10 vs. Royal – W 75-46

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 15 vs. Sky – L 50-79

6:30 p.m. Thurs. July 17 vs. Cyber Pink – L 59-85

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 22 vs. Lemon Gold – W 56-47 (score froze with 2 min left)

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 24 vs. Purple – L 45-72 (makeup from June 19)

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 29 vs. Sky – Quarterfinals L 50-86

 

Purple (West Chester) 4-4 Semifinalist Seed 4

6:30 p.m. Wed. June 18 vs. Sky – Court 1 (suspended to July 22)

7:45 p.m. Thurs. June 19 vs. Maroon – Court 1(postponed to July 24)

6:30 p.m. Wed. June 25 vs. Lemon Gold – W 57-49

7:45 p.m. Thurs. June 26 vs. Royal – W 100-59

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 8 vs. Sky – L 56-60

6:30 p.m. Thurs. July 10 vs. Cyber Pink – W 61-57

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 15 vs. Black – L 49-63

6:30 p.m. Thurs. July 17 vs. Kelly – L 58-66

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 22 vs. Sky – L 32-33 halftime when suspended

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 24 vs. Maroon – W 72-45 (makeup from June 19)

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 29 vs. Kelly — Quarterfinals W 62-58

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 31 vs. 2 Sky – Court 1 Semifinals

 

Royal (Goldey Beacom+) 1-7 Quarterfinalist Seed 8

7:45 p.m. Wed. June 18 vs. Kelly – Court 2 (postponed to July 22)

6:30 p.m. Thurs. June 19 vs. Black – Court 2 (postponed to July 24)

6:30 p.m. Wed. June 25 vs. Sky – L 49-97

7:45 p.m. Thurs. June 26 vs. Purple – L 59-100

6:30 p.m.  Tues. July 8 vs. Kelly – W 2-0, Forfeit

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 10 vs. Maroon – L 46-75

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 15 vs. Cyber Pink – L 49-70

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 17 vs. Lemon Gold- L 0-0

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 22 vs. Kelly – L 61-66 (makeup from June 18)

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 24 vs. Black – L 48-78 (makeup from June 19)

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 29 vs. Black – 51-75

 

Sky (Holy Family) 6-2 Semifinalist Seed 2

6:30 p.m. Wed. June 18 vs. Purple – Court 1 (suspended to July 22)

7:45 p.m. Thurs. June 19 vs. Kelly – Court 2 (postponed to July 24)

6:30 p.m. Wed. June 25 vs. Royal – W 97-49

6:30 p.m. Thurs. June 26 vs. Cyber Pink -L 52-57

7:45 p.m. Tues July 8 vs. Purple – W 60-56

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 10 vs. Lemon Gold – W 67-47

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 15 vs. Maroon – W 79-50

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 17 vs. Black – L 67-70

6:30 p.m. Tues. July 22 vs. Purple (resumed from June 18) W 33-32 when suspended

7:45 p.m. Thurs. July 24 vs. Kelly – W 58-42 (makeup from June 19)

7:45 p.m. Tues. July 29 vs. Maroon – Quarterfinals W 86-50

7:45 p.m. Thursday July 31 vs. 4-Purple Semifinals Court 1

 

Seed Tracker

 

Black (Jefferson) 7-0: vs. CP (P); vs. R (P); W-M; W-LG; W-CP; W-K; W-PU; W-S; W-CP; W-R

Sky (Holy Family) 6-2: vs. PU (Su); vs. K (P); W-R; L-CP; W-PU; W-LG; W-M; L-B; W- PU; W-K

Cyber Pink (USP A+) 5-3: vs. B (P); vs. LG (P); W-K; W-S; L-B; L-PU; W-R; W-M; L-B; W-LG (F)

Purple (West Chester) 4-4: vs. S (Su); vs. M(P); W-LG; W-R; L-S; W-CP; L-B; L-K; L-S (F); W- M

Kelly (E. Stroud+) 3-5: vs. R (P); vs. S (P); L-CP; W-M; L-R (F); L-B; L-LG; W-PU; W-R; L-S

Lem. Gold (Kutztwn) 2-6: vs. M (Su); vs. CP (P); L-PU; L-B; W-M; L-S; W-K; 0-R; L-M; L-CP (F)

Maroon (Arcadia) 2-6: vs. LG (Su); vs. PU (P); L-B; L-K; L-LG; W-R; L-S; vs. L-CP; W-LG; L- PU

Royal (Goldey Beac+) 1-6: vs. K (P); vs. B (P); L-S; L-PU; W-K (F); L-M; L-CP; 0-LG; L-K; L-B

 

(S) suspended (P) postponed (Co) Completed (MU) Made Up (F) forfeit

B Black; CP – Cyber Pink; K – Kelly; LG – Lemon Gold;

M – Maroon; PU – Purple; R – Royal; S – Sky.