The Guru’s NCAAW Weekend Local/National Roundup - II: Princeton upsets host Georgia Tech in Opener while Villanova Routs VCU in Toronto; USC Clips N.C. State

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

It was a 2-2 split Sunday for the locals, Villanova bouncing back from it’s home loss to Fairfield to blast VCU 74-40 in Toronto, Canada, while Princeton became the last of the 13 to open the season and did it in stunning fashion as the preseason Ivy favorites rallied to beat the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 67-61.

But another sweeps day was marred as Rutgers at home after two wins fell 71-54 to Stony Brook of the Coast Athletic Association 71-54 at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J., while Lafayette fell to 0-3 losing its home opener in the Kirby Sports Center in overtime 82-79 to Le Moyne in Easton, Pa.

Nationally, the huge upset came in a battle of Associated Press ranked teams as No. 18 Southern Cal rallied to nip No.9 North Carolina State 69-68 in the Ally Tipoff in Charlotte, N.C. as freshman Jazzy Davidson scored 21 for the Women of Troy (2-0), including the go-ahead basket with 8.2 seconds left.

Because the two opponents were both ranked, the game with the Wolfpack nipped produced the only loss among the 16 ranked teams in action.

No. 1 UConn in the Huskies’ home opener on campus in Storrs hung the 12th NCAA championship banner and then blasted Florida State 99-67.

Villanova Handles VCU and Princeton Upsets Georgia Tech

In the win by the Wildcats (2-1) in Toronto giving sophomore Jasmine Bascoe an enjoyable homecoming, Villanova moved from a slow start trailing 11-10 after one period to erupt on a 27-12 advantage the next ten minutes for a 37-23 lead at the half.

The differential grew further in the third, the Wildcats outscoring VCU 21-10 and even more in the final period with a 16-7 differential.

VCU of the Atlantic 10 fell to 1-1.

Bascoe had 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while freshman Brooke Bender off the bench scored 16, and senior forward Denae Carter was 5-of-6 from the field for 12 points.

VCU’s Mary-Anna Asare scored 13 points.

The Wildcats had 11 makes from deep in the contest above the border.

Villanova has little time to celebrate, however, with Princeton coming to Finneran Pavilion to play at 7 p.m. on Wednesday on ESPN+.

The Tigers in their win over Georgia Tech (1-1) in Atlanta were led by second team all-Ivy Fadima Tall, who had a double-double 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Olivia Hutcherson scored 15 points, Madison St. Rose, healed from the injury that cost her most of last season, scored 13 points, and Ashley Chea collected 12 points.

Georgia Tech’s Catherine Alben scored 15, Ines Noguero scored 13 points, and Brianna Turnage grabbed 10 boards.

Rutgers Downed by Stony Brook and Lafayette Nipped by LeMoyne

Both teams are now 2-1, the Seawolves rising, in a game in which there were exchanges and runs with Stony Brook after taking a five-point lead into the final period held on and dominated the rest of the way.

Nene Ndiaye scored 16 for the Scarlet Knights and Imani Lester scored 11 with Janae Walker leading the hosts with six rebounds.

“We just struggled to get stops, we struggled at both ends of the floor,” said Rutgers coach Coquese Washington, whose team hosts the Atlantic 10’s Rhode Island next Friday at 11 a.m. on the B1G+ suscription network out of the Big Ten.

“We couldn’t get in a rhythm on offense and couldn’t hunker down when we needed,” Washington said. “Stony Brook did a good job limiting where we couldn’t get enough good looks, they were tough shots.”

It was Stony Brooks’ third win over a Big Ten opponent as Janay Brantley scored 23 points and Caitlin Frost scored 21 with 10 boards for a double-double. Chloe Oliver scored 10 and Sandra Frau Garcia dealt five assists.

In Easton, Lafayette (0-3) seemed ready to win its first by coming home following opening road losses at Villanova and Rider but freshman guard Haylie Adamski’s 22 points fueled by four makes from beyond the arc and Talia Zurinskas’ 20 points were not enough against the Leopards’ opponents from the Northeast Conference.

Tasha Chudy was also in double figures with 11 points but Le Moyne also scored in high double figures with Eli Clark and Ashley Buragas each scoring 20 points.

Kayden Clark added 17.

Le Moyne dominated the boards 53-32.

The Leopards next host St. Peter’s 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Penn will be the lone local playing Monday as the Quakers look to be 2-0 visiting Delaware State in Dover at 6 p.m.

On Tuesday, Saint Joseph’s hosts Cincinnati at 7 p.m. in Hagan Arena while La Salle visits Lehigh at 6 p.m. in Bethlehem at Stabler Arena for the Mountain Hawks’ home opener, and Temple in a very big game for the Owls, who at 2-0 visiting West Virginia in Morgantown at 7 p.m. All three games are on ESPN+.

Wednesday brings the first Big Five game as Penn makes a short trip up 33rd Street to play Drexel at 7 p.m. on FloCollege, the first meeting in a long time between the two neighbors, while Penn State is still in Rec Hall at 11:30 a.m. hosting Coppin State on B1G+

On the road, as mentioned, a clash of locals occurs with Princeton at Villanova at 7 p.m. while at 6:30 p.m. Delaware is at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va., both on ESPN+.

Rider will be doing a back-to-back act away on Wednesday and Thursday visiting Boston College first in Chestnut Hill, Mass., outside Boston, at 6 p.m. on ACCNX followed by a visit to nearby Stonehill of the NEC Thursday at 6 p.m.

The National Scene

No. 18 Southern Cal can be expected to zoom up the ladder when the first weekly Associated Press women’s poll in its 50th anniversary season following last month’s preseason release is revealed at noon Monday after edging No. 9 N.C. State 69-68 dropping the Wolfpack to 2-1.

The Women of Troy may be without JuJu as in reigning national player of the year JuJu Watkins, who is out of action following a knee injury in the NCAA tournament, but now they have Jazzy to to fill the entertainment space on the court as in freshman Jazzy Davidson, the No. 1 recruit in the ESPN class of 2025 who scored 21 with the go-ahead basket with 8.2 left in regulation.

N.C. State had a chance to win it at the very finish, but Southern Cal stole the inbounds pass to show that perhaps the Trojans may not lose much of a beat this season.

On Sunday, she scored 18 of her points in the second half, shooting 7-13 from the field.

UCLA transfer Londynn Jones scored 19 and Kennedy Smith added 10 points with eight boards.

The win was Lindy Gottlieb’s 95th at Southern Cal since leaving NBA Cleveland as an assistant. She previously coached women at Cal leading the Bears to a Final Four.

Zoe Brooks scored 24 with 11 rebounds for the Wolfpack, while Vanderbilt transfer Khamil Pierre grabbed a matching career-high 18 boards with 10 points.

N.C. State on Tuesday hosts America East contender Maine, coming off a home loss to Saint Joseph’s, while Southern Cal is off all week awaiting The Real S.C. battle with No. 2 South Carolina Saturday in Los Angeles.

Elsewhere, in the otherwise sweep of ranked teams, freshman Addi Mack scored 17 of her 23 points for No. 10 Maryland in the final period of an 85-66 victory at the XFINITY Center in College Park for the Terrapins (3-0) over nearby Georgetown (1-1), who next visits George Mason Friday while Maryland on Thursday hosts nearby Towson and alum Laura Harper.

No. 1 UConn continued to roll in defense of its 12th NCAA title moving to 2-0 after hanging its championship banner in Gampel Pavilion on campus in Storrs and then beating Florida State 99-67 as Sarah Strong in her second season scored 21, two less than teammate Azzi Fudd’s 23 on the Seminoles (2-1). The Huskies on Wednesday host Loyola, Chicago of the Atlantic 10 while the same day Florida State hosts Nicholls State.

No. 13 Michigan (2-0) at home in Ann Arbor routed Ivy Madness champion Harvard 84-55, the Crimson falling to 1-1, as Olivia Olson scored 18 points and Mila Hlloway scored 17 for the Wolverines.

Syla Swords added 17 points.

The Crimson were led by Abigail Wright, who scored 17, while Karlee White scored 12 of her 15 in the second half.

No. 7 Duke following the loss to No. 16 Baylor in Paris, evened the Blue Devils’ record at 1-1 by winning 91-48 at home in Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., as Toby Fournier scored 27 points.

In a 118-70 victory at Georgia Southern, No. 7 LSU’s Fla’je Johnson scored 19 points in her homecoming event.

All-American Audi Crooks scored 21, Alisa Williams scored all but two of her 14 points in the second half as No. 14 Iowa State went to 3-0 with a 99-34 win over Sacred Heart in Ames.

Grace vanSlooten led No. 14 Michigan State (2-0) in a 92-60 win over Eastern Michigan with 15 points equalled by teammates Rashunda Jones and reserve Jalyn Brown.

No. 20 Louisville bounced back from its opening loss to UConn with an 89-61 win at home over Northern Kentucky as Tajian Roberts equalled her career best with 23 points, while Reyna Scott off the bench scored 13 points and Saint Joseph’s transfer Laura Ziegler had nine points and 11 boards.

On the road No. 24 Kentucky (3-0) beat host Buffalo 81-47 dropping the opposition to 2-0 as Clara Strack scored 27 with 12 boards and Teonni Key had 17 points and 12 boards.

Penn transfer Jordan Obi sidelined last year with an injury scored eight with a pair of blocks.

Tennessee went to 2-1 winning the Pat Summitt Heritage Classic named for the late Lady Vols legendary coach in a 72-61 win at UT Martin (0-2) as Nya Roberts scored 17 following Friday’s win in Knoxville.

The winners have captured 16 straight in the series, losing  in 1971 and 1972 when then-Pat Head played for the opposition.

South Jersey’s Hannah Hidalgo scored 32 for No. 15 Notre Dame in a 116-58 home rout of Chicago State in South Bend, Ind.

No. 16 Baylor at home in Waco beat Ohio Valley favorite Linwood 76-63 as Taliah Scott scored 29 and Bella Fontleroy scored 26.

No. 21 Iowa (2-0) had reserve Layla Hays pick up 20 points off the bench while Ava Heiden scored 14 points and grabbed 10 boards and Chazdi Wright double-doubled with 16 points and 10 assists in a 119-43 win over visiting Evansville (0-2).

No. 22 Oklahoma State (4-0) stayed perfect as Achol Akot scored 23 with 10 boards and also reached triple digits, beating visiting Oral Roberts 112-62 in Stillwater, Okla., the visitors falling to 2-1.

Notre Dame transfer Olivia Miles scored22 with nine helpers and Donovyn Hunter added 20 for No. 20 TCU in an 88-46 win over Sam Houston (1-1) in Dallas.

In other results from non-ranked teams, Columbia (2-0) won 92-74 at Ohio U. To start 2-0 as Riley Weiss scored 18 points, Susie Rafiu equalled her personal best with 16 and Perri Page scored 13.

The Lions next open at home in New York City Saturday hosting No. 24 Richmond.

Arizona beat UC Irvine 75-61 at home led by Mickayla Perdue’s 31 points.

In a narrow 72-69 road victory Gonzaga (2-0) dropped host Toledo to 0-2 as the Zags got 16 points from Lauren Whitaker.

Looking Ahead

On Monday, the rankings numbers not likely to change prior to the opening tip when No. 6 Oklahoma visits No. 3 UCLA at 10:30 p.m. on FS1.

On Tuesday, No. 2 South Carolina hosts in-state rival Clemson at 6 p.m. on ESPN2, on Thursday as part of the WBCA Challenge UCLA meets No. 11 North Carolina at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.