The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW RoundUp: No. 25 Princeton Foils Penn’s Upset Bid in Ivy Opener; La Salle and Saint Joseph’s Win Big in A-10; No. 8 TCU Upset in Big 12

 By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA – Those who traveled here Saturday afternoon to see the Ivy opener between preseason favorite and No. 25 Princeton visiting host Penn at The Palestra got to see a live performance recapping what can be said of both programs as the Ancient Eight got under way.

Princeton (13-1, 1-0), which ultimately won 74-68, in the early going here showed the Tigers how they performed in their years of development as a power that became nationally relevant by taking a close game at the outset and blasting their way to a 25-12 lead after one period.

Then on their side of the fence they showed who they’ve been through non-conference play into the second part of this season — a talented squad against all the main opponents that has kept the outcome in doubt and then with the end of regulation in sight rises up and closes out the victory.

For Penn (10-4, 0-1), which has now lost 15 straight times in the series, the fact that the Quakers fought their way back to a single digit 38-30 deficit at the half, and then went briefly ahead in the fourth quarter, showed that on the negative losing always sucks but on the positive that on day one of the league play Penn did not shy away after the deep deficit, which portends that perhaps when Ivy Madness arrives. coach Mike McLaughlin’s group can possibly land in the second or third spot in the standings and make their way to the title contest.

Attached to that fact is the realization that elsewhere in openers Saturday, the recent ascension that Columbia (9-5) had become in recent seasons, saw the Lions get a wake-up call losing to travel partner Cornell 67-60 at home against the visiting Big Red (5-8) at New York City’s Upper West Side.

Back here, with 5:44 left in regulation, Penn’s Mataya Gayle nailed a 3-pointer from the corner completing a 12-1 run to put the Quakers up 61-57, only to see Princeton flex its power and answer with an 8-0 run highlighted by Taylor Charles’ shot from deep to swing the momentum the other way.

But it wasn’t entirely over yet, Saniah Caldwell’s three-point jumper getting the differential back to within two points with 13 seconds left.

With Penn forced to foul, the Tigers on the line responded with two from Skye Belker, and then a turnover led to two more Princeton additions from the line from Ashley Chea to wrap it up.

Madison St. Rose and Olivia Hutcherson combined for 35 points for Princeton, which won its 11th straight, St. Rose collecting 15 points and her 1,000th career tally while Hutcherson gained a new personal best with 20 points off 7-for-12 from the field with five boards, three steals, three assists, and two blocked shots.

Belker added 10 points, and Fadima Tall had seven points and eight rebounds.

“We have to do a better job executing,” St. Rose said. “We were up, we gave up our lead, Penn’s home, they’re making shots, but we’re a team that knows how to come back, stay confident and win, that’s what we do.

“The Ivy League’s a very exciting time. We have a lot of revenge; we have to take every game like it’s a championship.”

On the style of this year’s attack, Princeton coach Carla Berube, a star on UConn’s first national championship, remarked, “I thought Penn played really well. They got down, they fought back, they play well in The Palestra.

“They got hot, they started making some great shots, we got down a little bit, but then we find our way with five minutes or three minutes we find the way to play how we’re capable. In The Palestra, we’ll always be happy no matter how it happens, we’ll take the win.”

Gayle finished with 17 points and six assists for the Quakers, shooting 3-for-5 from deep, Katie Collins had 15 points and six boards, Tina Njike was 5-for-7 for 13 points.

“I thought there were spots in this game, the matchups were pretty good at times, I thought transition we had were good, I wish we had a couple plays back in the later part of the game,” McLaughlin said.

“But they’re tough to defend. I thought we did a good job. Holding them to 74, there are a lot of games in this league they are going to be over that a lot,” he continued after his team’s five-game win streak was snapped that included winning the FDU Christmas Classic on Tuesday.

“So, there are good takeaways, but there were periods in the game I thought we had a chance to put ourselves in position to win.”

Both teams hit the road to New England for a game apiece next weekend on Saturday, Princeton playing at Yale in New Haven, Conn., and Penn at Brown in Providence, R.I.

Saint Joseph’s and La Salle Take A-10 Wins on Road and Home

You have to go back 12 seasons to 2013-14 to find the last time La Salle (10-4, 3-0) was off to a 3-0 start in the Atlantic 10.

But that’s where the Explorers are following a 66-52 win over George Washington (9-7, 1-2) at home in their John E. Glaser Arena.

La Salle prevented anyone on the Revolutionaries (formerly known as the Colonials) from scoring in double figures, holding Coleen Phiri to nine points and Jaeda Wilson and Gabby Reynolds to eight points, each.

Aryss Macktoon was 8-for-19 from the field for 18 points with eight rebounds while Ashleigh Connor scored 17, with additional support coming from Joan Quinn and Ivona Miljanic with eight points each, Miljanic connecting on a pair of 3-pointers.

La Salle next goes to deƒending A-10 tournament champion George Mason in Fairfax, Va., Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+) and then plays the first of two against Saint Joseph’s on Saturday, this one on the road on Hawk Hill at Hagan Arena at 2 p.m.

The Hawks, following La Salle’s Wednesday visit to Fordham on Saturday, playing at Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx, got a slow start tied 13-13 after the opening period and then broke the game open powering their way to a 78-49 victory for their fifth straight triumph.

Gabby Casey had a game-high 19 points and also a game-high seven assists and also grabbed seven boards for the winners (11-3, 2-1), while Aleah Snead scored 13 points, Faifth Stinson scored 10 and reserve Emily Knouse got all nine points shooting 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.

The Rams’ Ugne Sirtautaite was the only Fordham player in double figures scoring 12 points.

The Hawks get another conference road test Wednesday traveling to Davidson in North Carolina before coming home Saturday to host La Salle.

Lehigh and Lafayette Sweep Patriot League Contests

Lehigh’s Leia Edwards had a double double with 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the defending Patriot League champion Mountain Hawks (6-7, 2-0) to a dominate 74-43 victory over Bucknell (4-9, 0-2) at home in Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.

Tuana Coskun was the only Bison in double figures with 13 points.

Lily Fandre scored 14 for the home team to add to the attack, while Whitney Lind scored 10 and reserve Belle Bramer scored 11 points.

Lafayette (5-8, 1-1) got a career-high 24 points from Haylie Adamski of Media in a 63-52 Patriot win over Loyola, Md. (5-8, 1-1) at home in the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa., with four rebounds, two steals and an assist.

The Leopards were able to sustain a 20-point performance from Lex Therien of the visitors, while Amadine Amorich scored 10.

Lehigh goes to Holy Cross Wednesday in Worcester, Mass., while Lafayette also heads in the same direction further playing a morning game at 11 at Boston U., both games airing on ESPN+.

In the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Rider’s winless streak went to 0-5 along with its overall 2-12 mark falling 68-56 at home in Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J., to Quinnipiac (10-4, 5-0), which is still keeping toe-to-toe with two-time defending champion Fairfield despite the loss of freshman sensation Gal Raviv from Israel who went through the transfer portal to Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“We competed with a really good team,” said Rider first-year coach Jackie Hartzell. “We did a lot of good things on both ends of the floor, but they make you pay for any little breakdown on the defensive end.

“Overall, I’m pleased with over effort for 40 minutes.”

Alena Cofield had a career-high 16 points in her freshman season for the host Broncos, while Kristina Ekofo of Belgium scored 12, her ninth game this season scoring in double figures.

The visiting Bobcats got 14 points and six boards from Anna Foley off the bench, Ella Ryan scored 15, Jackie Grisdale had 12, while Sydney Ryan and Ella O’Donnell each scored 10 points.

Rider next goes to Siena in suburban Albany (N.Y.) Wednesday for a Kids’ Day game at 11 a.m. (ESPN+).

Temple dropped its American Conference opener, perhaps too much rust from a 12-game layoff over the holidays as the Owls (6-7, 0-1) fell 50-47 to UTSA (7-6, 2-0) at home in the Liacouras Center suffering from a poor shooting attack.

“UTSA played really, really hard,” said Temple coach Diane Richardson. “I don’t think we played hard enough. We waited until the fourth quarter to play Temple basketball.

“We cannot go through the conference like that and that’s gonna be a reality and it’s got to change.”

Tristen Taylor returned from a four-game absence rehabbing from an injury in a Thanksgiving weekend tournament in the tropics scoring 18 points.

“I feel good,” she said. “I feel like I worked my way back from my (ankle) injury. I’ve been doing the things I was doing out there in the game during practice, so I felt comfortable and confident today.”

Temple next goes to Wichita State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).

Delaware on Friday, in the only local game, played at UTEP, the Blue Hens making their Conference USA debut and falling 82-71 to drop to 6-7 overall.

Safi Kolliegbo scored 22 for Delaware against the opposition (9-3, 1-0), while Kailah Correa scored 17 and Ande’a Cherisier grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Blue Hens continue their opening conference road swing Sunday visiting New Mexico State at 4 p.m. (ESPN+).

Also, locally on Sunday, Villanova tries to extend its 10-game win streak when the Wildcats in Milwaukee visit Marquette at 4 p.m. (Peacock).

Drexel, which had a bye in Coastal Athletic Association openers Friday night, begins league play Sunday hosting Campbell at 2 p.m. (FloCollege) at the Daskalais Athletic Center while in the Big Ten, Rutgers is at No. 19 Ohio State in Columbus at 2 p.m. followed by Penn State at Wisconsin at 4 p.m., both games airing on the Big Ten Network.

To look further, no locals are scheduled Monday, and the Temple game is the only one on Tuesday.

The National Scene

The slate may have been quiet Saturday, but since the arrival of 2026 on Thursday, the number of losses within the Top Ten of the Associated Press Women’s Poll, which for the first time in years did not do a vote after Christmas last Sunday due to the lack of games, is now up to four following Saturday’s 87-77 overtime win in the Big 12 by host Utah (11-4, 1-1) over No. 8 TCU (14-1, 1-1), the latest unbeaten to fall.

On Thursday, No. 5 LSU, which had been hitting 100 or more points over a slew of weak non-conference opponents, No. 6 Michigan, and No. 7 Maryland, all lost.

Two Top Five teams that stayed consistent were No. 4 UCLA, which in the other key ranked game Saturday cruised 80-46 over No. 17 Southern Cal in a Big Ten game at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, while defending NCAA champion and No. 1 UConn grabbed an easy 84-48 win in Hartford over visiting Seton Hall for the Huskies’ 31st straight victory across two seasons and 44th in the regular season over Big East opponents.

Back in the Big 12, No. 21 Texas Tech at home in Fort Worth cruised 80-49 over Arizona.

In a game not involving ranked teams but of interest, BYU in the Big 12 ended Arizona State’s program-record season-opening and tying overall win streak record of 15 winning 71-62.

In the game involving TCU (14-1, 2-1), Lani White hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation for the Utes (11-4, 2-1) and scored 25 for the game.

TCU’s Olivia Miles, the transfer from Notre Dame, almost had another triple double, scoring 31 points with seven rebounds and seven assists.

Cal transfer Marta Suarez added 23 points with 11 rebounds.

Utah goes to Kansas Wednesday, TCU hosts Oklahoma State the same night.

BYU (13-2, 2-1) got 18 points and eight boards from Delaney Gibbs in ending the streak of Arizona State (15-0, 2-1), which had nipped Utah on the road by a point on Wednesday. The Cougars also got four from deep and 16 points overall from Sydney Benally.

Arizona State’s Gabby Elliott, a former Penn State player, scored 23 and connected on three shots beyond the arc.

Texas Tech (16-0,3-0), off to its best start in program history and 3-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since 2010-11, got 16 points from Denae Fritz and 15 off 4-of-5 from deep from Adlee Blacklock. The program win streak record is 19 set in 1992-93 when the Red Raiders won the NCAA title led by Sheryl Swoopes.

Sarah Strong scored 18 and Azzi Fudd scored 16 for UConn (15-0, 6-0) in its Big East win over Seton Hall (10-5, 4-2). The Huskies host St. John’s Wednesday.

In the win by UCLA, Lauren Betts had a double double of 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Bruins win streak reached eight.

Gianna Kneepkins added 15 points with six boards and five assists, while Southern Cal’s Kara Dunn added scored 11 points and freshman Jazzy Davidson had 10 points.

The win put the Bruins up 55-54 in their crosstown rivalry. The Trojans on Tuesday host Oregon, which two seasons ago would have been a Pac-12 standings game, while UCLA is off until heading to No. 20 Nebraska on Jan. 11.

In other scores of note around the country, Dayton beat visiting Duquesne 68-61 in the Atlantic 10; Fairfield romped 98-42 over visiting Niagara in the MAAC; and UMass (10-2), now in the Mid-American conference after leaving the A-10, won 75-50 at Kent State.

Additionally, Army bounced back from its opening home loss to Lehigh in the Patriot to beat host Colgate 81-49 while Holy Cross on the road upset preseason favorite Navy 66-55.

Sunday’s schedule is loaded nationally.

In the SEC, No. 15 Ole Miss is at No. 2 Texas at 3 p.m. on ESPN2; No. 5 LSU is at No. 12 Vanderbilt at 5 p.m. on ESPN, while on the SEC Network, No. 3 South Carolina is at Florida at 2 p.m.; No. 11 Kentucky hosts Missouri at noon; and No. 23 Tennessee is at Auburn at 4 p.m. Additionally, No. 8 Oklahoma on SECN+ hosts Mississippi State.

In the Big Ten, at noon No. 24 Michigan State hosts Illinois (BTN); at 3 p.m. No. 20 Nebraska hosts Purdue at 3 p.m. on B1G+, and at 6 p.m. No. 7 Maryland hosts Indiana on BTN.

In the ACC, No. 18 Notre Dame is at Duke at noon on ACCN; Stanford is at No. 16 North Carolina at 1 p.m. on ESPN; Clemson is at Miami at 2 p.m. on ACCNX; and Virginia Tech is at No. 13 Louisville at 4 p.m. on ACCN.

In the Big 12, No. 22 Baylor is at No. 10 Iowa State at 3 p.m. on ESPN and in the Atlantic 10 George Mason is at VCU at noon on CBSSN.

On Monday in the Big Ten, Minnesota is at No. 6 Michigan at 6:30 p.m. and No. 14 Iowa is at Northwestern at 8:30 p.m., both games on the Big Ten Network.