The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Saint Joseph’s Drops A-10 Opener to Rhode Island While La Salle Wins A-10 Match Over VCU; Drexel Tops American; No. 19 Tennessee Edges Stanford

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA – Devoid of Saint Joseph’s leading scorer Gabby Casey due to illness and down 30-18 at the half to recent conference thorn Rhode Island here at Hagan Arena Wednesday night the Hawks pulled another comeback to knot the score 48-48 on a steal by Aleah Snead and layup by Cecilia Kay with 4:14 left in regulation.

But unlike some recent Saint joseph’s wins the Hawks (6-2) in one of several Atlantic 10 openers couldn’t pull this one out of the fire.

Two minutes later Brooklyn Gray hooked one inside to snap the tie, then Vanessa Harris scored after a turnover followed by shot from deep by Palmire Mbu and Rhode Island (7-2) completed an 11-4 closeout after the tie for a 59-52 victory.

“I was pleased with a lot of things tonight and I was unpleased with a lot of things,” said Hawks coach Cindy Griffin, now in her 25th season guiding her alma mater. “If you’re looking at from a production standpoint Rhian (Stokes) and Aleah and Cecilia, three guys in double figures.

“But you have to look at turnovers (18) and this is a possession game and you gotta be better. So, where do we go from here? It’s a good game for us to have this early, I wish it wasn’t a league game but it is but we’ll learn from it and we got to get the next one.”

That would be Sunday at 4:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia) in the second annual championship of the Big 5 Classic championship against Villanova returning to the Wildcats’ Finneran Pavilion where the home team lost to Temple in the same round last year.

Villanova could be playing for a national ranking after pulling an upset Monday at No. 25 West Virginia and pending how the ‘Cats fare Thursday night in the nation’s capital at Georgetown (7 p.m., ESPN+) in a Big East opener.

The undercard in Sunday’s triple-header all airing on the same network will have La Salle and Penn tipoff at noon followed by Temple and Drexel playing at 2:15 p.m.

In the game here, Stokes scored 16 while Snead and Kay each scored 13 with Snead also grabbing seven boards.

Rhode Island, coached by Tammi Reiss, the backcourt mate with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley at Virginia in the early ‘90s, got 20 points and six rebounds from Mbu, and Gray collected 12 points and eight boards.

Nearby, starting a half-hour earlier, La Salle (6-2) at home in the John E. Glaser Arena, took its A-10 opener, a 70-62 victory over VCU (3-5).

Aryss Macktoon shot 9-12 from the field to score 21 with seven boards for the Explorers while Anna Przyszlak had 15 points, six rebounds and a career-high three steals.

Career marks were also set by Kiara Williams with eight boards and Ashleigh Connor with six assists.

Down in West Philadelphia Drexel (5-3) snapped a three-game losing streak taking a big lead early and holding on for a 55-48 win over American (1-6) at home in the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

The Dragons had been on an extended road trip so in pre-game ceremonies coach Amy Mallon was honored for reaching her 100th victory and Amaris Baker for collecting her 1000th career point.

Baker Wednesday night scored 20 points, and Molly Rullo had a career best 11 points shooting 4-7 against the Eagles whose first-year coach Kelly Killion, a former Father Judge star, made her second homecoming visit in less than a month, this one closer to her previous stomping grounds down 33rd Street at The Palestra where she was on the staff of her college coach Mike McLaughlin at Penn.

Molly Lavin grabbed nine boards and Deja Evans grabbed eight.

Up north in Bethlehem, Pa., Lehigh (4-5) at home in Stabler Arena took a 66-52 win over Cornell (4-5) as Lily Fandre scored 21 points and freshman Leia Edwards from London, England also scored 21 points.

The Mountain Hawks exploded for 20 points in the final period to build on a seven-point lead.

Next up is a Sunday visit to Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Md., at 2 p.m. on FloCollege.

Lehigh’s nearby Patriot League rival Lafayette is actually playing a day later Thursday at 7 p.m. at Northeast Conference champion FDU in Teaneck, N.J. On NEC Front Row.

Thursday’s other locally involved game has Penn back home at 6 p.m. hosting America East contender Maine at 6 p.m. (ESPN+).

The National Scene

On the first of the two-night ACC/SEC Challenge the SEC just missed a 7-0 sweep as Syracuse (7-1) was able to beat Auburn 66-60 in overtime in upstate New York as Dominique Darius scored 20 points, Nigerian Uche Izoje scored 16 points, Laila Phelia, whose previous two seasons were at Michigan and Texas, scored 14 points and Sophie Burrows scored 11 against the Tigers (8-2).

No. 19 Tennessee (6-2) playing at Stanford (8-2) meeting the Cardinal in a long-running series for the first time in almost three years won 65-62 in Palo Alto in the Bay Area of Northern California as Talaysia Cooper scored 19 and grabbed a career-best 10 steals and hit the game-winner with six seconds left.

The win virtually assures the Lady Vols will stay in The Associated Press Women’s Poll’s next rankings Monday to become the first team with 800 appearances.

This is currently week 890 in what is the poll’s 50th anniversary season.

Under the legendary late coach Pat Summitt, who was relatively new with the Lady Vols when the poll was launched Nov. 28, 1976 in The Philadelphia Inquirer, two years before the AP began running the weekly vote, Tennessee had only missed 14 appearances when she stepped down battling alzheimer’s disease.

Former players Holly Warlick and Kelly Harper followed while this is Kim Caldwell’s second season in Knoxville.

In other series results Wednesday, No. 9 Oklahoma (8-1) turned back an upset threat from N.C. State (5-4) winning 103-98 in overtime at home as freshman Aaliyah Chavez scored 33 points.

No. 15 Vanderbilt (9-0) at home in Nashville got 28 points with seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals from Somerset (N.J.) resident Mikayla Blakes in an 81-68 win over Virginia (6-3).

Tonie Morgan scored 20 and No. 17 Kentucky (9-1) won 64-48 at Miami (5-3) while Texas A&M (6-1) won 72-63 at home over Georgia Tech (3-6), Georgia (10-0) and won at Florida State (4-6).

The ACC even took it on the chin two non-series games: Boston College fell 76-49 to visiting Quinnipiac while Wake Forest at home was edged 67-64 by William & Mary, last season’s surprise Coastal Athletic Association tournament champion.

Nine more games are on tap Thursday highlighted by No. 3 South Carolina is at No. 22 Louisville at 7 p.m. (ESPN), No. 11 North Carolina is at No. 2 Texas at 7 p.m. (ESPN2), No. 5 LSU is at Duke at 9 p.m. (ESPN) and No. 18 Notre Dame is at No. 13 Ole Miss at 9 p.m. (ESPN2).

A two-day conference challenge series is also involved this week at the mid-major level Wednesday and Saturday between the Summit and Big Sky teams.

In regular games Army (6-2) under first-year coach Katie Kuester routed Saint Peter’s (1-6) on the road to a 65-43 win in Jersey City as Reese Ericson moved into second place insss program history with three pointers making five to total 207 and scored 15 points while Kya Smith had 17 points and 15 boards.

The Black Knights Saturday at noon host former A-10 member UMass (7-0) now in the Mid-American Conference. The game is on ESPN+.

Oregon (10-0), now in the Big Ten, hosted former Pac-12 in-state rival Oregon State (5-4), now in the West Coast Conference before heading back to a new-look Pac-12 next season, and cruised to a 96-73 victory as Katie Fisco had 23 points and 14 assists, while Mia Jacobs scored 21 with six boards.

Jenna Villa scored 27 for Oregon State.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Princeton Gets Another Comeback Win Topping Seton Hall; Rider Snaps Five-Game Skid; UConn Trounces South Florida

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurus

Just two locals played Tuesday night, and both won with Princeton rallying at home in Jadwin Gym taking the opener of the New Jersey trio series over Seton Hall 82-78 while Rider (2-5) snapped a five-game losing streak by winning 58-43 at Long Island U. (4-3).

Princeton (8-1) in wins against quality opponents this season trails early and then plays a terrific fourth quarter to appear on top.

The pattern continued against Seton (4-1), which suffered its first loss.

The visiting Pirates took a 22-15 lead after the first quarter; the Tigers moved within two at the half, but Seton Hall moved to plus five at 65-60 going into the final ten minutes when Princeton outscored the opposition 22-13.

A layup by Olivia Hutcherson put Princeton ahead 70-69 with 6:15 left in regulation.

Several lead exchanges followed until Skye Belker’s shot from deep put Princeton up to stay 77-75 with just under four minutes left clinging to a narrow over that final span.

Belker, shooting 10-14 and 5-8 from beyond the arc, scored 26 points, Madison St. Rose scored 19 points shooting 6-11 from the field with nine rebounds, Ashley Chea was 4-7 from deep and 5-10 overall collecting 15 points with six assists, and Fadima Tall scored 12 points with six rebounds.

The Pirates’ Savannah Catalon was 8-15 from the field with three makes from deep for 24 points while Jada Eads and Mariana Valenzuela each scored 13 points with Eads grabbing  10 boards and Valenzuela accepting seven.

Princeton next visits Belmont in Tennessee Saturday at 2 p.m. (ESPN+) while Seton Hall Thursday opens Big East play hosting Butler in Walsh Gym in South Orange, N.J., at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).

Rutgers, the third school in the in-state series, is not on the Pirates’ schedule this season but visits Princeton next Wednesday.

Rider got 19 points from Emmy Roach, while Deb Okechukwu scored 12 off the bench with six rebounds, Kristina Ekofo scored 11 with five boards, Aina Perez Mesquida from Spain had 12 boards and six assists, and Aliya McIver grabbed 10 boards.

The Broncs next host Yale Saturday at Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J., at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

Locally Wednesday, Saint Joseph’s and La Salle get Atlantic 10 play under way, the Hawks host Rhode Island at 7 p.m. at Hagan Arena and the Explorers host VCU at their John E. Glaser Arena at 6:30 p.m. both on ESPN+.

Drexel hosts American at 6 p.m. (FloCollege) at the Daskalskis Athletic Center while Lehigh hosts Cornell at 3 p.m. (ESPN+) at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., and Lafayette visits Northeast Conference champion FDU in Teaneck, N.J., at 7 p.m. on NEC Front Row.

The National Scene

Top-ranked UConn (8-0) returned to Tampa, Fla., the city of the Huskies’ 12th NCAA title last April and easily dominated South Florida (5-4) with an 85-51 victory.

The Huskies got 14 points and 10 boards against the Bulls, a former annual rival when UConn was also in the American Conference.

The winners were 32-63 for 51% from the floor.

Blanca Quinonez had 13 points and three makes from deep, while Azzi Fudd and Ashlynn Shade each scored 10 points.

USF was forced into 20 turnovers.

The Huskies next host DePaul Sunday at 1 p.m. on FS1 at the campus Gampel Pavilion in Storrs to open Big East play.

In the other game with a ranked team, No. 16 Southern Cal (6-2) at home in the Galen Center in Los Angeles cruised 79-33 over St. Mary’s (5-4) as Londynn Jones scored 17 points and Kara Dunn scored 15 points.

USC next hosts No. 21 Washington Sunday at 8 p.m. in a Big Ten opener on the conference network.

Wednesday is the start of the annual two-night ACC/SEC challenge while the challenge between Big Sky and Summit teams also gets under way with a second round Saturday.

Key games in the ACC/SEC series Wednesday have No. 15 Vanderbilt hosting Virginia at 5 p.m. (SECN), while at the same time No. 17 is at Miami (ESPN2), No. 9 Oklahoma hosts N.C. State at 7:15 p.m. (ESPN2), No. 19 Tennessee is at Stanford at 9:15 p.m. (ESPN2).

On Thursday, No. 3 South Carolina is at No. 22 Louisville at 7 p.m. (ESPN), No. 11 North Carolina is at No. 2 Texas at 7 p.m. (ESPN2), No. 5 LSU is at Duke at 9 p.m. (ESPN) and No. 18 Notre Dame is at No. 13 Ole Miss at 9 p.m. (ESPN2).

Locally, on Thursday, Penn hosts Maine at The Palestra at 6 p.m. (ESPN) and Villanova heads to the nation’s capital at the same time visiting Georgetown at 7 p.m. (Peacock).

The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Villanova Upsets No. 25 West Virginia to Stay Road Perfect at 3-0

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

The local schedule was light Monday with one game and the national slate likewise with not much more, but the story of the night was one and the same as Villanova (6-2) succeeded where Temple recently failed pulling a huge upset winning 81-59 over No. 25 West Virginia (6-2) on the road in Morgantown.

It was the second straight loss for the Mountaineers following a two-point setback 83-81 to Ohio State last Wednesday in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Goombay Division championship in Nassau, Bahamas, which cost West Virginia four spots sliding from 21 to 25 in Monday’s fifth Associated Press women’s poll of its 50th anniversary season.

The win enabled the Buckeyes to move in at 23rd bumping North Carolina State out from 25 after a 20-week run.

Villanova has a shot to re-enter the rankings next Monday for the first time in three seasons since the end of the Maddy Siegriest era, but the Wildcats will need to win their Big East opener Thursday at Georgetown and at home against arch-rival Saint Joseph’s Sunday (4:30 p.m.) in the Big 5 Classic championship.

In the Wildcats’ win against a former Big East era rival, sophomore Jasmine Bascoe scored 24 points and Brynn McCurry had a career-high 21 points.

Kennedy Henry and reserve Brooke Bender each scored 11 points helping Villanova to a now 3-0 road record.

Gia Cooke scored 20, including 10-10 at the line, for the home team while Kierra Wheeler had 10 points and eight boards.

Villanova shot to a 28-17 lead at the end of the first period with the two high scorers going 10-13 and Bascoe collecting 15 points.

West Virginia hosts Mercyhurst Friday.

The other game with a ranked team saw No. 20 Washington (8-0) at home in Seattle roll to an 80-54 win over San Jose State (0-6).

Sayvia Sanders scored 29 for the Huskies of the Northwest.

The Huskies of the Northeast, top-ranked UConn (7-0), the defending NCAA champions, will be at South Florida (5-3) Tuesday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2, in Tampa, the city they claimed their 12th national title in April.

They met the Bulls regularly and won every game during the time they competed together in the American Conference, of which USF is favored and in which Temple is also a member.

It’s the first meeting since South Florida longtime coach Jose Fernandez left earlier this season to coach WNBA Dallas, the team of rookie of the year and UConn alum Paige Bueckers and Siegriest and which is holding the No. 1 pick in the draft for the second straight year.

The only other ranked game Tuesday night has No. 16 Southern Cal (6-2) hosting Saint Mary’s at 10 p.m. on B1G+.

Locally, Princeton gets the threesome New Jersey series under way hosting Seton Hall at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ at Jadwin Gym. Rutgers is the other team in that trio.

Rider is at Long Island at 5 p.m.

Wednesday and Thursday nationally is the annual ACC/SEC Challenge.

Locally Wednesday, Saint Joseph’s and La Salle get Atlantic 10 play under way, the Hawks host Rhode Island at 7 p.m. at Hagan Arena and the Explorers host VCU at their John E. Glaser Arena at 6:30 p.m. both on ESPN+.

Drexel hosts American at 6 p.m. (FloCollege) at the Daskalskis Athletic Center while Lehigh hosts Cornell at 3 p.m. (ESPN+) at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., and Lafayette visits Northeast Conference champion FDU in Teaneck, N.J., at 7 p.m. on NEC Front Row.

Besides the ‘Nova road game Thursday, Penn hosts America East contender Maine at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) at The Palestra.

 

 

 

 

The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Temple Ends Three-Game Skid Beating W. Carolina While Penn Plays Competitively in Loss at Texas

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

The locals performed well Sunday on the desert portion concluding Feast Week going 6-2 though honorable mention to one of the two that did not gain a victory.

That would be Penn (5-3), which visited a hot No. 4 and climbing Texas (8-0) that was fresh off beating No. 3 UCLA and No. 2 South Carolina consecutively in Las Vegas and emerged with honor losing 81-63.

Mataya Gayle was just four off her career mark scoring 24 points while Katie Collins acored 12 points and Simone Sawyer collected 10.

The Quakers got to the line and blazed away shooting 21 of 22 foul shots.

Madison Booker double doubled for the Longhorns with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Next up is a visit from Maine at The Palestra Thursday.

Penn’s Ivy sister Princeton (7-1) continued to stay hot blasting visiting DePaul 71-41 at Jadwin Gym as Ashley Chea scored 22 against the Blue Demons (2-6) with five boards and three assists while Taylor Charles in her first start grabbed nine rebounds and blocked seven shots equalling the number in a game for a Tigers player achieved last by Bella Alarie in 2018.

Next up is the first of two in the Jersey series when Seton Hall visits Tuesday night at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).

Two other locals hosted Ivy schools and won both, Penn State (6-1) beating Yale 82-64 to drop the Bulldogs to 1-7 in the game at Rec Hall as Rutgers transfer Kiyomi McMiller scored 19 points and Gracie Merkle and Moriah Murray each scored 18 points, Murray shooting 4-8 from deep and Merkle grabbing eight boards.

The Lady Lions next play Saturday in their Big Ten opener hosting Nebraska at 1 p.m. (B1G+) at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Lehigh (3-5) bagged the other Ivy beating visiting Brown 58-54 at the Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., using a 19-10 fourth quarter to drop the Bears (5-3) from a five-game winning streak.

Belle Bramer scored 14 points, Lily Fandre scored 12, Jessie Ozzauto had 10 points and 11 boards, and freshman Leia Edwards also scored 10 with a career best 11 rebounds.

The Mountain Hawks next host another Ivy greeting Cornell Wednesday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+).

Temple (4-4) got back on the winning track after three straight losses taking the third-place game 84-64 over Western Carolina (2-7) in the Baha Mar tourney in Nassau, Bahamas, as Kaylah Turner scored 23 points, Jaleesa Molina scored 12, and Savannah Curry scored 11.

Next up is another third-place game meeting Drexel in the Big 5 Classic at Villanova Sunday at 2:15 p.m. after the La Salle-Penn game (noon) and before the host Wildcats play Saint Joseph’s at 4:30 p.m. for the title.

Rutgers (7-2) won their third straight, cruising over Saint Peter’s 57-39 at home at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J., as Nene Ndiaye, Imani Lester and Janae Walker each scored 12 points to drop the visitors to 1-5.

Next up is a Big Ten opener Saturday at 6 p.m. at home when No. 12 Iowa visits.

Lafayette (4-4) had its four-game win streak snapped losing 71-60 at NJIT (7-2) in Newark, N.J. The Leopards got 23 points from Teresa Kiewiet and Talia Zurinskas scored 18 while Maddison Krug grabbed 13 rebounds.

Next up, is a visit to defending Northeast Conference champion FDU in Teaneck, N.J., Thursday at 7 p.m. on NEC Front Row.

Just one local plays Monday, Villanova is at No. 25 West Virginia at 7 p.m in Morgantown (ESPN+). Besides the Princeton-Seton Hall game Tuesday Rider is at Long Island, 5 p.m.

The National Scene

The bulk of Feast Week was completed Saturday, but Sunday’s desert offerings had some tasty items.

In the championship of the Coconut Hoops Blue Heron sector in Fort Myers, Fla., No. 10 Iowa State (9-0) won 106-95 over Indiana (7-1) as Audi Crooks outdid herself again with a career-best 47 points by shooting 19-25 from the field.

Former Penn State player Shay Ciezki gave an almost equaling performance with the Hoosiers scoring 38 points, but the winning Cyclones also got 23 points from Jada Williams while Addy Brown scored 17 with 10 boards.

Iowa State shot t4% from the field and dominated the paint 62-34.

Out West then No. 3 UCLA (8-1) gained a 99-77 win over then-No. 14 Tennessee (5-2) as Gabriela Jacquez was 10-14 from the field, with five makes from deep, for the Bruins at home in Pauley Pavilion.

Kiki Rice scored 20 and matched her best in the boards with 11 rebounds, while Gianna hit four from deep and scored 19 points while Angela Dugalic had 14 points and six boards. Lauren Betts, who missed the third-place blowout of Duke at the Players Era after suffering an arm injury in the loss to Texas, returned and scored seven points.

The Bruins’ former player Janiah Barker, who transferred to the Lady Vols after one season, scored a career best 25 points against her former team while Tennessee parted with a five-game win streak.

The Vols next play in the ACC/SEC Challenge traveling north Wednesday to play at Stanford while UCLA is off until Sunday hosting former PAC-12 rival Oregon in a Big Ten opener.