The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Villanova Beats Georgetown on Alumni Day; La Salle Tops Fordham; No. 1 UConn Keeps Rolling

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

VILLANOVA, Pa. – In the Big East world beyond No. 1 and nationally unbeaten Connecticut, the defending NCAA champion, games during the second go-round on the season schedule are not going to be runaway affairs when those in the upper part of the standings meet up with those in the lower district.

But the difference is handling runs by the opposition, playing solid defense and making use of the talent able to ultimately handle the opposition and get to a satisfaction.

Villanova (19-5, 12-3) had all those elements harnessed Saturday afternoon here at the Wildcats’ Finneran Pavilion on their annual alumni day that included a special honor to retired longtime coach Harry Perretta in gaining a 67-55 win over Georgetown (12-12, 5-10) and season sweep of the Hoyas.

Denise Dillon’s squad got off to a 19-12 advantage in the first quarter, played toe-to-toe the next two periods in which Georgetown across the halves gained a slim 27-26 effort and then the home team came back with a finishing kick that grew a 19-point lead with 3:21 left in regulation to navigate the rest of the way to a victory.

With Seton Hall (15-8, 9-5) losing at St. John’s (19-7, 9-6) and 3rd-place Marquette (16-7, 10-4) idle, Villanova grew its second-place lead to 1.5 games ahead of 3rd and 2.5 ahead of fourth.

Third place would be just as acceptable because either is out of the way in next month’s Big East semifinals of UConn (25-0, 14-0) which held its 2.5 first-place lad over the Wildcats while demolishing visiting Butler 80-48 on campus at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs.

The Villanova defense forced twice as many turnovers 20-10 on Georgetown mining an 18-8 advantage in transition and 13-5 on fast breaks leading to 30-16 in the paint.

Made 3-pointers were close 8-7 in the home team’s favor but Villanova nailed theirs from long distance every time Georgetown was on a rally.

“It is a special day, and I just said that to the team, definitely one of my favorite days seeing so many of my teammates back here on campus, this year especially with honoring Harry at halftime,” Dillon said.

Perretta, who was also working another of the ongoing broadcasts in the Big East, many right here, as a game analyst, was presented with a big plaque that will be mounted in front of the building where tributes to former men’s and women’s players have existed since the arena’s renovation.

All-time scorer Maddy Siegriest, now a member of the WNBA Dallas Wings since her 2023 overall No. 3 pick and a member of the onoing Unrivaled winter league in Florida was here, where she also works with the Wildcats’ program when not involved with her duties in the women’s pro world.

So were many others, a group of 70 was anticipated.

“We get a lot of alums at our games,” Dillon said.

“You always teach what you’re taught,” she referred to Perretta. “I was so fortunate, I always had great coaches all the way up the line.”

Dillon prior to succeeding her former coach in the spring of 2020 had a long-time successful run down in West Philadelphia coaching Drexel and winning the WNIT besides guiding the Dragons to the first of several NCAA appearances.

“He taught us team basketball besides individual basketball.”

As for the immediate pursuit of ending a three-season absence from the NCAA tournament, Jasmine Bascoe scored 19 points, Denae Carter had 11 points and six assists, and Kennedy Henry and Kelsey Joens each scored 10 points.

Henry, Joens, and reserve Ryanne Allen each connected on two makes from deep and the team was a near-perfect 9-for-11 on the line.

Georgetown’s Khia Miller scored 12 points, Laila Jewett scored 10, and Brianna Byars grabbed 12 rebounds.

Starter Brianna Scott is the daughter of former Maryland star and Big Ten broadcaster Christy Winters Scott, who also is part of the WNBA Washington Mystics broadcast team.

Villanova is on the road next week visiting Xavier Wednesday in Cincinnati at 6:30 p.m. and then Sunday at Creighton at 5 p.m. in Omaha, Nebraska.

Connecticut continued to cruise in the Huskies’ ongoing domination of the conference to the point that they rested sophomore Sarah Strong, a key component of the attack as the leading scorer and rebounder, without missing a beat.

Azzi Fudd had 15 of her 17 points in the first half as UConn won its 41st straight game since a late season road loss at Tennessee, which the Huskies’ gained revenge with a 30-point home win a week ago in Hartford.

It was Strong’s first absence in two seasons, while Blanca Quinonez and Caroline Ducharme were also sidelined.

Reserve Reserve Allie Ziebell made her second start and tied KK Arnold each with four steals, while Serah Williams, Ashlynn Shade and Ziebell each scored 11 points and Arnold collected 10 points.

It’s the 62nd straight regular season Big East win for Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma’s team, which completes its two-game series with Villanova when the Wildcats are back here on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.

A Split Afternoon in the A-10 for La Salle and Saint Joseph’s

La Salle (13-11, 6-7), which had been suffering shooting woes, snapped a losing streak with a season-best 54.7 percent from the field in downing Fordham 70-53 at home in John E. Glaser Arena.

Aryss Macktoon had a game-high 18 points for the Explorers against the Rams (9-15, 1-12), shooting 8-for-12 from the field, and grabbed her 300th rebound, while matching a personal best with four assists.

Joan Quinn had 13 points, six rebounds and three assists along with four steals, while Ashleigh Connor scored 11 points on 62.5 percent from the field with four boards, and Ivona Miljanic had four assists and was turnover free in her 22 minutes.

The Explorers are off all week until Saturday’s Valentines Day visit to George Washington at the Smith Center in the nation’s capital at 2 p.m. (ESPN+).

Saint Joseph’s (15-8, 6-6) at home in Hagan Arena had a rally fall short in losing 75-73 to Dayton (13-11, 6-7), which swept a Philadelphia road visit after winning at La Salle Wednesday.

The Flyers are coached by former UConn and WNBA star Tamika Williams-Jeter.

Gabby Casey had a career-high 29 points for the Hawks with seven rebounds, while Faith Stinson and Jill Jekot each scored 11 points.

Dayton had four players score in double figures led by Nicole Stephens with 18 points.

Saint Joseph’s stays home next for a Wednesday morning visit at 11 (ESPN+) from George Washington.

At the top of the conference, later Saturday evening, preseason favorite Richmond (20-4, 1-1) ended defending A-10 tourney champion George Mason’s perfect record with a 71-57 home win over the Patriots (15-7, 10-1) in the Spiders’ Robins Center leaving idle Rhode Island (20-2, 11-0) the last league team with a perfect record in A-10 competition.

Cardinal O’Hara grad Maggie Doogan led three teammates in double figures scoring 20 points for Richmond, while Mary Amoateng, one of two GMU players in double figures, scored 17 points off the bench.

In the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Rider (5-18, 3-11) suffered a 73-37 road rout at Merrimack (13-10, 10-4) in North Andover, Mass.

Kristina Ekofo scored 13 points for the Broncs, who next host Saint Peter’s Thursday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) at Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J.

At the top of the conference, Quinnipiac (20-4, 15-0) stayed a game in front in first with an 89-45 win at Niagara, while two-time defending champion Fairfield (20-4, 14-1) kept pace winning 82-46 at home against Iona.

In the Big Ten, Penn State (8-16, 1-12) looked poised to follow Wednesday’s first conference win of the season in overtime at Purdue when the Lady Lions held a 45-29 lead in the second quarter on No. 12 Michigan State at home in Rec Hall.

But the Spartans (20-4, 9-4) rallied for an 81-70 win, dropping Penn State alone in last place a half-game behind Rutgers, which hosts Minnesota Sunday at noon (B1G+) at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J.

The Michigan State comeback from 16 down was the Spartans’ largest since 2005 in the NCAA semifinals upsetting Tennessee in Indianapolis.

Sunday’s only other local action has Drexel on a six-game win streak hosting Monmouth in a Coastal Athletic Association game at 1 p.m. at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on FlowCollege.

In the Penn State game, Grace VanSlooten had 20 points and 14 rebounds for Michigan State, Jalyn Brown scored 16 points, and Rashunda Jones scored 14 points.

Rutgers transfer Kiyomi McMiller had a career-high 37 points for the Lady Lions, who next are at No. 22 Maryland on Thursday while Michigan State is at No. 2 UCLA on Wednesday.

In Saturday’s only other Big Ten game, Maryland (19-6, 7-6) on the road at Nebraska (16-8, 5-8) in Lincoln won 78-60 as Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu scored 16 points, shooting 7-for-8 from the field as the Terrapins pulled away down the stretch.

Oluchi Okananwa had 14 points and four steals for the Terrapins and Yarden Garzon scored 11 points with six assists, and Kyndal Walker scored 13 off the bench.

Nebraska’s Logan Nissley had a career-high 22 points.

Maryland, as mentioned, hosts Penn State Wednesday, and Nebraska is at Minnesota Thursday.

Temple (10-12, 4-6) after a week off committed 20 turnovers in an American Conference game at home in the Liacouras Center in a narrow 69-66 loss to North Texas (13-11, 7-4).

The miscues were damaging considering the Owls had a 13-point lead at the half and then gave up 28 points in the third period.

“It was a tough game,” said Temple coach Diane Richardson. “We had our run in the first half, they came back and had a run. We ended up in a tight game that we didn’t come out on top.”

Savannah Curry scored 14 points for the Owls while Saniyah Craig scored 10 points.

Megan Nestor, the nation’s leading rebounder, pulled down 13 with 20 points for North Texas.

Temple is at UTSA in San Antonio, Texas, Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Delaware (11-12, 5-6) got 20 points and 16 boards on a season-best effort from Kay Fontroy but the Blue Hens fell 61-58 in a Conference USA game at Jacksonville State (12-11, 6-5) in Alabama.

Ande’a Cherisier scored 13 points, shooting 5-of-8 from the field, and Ella Wanzer scored 10 points, highlighted by making a pair of shots from beyond the arc.

Delaware returns home to the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark on Thursday, hosting New Mexico State at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).

In the only other two local games Saturday, in the Patriot League, Lehigh (12-10, 8-4) won 73-61 at home in Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., over Holy Cross (14-9, 8-4), while Lafayette (8-15, 4-8) fell at home 62-50 in the Kirby Center in Easton, Pa., to second-place Army (18-5, 9-3).

The visiting Black Knights at Lafayette, stayed in second place two games behind preseason favorite Navy (16-6, 11-1), which beat host American 86-58 in Washington, D.C.

Lehigh got 21 points from Belle Bramer, while Whitney Lind scored 17 points with five assists, Gracyn Lovette scored13, and Lily Fandre scored 12 points.

Army, under first year coach Kate Kuester, a former Saint Joseph’s star and assistant coach, got 18 points from Reese Ericson, while Camryn Tade had 15 points, and Kya Smith had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The host Leopards got 11 points from Haylie Adamski and Madison Krug shooting 5-for-7 scored 10 points.

Lafayette on Wednesday is at Loyola, Md., in suburban Baltimore at 7 p.m. (ESPN+), while Lehigh is at American U. at 6 p.m. (ESPN+).

Army at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) is at Boston U. while Navy hosts Bucknell at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).

The National Scene

Three other ranked teams, all in the Big 12, had games Saturday.

No. 15 Baylor at home in Waco, Texas, edged Arizona State 67-64, while No. 20 West Virginia at home in Morgantown, won 87-68 over Arizona, and No. 18 Texas Tech won at Houston.

In the Baylor game, Taliah Scott had 17 points in a narrow win in which Gabby Elliott for the Sun Devils (19-6, 6-6) scored to bring the visitors within a point with 15 seconds left.

But the Bears (21-4, 10-2) answered with two foul shots and Arizona State then committed a turnover.

Baylor is at No. 14 TCU in Fort Worth on Thursday.

West Virginia (20-5, 10-3) got 17 points from Kierra Wheeler in the win over Arizona (11-12, 2-10), while the Mountaineers also got 16 from Sydney Shaw and next hosts UCF on Wednesday.

Texas Tech (22-3, 9-3) on the road at Houston (7-16, 1-11) were led by Bailey Maupin with 25 points and next host Kansas on Tuesday.

The Jayhawks will be coming off an 80-71 win over Cincinnati at home, a game in which freshman Jaliya Davis for Kansas had her second straight performance with 28 points, the first one in a win over BYU she had her first double double with 12 rebounds.

In another Big 12 game of note, Audi Crooks scored 26 points for Iowa State (19-5, 7-5) in a 79-72 road win at Utah (16-8, 7-5) in Salt Lake City.

In the second part of the Mid-American Conference-Sun Belt Challenge, MAC teams dominated the 12 games, 8-4 with Kent State and Toledo among the winners while Old Dominion was one of the four winners out of the Sun Belt Conference.

Looking Ahead

Sunday’s pre-NFL Super Bowl afternoon card is highlighted by N. 19 Tennessee at No. 3 South Carolina at 3 p.m. on ABC, while in the Big Ten, No. 2 UCLA is at No. 8 Michigan the same time on FOX.

No. 17 Duke in the ACC will look to continue its win streak hosting SMU at 2 p.m. on the CW Network.

On Monday, No. 16 Kentucky is at No. 4 Texas at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network, while another SEC attraction has No. 11 Oklahoma at No. 7 Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guru’s National NCAAW Roundup: One-Point Victories and Several Upsets Highlight the Week So Far

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

Catching up on the week nationally, one game Friday, No. 23 over Penn, is in the local report below this report, and we go on to the rest.

No upsets but one close call on Monday as No. 3 South Carolina won its Southeastern Conference (SEC) game at Texas A&M, 71-56 while in the same conference No. 3 Ole Miss won at home 71-45 over Auburn.

The close call was in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) No. 25 North Carolina, which got back into the Associated Press women’s poll hours earlier, edged N.C. State in Raleigh 61-59.

On Tuesday no ranked teams played while on Wednesday No. 22 Maryland stopped its slide in the Big Ten winning 86-70, No. 8 Michigan at home won its Big Ten game 88-76, the Big Ten rout by No. 2 UCLA over Rutgers is reported in the local post.

No. 1 UConn continued its unbeaten run as the defending NCAA champs won their Big East Conference game 86-40 at DePaul in Chicago and in the Big 12, No. 15 Baylor on the road fended off Cincinnati for a narrow 76-70 victory, No. 14 TCU won 90-45 at home in Fort Worth over Houston, and No. 20 West Virginia won at Colorado 61-55.

In the Connecticut game, Azzi Fudd had 25 points, giving the Huskies their 40th straight win since a late season lost last year at Tennessee. Sarah Strong added 14 points with six rebounds and five assists.

The Huskies have won 19 straight by 25 or more points, the longest Division I streak in the last 25 seasons.

Thursday, however, was electric with one-point wins, and a few upsets.

In the SEC, No. 4 Texas (22-2, 7-2) got its revenge on No. 5 LSU 77-64 on the Tigers (21-3, 7-3) at home in Austin as Madison Booker had 18 points for the winning Longhorns, Aaliyah Crump scored 16, and Rori Harmon had six steals to set the program record with 351, passing the 346 achieved by Linda Waggoner from 1976-80, and adding to her ongoing program record with career assists.

LSU’s Mikaylah Williams led the Tigers with 20 points.

No. 21 Alabama (20-4, 6-4) at home in Tuscaloosa, upset No. 13 Ole Miss 64-63 as Jessica Timmons scored 23 points and grabbed seven boards while Diana Collins scored the winner on a driving layup with 18 seconds left in regulation.

Cotie McMahon led the Rebels (19-5, 6-3) with 22 points but a go-ahead score with 10 seconds left was ruled out of play when she was called for a charge.

Alabama coach Kristy Curry gained her 550th career triumph with the victory.

No. 7 Vanderbilt (22-2, 8-2) won 85-84 at No. 16 Kentucky (18-6, 5-5) in Lexington as Mikayla Blakes scored 37 points, 19 in the final period for the Commodores.

Aubrey Galvin had four foul shots in the final 19 seconds to preserve the win.

The Wildcats had a potential win get away when Amelia Hasset’s 3-point attempt went off the rim and Teonni Key, who had 27 points and 12 boards, made a putback that did not beat the buzzer.

Clara Strack had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the home team while Hassett scored 19.

No. 19 Tennessee, coming off its non-conference blowout loss to No. 1 Connecticut on Sunday, beat host Georgia 82-77 in overtime in Athens as Zee Spearman scored 23 points for the Lady Vols (15-5, 7-1) while Talaysia Cooper had 16 points and Janiah Parker had nine points and 13 rebounds.

The game went into overtime when Dani Carnegie sank all three foul shots for Georgia (18-5, 4-5) with five seconds left in regulation.

Carnegie finished with 25 points.

No. 3 South Carolina (23-2, 9-1) had an easy time winning 88-45 at home in Columbia over Mississippi State (16-8, 3-7) as Joyce Edwards scored 21 points, including her 1,000th point, the third sophomore for the Gamecocks to reach the milestone in that class level behind Sheila Foster and A’ja Wilson.

In the Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 17 Duke nipped No. 6 Louisville on the road in the Atlantic Coast Conference 59-58 as Toby Fournier scored 15 and had a key block for the Blue Devils (17-6, 12-0) who had 19 turnovers.

However, the Cardinals (21-4, 11-1) shot 33.9% from the field, their worst this season, and missed a tie when Imari Berry missed her second of two foul shots with 1.1 seconds left in regulation.

No. 25 North Carolina (19-5, 8-3) won at home in Chapel Hill 53-44 over Clemson (16-8, 7-5) as Nyla Harris had 17 points with 10 rebounds and a pair of steals.

Clemson’s Rusne Augustinaite had 15 points.

In other ACC results among unranked teams, Stanford won 86-65 at Pitt, Syracuse won 93-59 at Boston College, Notre Dame topped visiting Virginia Tech 80-70 and NC State beat visiting Florida State 83-55.

In the Big Ten, Minnesota upset host No. 10 Iowa 91-85 as the Golden Gophers (17-6, 8-4) as Grace Grocholski scored 21 points and Mara Braun added 16 points for their fifth straight win, longest for the program in the conference since 2018-19.

Iowa (18-5, 9-3) has dropped three straight since losing Taylor McCabe to a season-ending knee injury. She had been the Hawkeyes’ best 3-point shooter.

Minnesota last beat a Top 10 team on the road in 2005.

Ava Heiden scored 24 points for Iowa.

No. 9 Ohio State (21-3, 10-2) won 70-60 over host and No. 24 Washington (17-6, 7-5) as Buckeyes coach Kevin McGuff, who also coached at Xavier and Washington, reached his 500th career victory.

Jaloni Cambridge scored 26 points for Ohio State, reached 25 points for her fourth straight game while the Huskies of the Northwest were led by Sayvia Sellers with 26 points, 11 in the fourth period.

USC on the rebound won 83-65 at Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., as veteran Wildcats coach Joe McKeown, who had announced his impending retirement prior to the season, is reaching closer to his last game.

In other games of note beyond ranked teams and not already reported in the local report posted below this one, Maine won at Vermont 55-46 in the America East on Thursday, FDU, the defending Northeast Conference champion, won 80-49 at Stonehill, Belmont won 67-52 at Drake in the Missouri Valley Conference, and Gonzaga won at home 67-37 over Oregon State in the West Coast Conference.

Looking Ahead

On Saturday, No. 1 UConn hosts Butler in the Big East at 1 p.m. (FS1), No. 22 Maryland is at Nebraska in Lincoln in the Big Ten at 2 p.m. (BTN), and in the Big 12, No. 15 Baylor hosts Arizona State at 6 p.m. (FS1) in Waco, Texas, while No. 20 West Virginia hosts Arizona at 2 p.m. in Morgantown and No. 18 Texas Tech is at Houston at 6 p.m., both on ESPN+.

On Sunday in the SEC, Tennessee is at South Carolina at 3 p.m. on ABC and in the Big Ten, No. 2 UCLA is at No. 8 Michigan in Ann Arbor at 3 p.m. on FOX.

On Monday, in the SEC, No. 18 Kentucky is at No. 4 Texas at 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network in Austin while No. 11 Oklahoma is at No. 7 Vanderbilt in Nashville at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.

 

 

 

The Guru’s Local NCAAW Report: Princeton Surges in Second Half for 16th Straight Series Win; Drexel Takes Sixth Straight; Perretta Being Honored at Villanova

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

PRINCETON, N.J. – After Courtney Banghart had built Princeton into a force of national relevance, Mike McLaughlin came down from Division II Holy Family in Northeast Philadelphia to Penn and ultimately in the last decade grew the Quakers into standing toe-to-toe with the Tigers and capturing a few Ivy titles.

But after Banghart left for North Carolina and the Power 4 world of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Carla Berube took over and has stymied several league rivals the way her alma mater No. 1 UConn has owned the Big East in both incarnations as well as its time in the American Conference.

Though some games came close, like last month’s six-point loss in the league opener at The Palestra, No. 23 Princeton has been perfect against Penn in Berube’s seven seasons.

For a while here Friday night in Jadwin Gym, the Quakers looked like the revival against Columbia last weekend following the demoralizing loss the previous night to Cornell would continue when Penn (13-8, 3-5) closed the half on a 13-2 run and 30-28 lead.

But that was the high-water mark for the visitors.

The Tigers (19-2, 7-1), who have let many teams this season hang around until the stretch of the fourth quarter, erupted out of the break, taking the next ten minutes with a 24-13 advantage and kept the foot on the gas 17-7 in the final period for a 69-50 victory.

Princeton’s Olivia Hutcherson had 19 points, shooting 8-for-12 from the field with seven rebounds and five steals, while Skye Belker had 16 points, propelled by 4-for-7 makes from deep, and Madison St. Rose, injured during last Friday’s home loss to Columbia, scored 15 points.

On Penn’s side, 16 was the number of the night, the Quakers’ 16th straight loss in the series, including the 14-0 shutout since Berube arrived, and also the double-digit number of points collected by Simone Sawyer and Mataya Gayle in the contest.

Tina Njike had nine points and 10 boards.

“It’s helpful when you only have one game to prepare for during the week,” Berube said, while looking forward to next weekend’s revenge visit to Columbia, Friday, and Cornell, Saturday.

Penn is on the reverse side of that road trip, looking for revenge Friday night 6 p.m. (ESPN+) at Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y., and then looking for a sweep of Columbia Saturday night at Levien Gym at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) off Broadway on New York City’s Upper West Side.

“We harp on every single game, especially at home, that we are going to get every team’s best,” said Toby Nweke, who started for the Tigers at forward and had seven points, four rebounds, and four assists.

The Tigers had the defensive touch, particularly in the fourth quarter, limiting Penn to 2-of-13 from the field.

“I had been looking for that,” Berube said of the second half performance. “It wasn’t anything we talked about at halftime other than let’s play the way we are capable of playing.

“Part of that great defense is you are taking good shots on the offensive ends and not letting them get out in transition on us.”

Drexel Win Sixth Straight

In the only other game on the Guru’s nightly national/local awareness chart, the Dragons (14-7, 7-3) at home in the Daskalakis Athletic Center took care of business quickly in their Coastal Athletic Association game with Hampton (9-13, 3-7) soaring to an 18-0 lead and rolling to an all-time series best 75-42 victory topping the previous 21-point differential triumph on December 5, 2015.

The margin of victory was Drexel’s widest since topping UNCW by 33 points on Feb. 4, 2022 and is tied for the sixth widest in conference play since joining the CAA, previous known prior to last season as the Colonial Athletic Association.

Amaris Baker made 10 shots from the field and scored 24 points with five rebounds and four assists.

Laine McGurk had 10 points, four rebounds, and dished four assists, while Deja Evans scored 11 points.

Grace O’Neill had three points, eight boards and five assists, making the senior the first in program history with 600 career points, 600 rebounds, and 350 assists.

Next up is a Sunday visit from Monmouth, completing the two-game series at 1 p.m. on FloCollege.

Perretta Honored as Villanova Looks to Keep Streaking in the Big East

Retired longtime Wildcats coach Harry Perretta, who has been doing analysis on conference broadcasts since he stepped down from a 42-year career (1978-2020) with a record 783-489, will be honored at halftime Saturday of the Villanova home game, which tips off at 2 p.m. against Georgetown in Finneran Pavilion.

He is being enshrined in the arena’s front area with a plaque, the equivalent of when a player’s jersey is retired.

Villanova (18-5, 11-3) is coming into the game fresh off Wednesday’s 67-57 road victory at Butler (9-14, 3-10) in Indianapolis in which Jasmine Bascoe scored 27 points and dealt five assists.

Kennedy Henry and Brynn McCurry each scored 12 points.

The Wildcats hold a one-game lead over Seton Hall with the tiebreaker. The Pirates Saturday are at St. John’s.

Rider and Delaware Gain Wins

On Thursday, two locals played, Rider (5-17, 3-10) at home in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game at Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J., rallied from a double-digit deficit to win 71-60 over Manhattan (5-17, 5-8) as Aliya McIver had a career-high 31 points.

The Broncs were down 31-16 before the break and eventually launching a comeback victory.

“Our energy was great, the bench was great, and it was a great team win,” said first-year coach Jackie Hartzell. “I prefer not to fall behind like that, but we keep fighting.”

Said McIver of her night, “My teammates just set me up. There were a lot of good screens, and I had the hot hand, so they kept finding me.”

Rider on Saturday is up at Merrimack at noon in suburban Boston, the game on the regional NESN Network and ESPN+.

The 1-2 punch at the top of the MAAC on Wednesday kept winning. Quinnipiac (19-4,14-0), which recently won at two-time defending champion Fairfield (9-4, 13-1) to move into first, took a 73-55 victory at Canisius paced by 16 points from Anna Foley, while the Stags at home blasted Marist 109-48 as Meghan Andersen was 8-for-10 from deep and finished with 40 points.

On Saturday, at 1p.m. Fairfield hosts Iona at 1 p.m. while Quinnipiac is at Niagara at 2 p.m., both games on ESPN+.

Delaware (11-11, 5-5), playing in the Blue Hens’ debut season in Conference USA on the road in Atlanta beat Kennesaw State 65-60 in overtime.

Safi Kolliegbo had 18 points for the winning visitors while Ande’A Cherisier had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

On Saturday, Delaware is at Jacksonville State in Florida at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

Penn State Ends Big Ten Winless Streak

Catching up with Wednesday’s local games, no one played Monday or Tuesday, Penn State (8-15, 1-11) finally gained a conference triumph winning 85-82 in overtime over Purdue at West Lafayette, Ind.

Gracie Merkle, back in the lineup for the Lady Lions, had 19 points, shooting 6-for-7 from the field, and grabbing 20 rebounds, while Rutgers transfer and reserve Kiyomi McMiller had 30 points, shooting 10-for-19 from the field.

Moriah Murray had 15 points, and Tea Cleante scored 10 points.

Rutgers (9-14, 1-11), out West was routed 96-46 at No. 2 UCLA (22-1, 12-0), in Los Angeles, the Bruins getting 17 points from Kiki Rice and seven rebounds, while Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, and Lauren Betts had 11 points.

Lauryn Swann had 14 points for the Scarlet Knights.

On Saturday Penn State hosts No. 12 Michigan State at 1 p.m. (B1G+) in Rec Hall while on Sunday Rutgers hosts Minnesota at noon (B1G+) at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J.

The two longtime rivals — Penn State and Rutgers — are tied for last in the Big Ten, but at the moment the Scarlet Knights have the tiebreak off a four-point road win over the Lady Lions with a second to be played later this month in New Jersey.

In the Atlantic 10, Wednesday, Saint Joseph’s (15-7, 6-5) challenged league leader Rhode Island (20-2, 11-0) most of the night on the road at Kingston, but the Rams ultimately prevailed 69-61 setting a program record with its 14th straight win besides sweeping the season series with the Hawks.

Aleah Snead had 24 points with nine boards for the visitors while Gabby Casey had 17 points with nine rebounds.

Rhode Island’s Brooklyn Gray had 21 points.

La Salle (12-11, 5-7) at home in the John E. Glaser Arena, struggled with poor shooting and foul trouble to lose 68-60 to Dayton (12-11, 5-7).

Four of five starters scored in double figures for the Flyers, led by Molly O’Riordan with 16 points.

Ashleigh Connor had 17 points for the Explorers while Joan Quinn scored 13, and Aryss Macktoon had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Amiya Moses had seven blocks.

On Saturday, at 1 p.m. La Salle hosts Fordham, while at 2 p.m. Saint Joseph’s hosts Dayton at Hagan Arena, both games on ESPN+.

George Mason, which is on a record-setting conference start without a loss but a game in the win column behind URI, is at preseason favorite Richmond at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

In the Patriot League on Wednesday, Lafayette (8-14, 4-7) on the road was routed 62-46 at preseason favorite and first place Navy (15-6, 10-1) in Annapolis, Md.

Talia Zurinski had 12 points, Teresa Kiewiet had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the visiting Leopards, while Maddison Krugg had 13 boards.

Navy’s Zanai Barnett-Gay had 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Lehigh (11-10, 7-4) at home in Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., edged Loyola of Maryland 63-62 completing the season series with a sweep of the Greyhounds (5-6, 9-12).

Whitney Lind had 17 points for the Mountain Hawks, while Belle Bramer scored 11, Lily Fandre had 14 points and Katie Hurt had a career-high 10 points.

On Saturday, Lafayette hosts Army at the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa., at 2 p.m. and Lehigh hosts Holy Cross at 4 p.m., both on ESPN+.

Temple, which has been off since last Saturday’s win at Tulane, on Saturday hosts North Texas at 2 p.m. (ESPN+) at the Liacouras Center.