The Guru’s Local NCAAW Weekend Roundup: Villanova Alone in 2nd in Big East After Win Over DePaul; Penn Surprises Columbia in Ivy Palestra Win
By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux
PHILADELPHIA/VILLANOVA – Lots of travel through the weekend enabled reporting out of the several locations attended but deterred from filing the roundup of games, — however, with none local scheduled Monday and Tuesday we can catch up here and then a separate national considering Saturday was lite, Sunday was heavy and then Monday and Tuesday this week were also lite.
Of 11 games, scheduled, eight went into the victory column, the three losses coming Saturday in the Patriot League where Lehigh was nipped at Colgate 68-66 in Hamilton, N.Y., and Lafayette at home in the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa., fell 70-60 to American U.
On Sunday out west, Rutgers was routed in the Big Ten at Southern Cal, 71-39, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
On Saturday, the schedule was as such that we double dipped, spending the early afternoon at Villanova, where the Wildcats downed DePaul 69-56 at Finneran Pavilion and are now a game up in second place on Seton Hall, which lost later on the weekend.
That followed with a trip to The Palestra where Penn, which suffered a devastating win loss at home Friday night to Cornell, bounced back in its Ivy weekend stunning Columbia 64-55 after the Lions had handed Princeton its first league loss Friday night and with the then-No. 19 Tigers winning at home in Jadwin Gym over Cornell 72-61 they were back in sole possession of first.
In the win by Villanova (16-5, 9-3), Jasmine Bascoe scored 27 points while reserve Ryanne Allen continued to fortify a productive bench with 17 points.
“Our bench has been tremendous,” said Villanova coach Denise Dillon. “I think any of them are capable of being in that starting lineup, with Ryanne, Dani (Ceseretti), and Brooke Bender.
“They generate a lot of offense for us. It’s so nice to have that spark coming off the bench.”
Allen, who has been hot all season beyond the arc with a 48.7% shooting average, was 5-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from deep against the Blue Demons (5-18, 2-10) from Chicago.
Allen also had seven rebounds on a board battle won by Villanova 38-34.
“The big challenge today was rebounding,” according to Dillon. “It’s been a challenge for us as a team. So, we crowned a rebounding leader today, and Ryanne was awarded the crown today.
“I think we’ve got to compete against each other. If we’re doing that, then we’re getting better.”
Said Allen, “When I come in, I just want to make an immediate impact and bring energy to those who have already been out there.
“Being on the bench, you’re able to see things, see what’s happening out there. So I want to to bring that energy and see what I can do to help the team in any way.”
On Wednesday, Villanova is at Butler at 7 p.m. (ESPN+) in Indianapolis launching the stretch drive of February to the Big East tournament next month at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
“In February, you’ve already played everyone, so everyone knows what you can do,” Allen said. “And they see your strengths and weaknesses. So, it’s important to be able to find different ways to win, continue to put our foot on the gas and push forward when everyone’s trying to get as many wins as possible.”
Penn Bounces Back to Stay Alive in Pursuit of a Return to Ivy Madness
Basically, with nothing left to lose, the Quakers (13-7, 3-4) took on Columbia (14-6, 5-2) nice and loose in a toe-to-toe contest in which Penn was able outscore the Lions 17-15 in the third quarter and 22-15 in the fourth.
“We competed,” said Mataya Gayle, who led with 16 points and seven assists. “Everyone on the court doing what they needed to do, the little things. I really think we took yesterday’s loss and learned from it, and that translated today.”
The Quakers started the Ivy race for the four-team field in the conference tourney next month at Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y., 0-3, the tough one in double overtime at Brown.
But then Penn won two straight only to fall to in a game favored to win over Cornell and then having to face Columbia and Princeton (Friday, 7 p.m., at Jadwin Gym) back-to-back.
To achieve the first step meant dealing a quick turnaround in less than 24 hours, though at least it was at home where Penn tossed a balanced attack at Columbia.
Tina Njike double-doubled with 10 points and 10 boards while dealing four assists. Simone Sawyer added 10 points and Brooke Suttle added 11 points with seven boards. Katie Collins had nine points, while Saniah Caldwell had eight points and four assists, and Sawyer grabbed three steals.
“That’s huge for us,” Gayle said. “We got a talking to where a coach told us we needed to do all the little things if we want to be a better team. We have to have a more balanced spread of scoring if we want to be successful. Today, we just showed when we do that, we’re pretty unstoppable.”
The downer felt by Penn Friday was now the mood of Columbia, whose Riley Weiss scored 23 points shooting 12-for-20 from the floor and 5-of-15 from distance besides grabbing seven boards.
“She is such a prolific scorer and she can shoot it,” Penn coach Mike McLaughlin said. “Try to make every shot at least challenging. For the most part, we did it.”
For the veteran Penn mentor, for the moment, hope to be in the four-team field has returned, though the Quakers would have to win the league to get to the NCAA tournament through the automatic qualifier route, and would likely have to be in the title game to gain a shot at the WBIT.
“You start looking at scores and records and all that never gets you where you want to be,” McLaughlin said. “This team just got to get better. And I really do believe if we play that hard every night, we’re going to have a chance.”
The game was attached by alumni night for promotion.
“And I think it’s all that. It was a great building tonight that was about as fun as I think these kids can play in this environment, and I want them to experience that, too. All this came together tonight.”
Temple Nips Tulane in OT After Attending Unrivaled
Coach Diane Richardson, linked to the pro world through her adopted daughter Jonquel Jones on the WNBA New York Liberty, wanted her team to experience the energy of Friday night’s record attendance 21,000+ for the Unrivaled Doubleheader at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philly also attended by Saint Joseph’s and Villanova.
The three other Big Five teams were in game situations playing home or traveling.
After the 11 p.m. ending, the Owls headed straight to the airport to zip to New Orleans where Richardson had gotten the needed parties to delay the American Conference tip time to later in the evening.
But after a gritty contest against the Green Wave (8-12, 3-5) all was well that ended beyond well, Temple (10-11, 4-5) winning 67-65 in overtime as Jaleesa Molina, who missed a chance to win it at the end of regulation, still become the heroine at the end of the extra period after Kaylah Turner stole CC Mays’ pass and was found for the layup and victory.
Turner had a game-high 27 points and reached her 1,000th career tally.
The Owls are off all week until Saturday, hosting North Texas at 2 p.m. (ESPN+) at home in the Liacouras Center.
Princeton Tops Cornell
After bounced from the top of the Ivy race on Friday night, Princeton (18-2, 6-1) made Cornell’s joy over beating Penn short-lived, the Tigers on Saturday at home in Jadwin Gym winning 72-61 over the Big Red (8-12, 3-4).
A 24-15 fourth quarter was the magic potion as Princeton shot 64.3% from the field.
Skye Belker and Olivia Hutcherson each scored 20 points with Belker adding five assists and Hutcherson grabbing seven boards and swiping three steals.
Princeton awaits its second Penn meeting Friday night looking to sweep the Quakers.
La Salle Wins at Duquesne
Ashleigh Connor’s hometown visit to Pittsburgh was a joyous one Saturday scoring a career-high 26 points in the Explorers’ 77-61 victory at Duquesne (7-15, 0-11) in the Atlantic 10.
La Salle (12-10, 5-6) dominated the fourth quarter 32-21 to gain the win.
Connor was 7-for-13 from the field and a perfect 11-for-11 on the line, while Aryss Macktoon had 23 points and seven boards, Joan Quinn scored 12 points, and reserve Ivona Miljanic scored 10 points.
La Salle on Wednesday hosts Dayton at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+) at its John E. Glaser Arena.
Saint Joseph’s Gets Split with Davidson
On Sunday, the Hawks (15-6, 6-4) picked up their third straight victory in the Atlantic 10, winning 59-51 over Davidson (15-9, 7-4) at Hagan Arena.
Gabby Casey, who earned her second straight A-10 player of the week on Monday, had 22 points with five rebounds and a pair of assists, while Aleah Snead scored 10 points with three steals, five rebounds and two assists, and Rhian Stokes and Jill Jekot each scored nine points.
On Wednesday, Saint Joseph’s goes for a split visiting Rhode Island at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) at the Ryan Arena in Kingston, the host Rams on a program-tying 13-game winning streak and at 10-0 tied for first with George Mason in the conference.
Casey was sidelined with an illness when the teams met last month in Philadelphia.
Drexel Wins 5th Straight
The Dragons (13-7, 6-3) are on a tear in the Coastal Athletic Association, sweeping their weekend road trip by winning Sunday 65-56 at Northeastern (6-13, 2-7).
Laine McGurk shot 9-for-15 from the field for 24 points, her second best this season, against the Huskies.
Amaris Baker, named CAA co-player of the week on Monday, scored 21 points, her 11th 20+ game this season.
On Friday Drexel hosts Hampton at 6 p.m. (FloCollege) to start a weekend home stand.
Delaware Tops FIU
In a game moved on day later from Saturday due to weather travel issues from the visitors the Blue Hens (10-11, 4-5) at home in the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark won its fourth of last five games, beating FIU 51-48 in a CUSA contest.
Ella Wanzer had a game-high 13 points against the Panthers (12-8, 5-4) while Lay Fontroy had 12 points and 10 boards for her fifth double double of the season.
Safi Koliegbo score 11 points, seven coming in the final quarter.
Delaware coach Sarah Jenkins picked up her 50th victory and Ande’a Cherisier dealt a personal best six assists.
For the second time at home, Cherisier in the CUSA rallied after trailing at the half.
The Blue Hens on Thursday will travel to Atlanta to play at Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
Setbacks for Lehigh, Lafayette and Rutgers
The Rutgers (9-13,1-10) slide in the Big Ten continued on Sunday, losing 71-39 at Southern Cal (13-9, 5-6), which got 18 points from Kara Dunn, 16 points and nine rebounds for Jazzy Davidson, and 11 points from Kennedy Smith.
Davidson earned freshman of the week honors Monday from the Big Ten and the national award Tuesday from the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).
Zachara Perkins had 12 points and Imani Lester scored 11 for the Scarlet Knights.
On Wednesday, still out West, Rutgers is at No. 2 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles at 10 p.m. (B1G+).
In the Patriot League, on Saturday, Lehigh (10-10, 6-4) lost 68-66 at Colgate (6-15, 2-8) when Abby Ferguson scored on a last-second layup taking a pass from Ella Meabon, who had a team-high 17 points.
Lily Fandre scored a game-high 23 points, shooting 9-for-16 from the field for the Mountain Hawks who next host Loyola, Md., at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) on Wednesday at Stabler Arena.
Teresa Kiewiet with 16 points and Haylie Adamski with 15 led Lafayette (8-13, 4-6) but the Leopards fell 70-60 to American (6-15, 4-6) at home.
Lafayette next on Wednesday goes to league-leader and preseason favorite Navy at the academy in Annapolis, Md., at 6 p.m. (ESPN+).
Schedules for teams who did not play in the weekend roundup period Saturday or Sunday show in the Big Ten Penn State on Wednesday at Purdue at 7 p.m. (B1G+) while on Thursday in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rider hosts Manhattan at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) at Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J.