The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Penn Still Alive in Ivy Race Beating Yale While Princeton Helps With Win Over Brown; Saint Joseph’s Wins at Saint Louis; Penn State Gains Series Split Winning at Rutgers
By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux
PHILADELPHIA – Maybe it’s the next-to-the-last time this season, maybe not, but it all went right for Penn (15-9, 5-6) Saturday afternoon at home here in The Palestra as the Quakers had a solid effort in a 68-52 victory over Yale (6-18, 2-9).
That was a successful part one in the dwindling chance to make the four-team Ivy Madness tournament next month at Cornell’s Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
Veteran coach Mike McLaughlin said there was no need to dwell in the scenario at hand.
“They know we need to win,” he said of his team and a program that has missed just once making the field in the seven years of the Ivies becoming the last conference to have a postseason engagement sending the winner with the automatic qualifier on to the NCAA tournament. “Since they’re smarter than me, they can figure out statistical analysis. I’m just here to tell you one at a time.”
Scoreboard watching at to the nearby North wasn’t possible since Princeton, which needed to keep pace with first-place Columbia by beating Brown, wasn’t tipping until 5 p.m. and part two on the day’s menu called for a loss by the visiting Bears to the Tigers in Jadwin Gym, thus the Quakers also need a little help from their Ivy neighbors and top rivals.
“I’ll buy them something to eat when I see them next,” he said of Princeton, which came through with a lopsided win over Brown, dropping the Bears into fourth and now just two games above the Quakers.
“That’s what Philly people do, right?” He smiled. “They help out. We took care of our business. Whatever happens, happens, but I’m not opposed to buying if they help us out.”
In what has been a rollercoaster run since the league race opened soon after the arrival of the New Year, Penn was decidedly on the high end in this one.
Prior to the opening tip Mataya Gayle was on the receiving end of a ball presentation denoting last week’s moment at Cornell when she became the 27th player in the program to reach 1,000 points.
She then went on to show the stuff that got her to the milestone, scoring 22 points with four assists, while reserve Brooke Suttle scored 16, and Simone Sawyer was also in double digits with 12 points.
Ciniya Moore had 19 points for Yale and Luisa Vydrova scored 11.
“I was excited about it,” Gayle said of the ceremony. “I think it was more bittersweet. It’s the last time I’ll do thiss, so I was happy to get it. I’m proud of myself and the work I put in but just want to keep winning.”
A nice factor in the win was Penn’s ball handling, committing just seven turnovers.
“Only turning the ball over seen times gives us a chance to beat anyone,” McLaughlin.
For those just joining the Ivy chase, the tightest perhaps in the entire history of the Ancient Eight, the damage to Penn can be found in a double overtime loss at Brown, which comes here at the end of the conference schedule, a loss at Cornell, and last week’s Brown upset at home in Providence, R.I., of Harvard.
Meanwhile, for the second straight season, Columbia swept its two games with Princeton leaving the duo coming into this weekend tied for first, while Brown with the third seed on tiebreaker, was knotted with Harvard and Penn sitting in fifth three games back needing to win its remaining four and either Brown or Harvard lose their remaining four.
Strike Harvard (15-9, 8-3) from the equation after the Crimson clinched a spot and moved into third place with a lopsided rout of Cornell 74-737 at home in Cambridge, Mass., giving a sweep of the Big Red as Karlee White shot 10-for-14 from the field and scored 24 points.
Columbia (18-6, 9-2) easily did its part on the road to stay in first with the tiebreaking No. 1 seed, winning 81-42 at Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H.
The Lions’ leader Riley Weiss scored 20, shooting 9-for-14, while on the bench Mia Broom made half her eight attempts from deep scoring 16 points, while reserve Nasi Simmons scored 10 on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.
Princeton (21-3, 9-2), which had an eight-week run in the Associated Press women’s poll end off the loss last week, did its helping hand to Penn, rolling to a 69-37 decimation of Brown (15-8, 7-4) as Madison St. Rose scored 30 points, shooting 9-for-15 from the field and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, while Fadima Tall had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Brown’s Grace Arnolie scored 14 points, the only player in double figures for the visiting Bears.
Everyone will be doing back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, Penn visiting Harvard at 7 p.m. at Lavietes Pavilion before moving on to Dartmouth Saturday.
Princeton is on the reverse of that trip visiting Dartmouth at 6 p.m. and then moving on to visit Harvard the next day.
Columbia is at Yale Friday at 6 p.m. and then visits Brown on Saturday while Brown hosts Cornell at 7 p.m. Friday and then hosts Columbia. All games will be on ESPN+.
Penn is in a must-win situation Friday at Harvard and needs Brown to lose at Cornell so the Bears also have a split.
If somehow, starting from last week, Penn winning out, daunting as it is, and Browns loses all four games, the Quakers take fourth by a game.
If the two teams were tied and each have a split with Cornell, and they would also have a split with Columbia, it comes down to the Net rating after the regular season concludes and right now through Friday Brown is 116 while Penn is 128.
Princeton has the best at 47 though that wouldn’t amount to much if the Tigers advance and then lose the title game.
Saint Joseph’s Wins at Saint Louis
The Hawks (19-8, 10-6) used a 22-6 third quarter to break away from the Billikens (11-18, 5-11) and go on to a 65-54 victory, their fourth straight, to stay in a fourth-place tie with Davidson as the Atlantic 10 race enters its final week leading to next month’s tournament in Henrico, Va., a suburb of Richmond.
Saint Joseph’s has the tougher schedule going to George Mason Wednesday and hosting Richmond Saturday to get the fourth seed and double bye to the quarterfinals.
But failing that, a fifth-place finish is attainable, which has a bye to the second round, and veteran coach Cindy Griffin’s bunch is capable of beating Davidson, but would in the semifinals then face the top seed, which has become a wide open spot in the chase to setting the final bracket.
Against Saint Louis, Aleah Snead had a game-high 18 points, shooting 8-for-10 from the field, with seven assists and five rebounds, while Gabby Casey scored 16 points, with three assists, three boards, and three steals, and Kaylinn Bethea matched her career best with nine pointss while grabbing three rebounds.
Wednesday’s game at George Mason, the defending A-10 tournament champion which won the earlier meeting on Hawk Hill, tips at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ in Fairfax, Va.
La Salle is at preseason favorite Richmond Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ in the league’s original only game scheduled and the visiting Explorers are coming off last Wednesday’s upset of first-place Rhode Island at home, throwing the race at the top into a wild scramble the final week.
Penn State Road Win Gains Season Split with Rutgers in the Big Ten
Suddenly the Lady Lions (10-17, 3-13) have a shot to make the Big Ten tourney after Saturday’s Basement Bowl, Part 3, in which Penn State, which finished dead last and eliminated last season, won 87-78 Saturday at Rutgers (9-18, 1-15) in Jersey Mikes Arena in Piscataway, N.J..
A year ago, the Scarlet Knights snuck in at the finish, were quickly ousted and then landed in the WNIT and won a couple of games.
It was the return of former Rutgers standout Kiyomi McMiller, who transferred to PSU in the offseason, and she celebrated by matching her career-high with 37 points, her fifth straight game reaching 30 points.
She also had eight assists, five steals, four rebounds, and two blocks, while redshirt junior Gracie Merkle had 26 points, shooting 10-for-16 from the field. She also had six rebounds and four assists.
The visitors shot 62% from the floor and 70% from deep, while also gaining a 40-30 advantage in the paint.
Rutgers’ Imani Lester scored 17 points, Nene Ndiaye scored 16, Faith Blackstone collected 13 points, Kaylah Ivey totalled 11, and Zachara Perkins had a double-double 15 points and 10 rebounds.
In the final week, Rutgers hosts Indiana, which is also below trying to avoid missing the tourney, Wednesday at 7 p.m. on B1G+ and visits Nebraska Saturday on B1G+ while Penn State hosts Southern Cal Wednesday at 6 p.m. on B1G+ in Rec Hall and then visits Indiana.
Lehigh and Lafayette Gain Patriot League Wins While Navy Sweeps Army
The Mountain Hawks (15-11, 11-4) nailed 13 shots from deep to gain a lopsided 76-61 victory at Boston U (8-18, 5-11), Lehigh’s fifth victory in its last six games.
Lily Fandre had 22 points for the winners, shooting 4-for-6 in the long-range barrage, Alana Reddy had a career-high 18 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the field with 5-of-7 beyond the arc, Belle Bramer was 7-for-9 to score 15 points, and Whitney Lind scored 14.
Coach Addie Micir’s squad sits in fourth place a game behind Holy Cross and Army and three behind preseason favorite Navy.
Lafayette (10-17, 6-10), tied for sixth but holding the sixth seed, won 56-41 at American U. (6-21, 4-12) in Bender Arena in Washington, D.C., as Teresa Kiewiet was 9-for-15, scoring 26 points.
Preseason favorite Navy (19-7, 14-2) rallied from a nine-point deficit at second-place Army (21-6, 12-4), to take a narrow 54-51 victory on the road in West Point to clinch the top seed in next month’s tournament, allowing the Mids home court throughout the event if they advance.
Army is under first-year coach Katie Kuester, a former Saint Joseph’s star and assistant to longtime veteran Cindy Griffin, in her 25th year coaching the Hawks.
Navy gained a sweep of the series, which had both games on national television on CBSSN.
Zoe Mesuch scored 14 points, 11 in the second half, for the visitors, while Julianna Almeida had 12 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
“That was a heck of a fight and one heck of a college game,” said Navy coach Tim Taylor. “Clinching the one seed and home court advantage is exciting.”
Army’s Reese Ericson scored 13 points, and shot 4-for-7 from deep, Camryn Tade scored 11 with six assists, and Brooke Wilson scored 10 points.
Holy Cross (18-9, 12-4) won easily at home 63-41 over Bucknell (10-17, 6-10) as Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly had 14 points, Meg Cahalan, scored 13, Simone Foreman scored 12, and senior Kaitlyn Flanagan of Plymouth-Whitemarsh High and Plymouth Meeting, who scored her 1,000th point in her previous game on Wednesday, added 12 points with six assists and three steals.
On Saturday, Lafayette is at Army at 1 p.m., Lehigh is at Bucknell at 2 p.m., and Navy is at Colgate at 2 p.m., all on ESPN+.
Rider and Delaware Suffer Losses
The Broncs’ two-game win streak ended and returning to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tourney next month in Atlantic City after Rider (7-20, 5-13) being eliminated beforehand last season in the new format became more difficult after the 56-52 setback at Niagara (1-26, 1-17), which got its first overall triumph this season.
Alena Cofield was the only player in double digits for the visitors, scoring 14 points.
Next is a home game Thursday on Senior Day at Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J., hosting Siena.
Elsewhere in the MAAC, the 1-2 punch at the top of the standings continued after two-time defending champion Fairfield and Quinnipiac, who played in the title game last year, won on each other’s court, continued to dominate the rest of the conference.
In Conference USA as Delaware continued in its inaugural season in the conference, the Flighting Blue Hens (12-15, 6-9) fell 83-57 at Missouri State (16-11, 8-6), dropping both games on the current road trip.
Lay Fantroy scored 18 points, while Jiya Perry had eight points and five boards.
The visitors next are home Thursday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+) in the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, hosting Western Kentucky.
Looking Ahead Locally
Besides the La Salle road game at Richmond, Sunday, three other locals play, Villanova, looking to bounce back from Wednesday’s Big East loss to No. 1 Connecticut at home, remain in Finneran Pavilion, also saluting its departing seniors, as the Wildcats host Marquette at 3:30 p.m. on Peacock looking to avenge one of its only conference setbacks outside of the Huskies.
Temple, which moved the home game from 2 p.m. to 1 p.m. because of impending weather conditions, hosts Memphis on ESPN+ in the Liacouras Center.
Drexel looks to complete a weekend road trip sweep in the Coastal Athletic Association visiting William & Mary at noon on FloCollege in Williamsburg, Va., another move up of an hour due to impending weather forecasts.
There are no local games scheduled Monday and Tuesday and very few overall.
The National Scene
There were just three ranked games, all in the Big 12, Saturday, and one was an upset as host Colorado (19-8, 10-5) at home in Boulder, won its fifth straight, and 8 out of the last 9, beating No. 20 Texas Tech 75-68 as Desiree Wooten had 19 points and five assists against the Raiders (24-5, 11-5).
Zyanna Walker scored 14 points, Anaelle Dutat had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Logyn Greer scored 12 points.
Texas Tech was led by Jalynn Bristow with 18 points and four blocks, while Snudda Collins had 13 points and Bailey Maupin collected 12.
The Buffs had 27 points out of 17 turnovers committed by the visitors.
On Tuesday, Colorado hosts Utah, while on Wednesday Texas Tech visits Kansas.
In Morgantown, No. 19 West Virginia (22-6, 12-4) at home romped 72-40 over Oklahoma State (21-8, 10-6) as Gia Cooke scored 21 points for the Mountaineers, while Kierra Wheeler had 18 points and 10 boards.
Stailee Heard scored 13 for the Cowgirls.
On Wednesday, West Virginia is at UCF in Florida while Oklahoma State visits Iowa State in Ames.
No. 15 Baylor (23-6, 12-4) at home in Waco, Texas, got 22 points from Taliah Scott, who was a perfect 11-for-11 on the line, while reserve Marcayla Johnson added 12 points in a 74-60 win over Arizona (11-16, 2-15).
The Wildcats got 11 points each from Noelani Cornfield and Daniah Trammell while Molly Ladwig added 10.
On Monday Baylor hosts Kansas State while on Tuesday Arizona hosts Houston.
On Sunday, the game drawing much attention because of the current tailspin of No. 21 Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference is the Lady Vols, on a 2-6 slide, visiting No. 11 Oklahoma at 2 p.m. on ESPN.
It’s the first of a three-game regular season finish for the visitors, who then meet No. 7 LSU also on the road and host No. 5 Vanderbilt, which Sunday hosts No. 16 Kentucky at 4 p.m. on ESPN2 in Nashville.
Elsewhere Sunday in the SEC, Dawn Staley’s No. 3 South Carolina squad hosts No. 17 Ole Miss at noon on ESPN, No. 25 Alabama at noon visits Florida on the SEC Network; No. 4 Texas hosts Mississippi State at 2 p.m. in Austin on the SEC Network; and No. 7 LSY hosts Missouri at 4 p.m. in another SEC Network broadcast.
In the ACC, No. 22 North Carolina hosts Pitt at noon on the conference network; No. 8 Louisville hosts Virginia at noon on the CW Network; No. 9 Duke on a 17-game win streak visits Clemson at 2 p.m. on ESPN2, while Notre Dame is in Dallas visiting SMU at 6 p.m. on the ACC Network, Florida State hosts Stanford at 2 p.m., also on the ACCN; and Syracuse is at N.C. State at 2 p.m. on the CW Network.
No. 1 and unbeaten Connecticut, the defending NCAA champion, hosts Providence at Gampel Pavilion after clinching the top seed in next month’s Big East tournament Wednesday by beating Villanova.
In the Big Ten, No. 2 UCLA on Sunday can clinch the top seed in next month’s tournament by beating visiting Wisconsin at 5:30 p.m. on Peacock; No. 14 Maryland hosts Purdue at 1 p.m. on B1G+, No. 13 Iowa hosts No. 6 Michigan at noon on FOX; No. 10 Ohio State hosts Southern Cal at 2 p.m. on FS1; and No. 23 Minnesota hosts No. 18 Michigan State.
In the Big 12, No. 12 TCU hosts Iowa State at 4 p.m. on ESPN.
posted by Mel Greenberg | 2:48 AM
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