The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Arizona State (11-0) Tops Last Year’s Win Total With Triumph at Penn State; Army Rolls at Cornell and Columbia Edges Host Seton Hall

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

In the sole local game Tuesday night on an overall light week due to finals Penn State got trounced for the second straight game, this time 74-60, the fork stuck by the Sun Devils from Arizona State (11-0) whose first-year coach Molly Miller from nearby Grand Canyon has quickly surpassed the visitors’ entire win total from the previous 10-win season.

Miller’s success recalls South Carolina coach Dawn Staley’s first year at Temple though Staley had zero coaching experience other than her work as one of the legendary point guards of all time.

The game in the Bryce Jordan Center was no work of art, both teams combining for 66 turnovers.

Gracie Merkle scored 17 points for the Lady Lions (6-3), Rutgers transfer Kiyomi McMiller collected 12 points, and Shayla Smith had a season-high 12 while Shaelyn Steele had five of the home team’s 17 steals and Penn State had a slim 39-35 rebounding advantage.

Gabby Elliott had 27 points for Arizona State and McKinna Brackens had 15 with 11 rebounds for a double double.

Penn State’s next stop won’t be easy visiting No. 3 South Carolina Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Just two local games Wednesday night, Princeton is hosting nearby Rutgers at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+) at Jadwin Gym while Delaware at 7 p.m. (FloCollege) is hosting George Washington at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark.

The National Scene

Two ranked teams went on near identical cruises with No. 13 Baylor (10-1) at home in Waco, Texas, winning 90-36 over Alabama State (2-6) led by Taliah Scott scoring 30 points, shooting 7-11 from the field, including 5-7 from deep, and Jana Van Gytenbeek getting her first triple double with 10 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, while No. 24 Nebraska (10-0) at home in Lincoln handle nearby Omaha (1-9) winning 87-35 led by Callin Hake scoring 17 points.

Army (8-2) under first-year coach and Saint Joseph’s grad Katie Kuester had an easy time at Cornell (4-7) in Ithaca, N.Y., winning 76-52 as Camryn Tade and Reese Ericson each scored 17 points, and Kya Smith grabbed 11 rebounds.

Columbia (7-4) edged host Seton Hall 54-53 dropping the Pirates to 5-3 as Perri Page made a layup before regulation time expired while also leading three Lions in scoring double figures with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

On Wednesday night, No. 10 Iowa State hosts No. 11 Iowa in the women’s Jimmy V Classic at 7 p.m. on ESPN, while No. 7 Maryland hosts Delaware State at 6 p.m. (B1G+), No. 2 Texas is at UT Rio Grande at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+), and No. 22 Louisville hosts Ball State at 9 p.m. on the ACC Network.