Villanova Coach Jay Wright

“We have a couple of ways to look at this,” said Villanova Coach Jay Wright.  “We are going to learn from this and get better.  There will be a point where this is something we draw upon, but right now there is no question ut is tough on our guys.  We are battling.  In end of game situations we are doing good things.  That’s twice now we get a stop and score a basket.  We have defensive miscues and turnovers too, but I think we are going to learn from this.  This is a process from an inexperienced team.  It is honestly painful, but it is what sports are all about.”"

Villanova started quickly racing out to the early lead.  The Wildcats did so behind a 22 – 4 run in the early minutes of the half.  Six Villanova players scored in the run as they led 26 – 8  with 8:22 to play in the half.  But Villanova gave up this lead in this game as well, this time quicker.  Connecticut guard Jeremy Lamb began to find the range.  He scored 11 of the next 15 Connecticut points to cut the lead to 30 -23.  UConn got the next seven and the team went into halftime tied at 30.

The second half was tightly contested.  UConn grabbed a seven point lead with 6:28 to play at 54 – 47 behind 12 second half points by guard Jeremy Lamb.  He would lead all scorers in this game getting a career-high 32 points.  Villanova began their charge.  The Wildcats held UConn to just six more points in the game.  Getting the ball moving to the basket Villanova went on a 13 – 4 run taking a 60 -58 lead when Junior Center Mouphtaou Yarou sank two free throws at the 2:18 mark.  UConn guard Ryan Boatright had an opportunity to give his team a late lead, but missed two free throws with 1:05 remaining in the game.  With31.9 seconds to play Junior guard Dominic Cheek had a bad inbounds pass stolen by UConn forward Roscoe Smith.

“As the leader of the team, I take responsiblity for the that loss,” Cheek said.  “I should have called timeout.  I wasn’t thinking at the time.”

After Lamb missed a potential game-winning three forward Alex Oriaki rebounded the ball and made the regulation time tying layup.  Villanova had one more chance, but Freshman forward JayVaughn Pinkston missed a 16 foot jumper.  It was the second  overtime game in two days for The Wildcats.

The overtime period saw UConn serve a steady diet of Lamb.  He scored the first 10 points for the Huskies, and his two free throws gave his team a 3 point edge at 69 – 66 with just 22.1 seconds remaining.  Villanova again showed heart.  Freshman guard Ty Johnson got the ball to the basket and got credit for the hoop due to a goaltend by center Andre Drummond that cut the deficit to one point.  On the ensuing possession Lamb had two free throws.  He missed the second, and Villanova had a chance with 10.9 seconds to play.  Johnson streaked down the court making a two-footer with 5.9 on the clock.  UConn inbounded the ball to Napier who got off the deep three to win it.  Napier played limited minutes due to a foot injury,

“He is really good when he feels it,” said Connecticut Associate Coach George Blaney.  “When  he is on , he can pull up from anyplace.”

Cheek led Villanova in scoring with 23 points .  Johnson added 14 points and 6 assists.  Pinkston scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds, 9 after halftime.  Yarou had 11 points and 6 rebounds.  The Wildcats are 11 – 16 on the season, 4 – 11 in conference, and came into the game tied for 11th in the Big East.   The

Lamb in addition to his 32 points got 5 rebounds.  He was the only double-figure scorer for the Huskies.

“Jeremy Lamb is a great player and I respect his game,” said Cheek who drew Lamb as a defensive assignment during the game.  “Defense is something that I need to continue to working on.”

The streak of gut wrenching losses continues for Villanova.  They have no choice but to battle and keep their confidence.

“You just have to look at the positive situations in those tight games,” Wright said.  “For instance, in the Notre Dame game they had the ball and tried to run a play and couldn’t, so they called timeout.  They couldn’t get a shot off and we got a stop and came down and scored.  It is the same end of game situation, but you have to do that one or two possessions more and not look at the results.  The results hit you right now, so everybody is hurting.  There is no sense when we look at this tomorrow in reliving the hurt, it is just what we can learn from it.”

Boxscore

Written By: Glenn Papazian

Elena Delle Donne

“This is something you need to capitalize on earlier,” said Drexel Coach Denise Dillon about the game changing end.  “I told the team (Drexel) they did everything possible on the defensive end, and never rewarded themselves on the offensive end.  That was a tough one.  We got some looks on offense and usually make them.  I am not basing this loss off the last couple of minutes.  We knew Delle Donne was going to get the ball to take the last shot.  You hope to take care of business when you needed to, and we didn’t.”

Drexel got off to a terrible start offensively.  They trailed 20 – 11 at halftime masking only 4 of 23 field goal attempts (17.4%) and just 1 of 12 three-point shots.  Delaware did not fare much better making 8 of 27 (29.6%) and 2 of 6 from beyond the arc.  Delle Donne was 2 - 10 at that point.  It was clear that defense and toughness would decide the game.

In the second half the tempo picked up for Drexel as they made 11 of 24 shots (45.8%) and held Delaware to 6 of 30.  Drexel kept grinding away until finally taking a 34 – 32 lead on a traditional three-point play by Mershon.  Delle Donne made a three to allow the Blue Hens to regain the lead.  Mershon responded with a three as Drexel went ahead 37 – 35 with 3:14 on the clock.  Mershon broke the tie at 37 setting up the end of the game.

Delle Donne was fouled with 25.7 seconds to play.  She made the first, but missed the second.  Drexel held a 39 – 38 edge.   Delaware was forced to foul.  Drexel Senior forward Kamile Nacickaite went to the foul line with a one and one at the 18.4 second mark.  The shot was no good.  Delaware called timeout to set up the their final offensive possession.

“Coach Martin drew up the play,” said Delle Donne.  “We knew it was going to me.  I ended up getting the ball, the clock was running down, and I did a ball fake and a step back to try and get myself open somehow.  I threw it up there, and it went in.”

“We had ample opportunities, many opportunities, but didn’t take advantage of them,” said Dillon.  “We did all we could to take the lead, then fell asleep one possession.

Senior forward Tyler Hale led Drexel with 10 points,  Nacickaite scored 6 points and pulled down 9 rebounds.  Mershon had 8 points and 6 assists.  All of her points were scored in the last 4:05 of the game.  Drexel made 15 of 47 shots (31.9%) and 3 of 20 from distance.

Delle Donne scored 12 points for Delaware making 4 of 19 shots, but she did make the most important field goal for the Blue Hens.  Delle Donne also took down a game-high 14 rebounds. Forward Danielle Parker also scored 12 points.  Delaware out-rebounded Drexel 43 – 36, 22 – 12 on the offensive boards.

Delaware keeps its perfect record in the CAA as they improve to 15 – 0.  The Blue Hens clinched the top seed in the CAA Tournament.  Their 25 – 1 record is the best in program history.

“Nothing was going our way or my way, but we pulled it out,” said Delle Donne.  “Good teams do that, and this is definitely our gut check of the season so far.  I’m thrilled to get the win.

Drexel Coach Denise Dillon

Drexel is 9 – 6 in conference.  They hang on to the fourth place in the CAA.  Drexel takes on William and Mary on February 23.  It will be a test of the resiliency of the Drexel team.

“We have no choice,” said Dillon.  “I told the team where we are in the standings, and that we want to get the bye.  We have a lot of season ahead in order to take advantage of the opportunity with the bye and that starts on Thursday night.”

Boxscore

Written By: Glenn Papazian

Villanova Battles For A Rebound

“It was a tough loss and a game you wish you never had to experience,” said Villanova Coach Jay Wright.  “Notre Dame made every big shot down the stretch and we missed every big shot.  We got good shots, we just missed them.  The did a great job pressuring.   I think that got the game close.  We had the shots to win a close game.  If you are a real good team you win that game by 16 or 18.  If you are a struggling team that can make plays at the end then you can win it, but we couldn’t make the shots.  They did and I have to give them credit.  They executed better than us down the stretch.”

In the first half Villanova trailed by 10 – 5 with 16:15 to play in the half.  The Wildcats went on 28 – 5 run over the next 12 minutes to take a commanding 33 – 15 lead.  During that stretch Villanova held Notre Dame scoreless for over 6 minutes, then gave up just 3 points over the next 7 minutes.  Meanwhile the Wildcats worked the ball to Redshirt Freshman forward JayVaughn Pinkston who scored 10 points in the run.  Junior guard Dominic Cheek got openings on the outside and converted two three-pointers and a layup.  The Wildcats lead grew to as many as 20 points.

The tide turned in the second half.  Villanova kept a double-digit lead for the first nine minutes of the half, and held a 54 – 44 lead with 5:45 to play.  Notre Dame turned up the defensive intensity and began to get to the basket.  The Irish went on a 13 – 2 run to get a 57 – 56 lead on a three-point play by guard Eric Atkins.  Forward Mouphtaou Yarou missed a tip that Notre Dame rebounded and moved down the court hitting a 24 foot three-point shot by guard Jerian Grant to take a 60 – 56 lead with 59.9 seconds to play.  Cheek was fouled with 47.8 seconds on the clock.  He converted both to bring Villanova within a possession.  The Wildcats turned up the defense.  As the shot clock wound down on Notre Dame, Grant put up a long three with 2 seconds on the shot clock.  Pinkston corralled the rebound then after a timeout Villanova set up for the last possession.  Freshman guard Ty Johnson took a 8 foot jumper that missed with 2.8 seconds left.  There was a scramble for the rebound that Junior forward Maurice Sutton got and make the follow-up with .9 seconds sending the game into overtime.

“We go out and play,” said Sutton.  “That’s the bottom line.  We go out and try to play Villanova basketball.  We try to play harder than each team.  We don’t look at records; we just look at the next team.”

In overtime the game kept its back and forth nature.  The game was tied at 65.  Notre Dame got a three-pointer from Grant and followed that with  shot from beyond the arc by forward Patrick Connaughton.  Center Jack Cooley made two free throws to complete an 8 – 0 run and gave the Irish control of the game.

“The second half we did a better job rebounding the basketball and keeping them to one and done situations,” said Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey about how his team turned the tide.  “They crushed us on the offensive boards early.  We had a little bit of a look we had at Louisville and West Virginia where we were coming back.  I used that as a reference point. I said let’s play fearlessly with nothing to lose.  We made big shots.  I’m really proud of our group.  After they beat Syracuse I talked to them about striving to be special.  I told them tonight, I think we are special.  I really do.  It was a great win for a group that believes in itself.”

Villanova played with great effort.  It showed on the rebounding chart as the Wildcats had 47 rebounds, 16 offensive, to 37 for the Irish.  It was the shooting percentage and turnovers which turned the game in the direction of Notre Dame.  Villanova made 5 – 21 (23.8%) in the second half compared to 12 -33 (36.4%) for the visitors.  From the three-point line in the half Notre Dame was 6 – 15 (40%) to 1 – 6 (16.7%) for Villanova.  The  Wildcats turned the ball over 12 times leading to 17 Irish points.  Notre Dame had 7 turnovers that led to 5 Villanova points.  The Irish made the Wildcats pay for their miscues.

“It was just the little things, the little things on defense.” said Pinkston about the difference in the game.  “We have to rotate better.  It was just basically the little things, on offense and defense.”

Pinkston led all scorers with 24 points.  Cheek added 19 and Sutton scored 12.  Pinkston took down 10 rebounds and Yarou had a team-high 11 boards.  Johnson distributed 7 assists.

Connaughton 21 points to lead his team.  Cooley scored 18 points and had a game-high 13 rebounds.  Atkins scored 17 points and had 5 assists while Grant had 10 points and 9 assists.  For the game Notre Dame had 20 assists on their 25 field goals.

Notre Dame is now on an 8 game winning streak and have a 19 – 8 records, 11 – 3 in conference.  The Irish prepare for a home contest against West Virginia.

Villanova drops to 11 – 15, 4 – 10 in the Big East.  The Wildcats are tied for 14th place in conference 2 games out of the Big East basement.  They entertain Connecticut on Monday.

Villanova showed heart in this game.  The Wildcats also gave us a glimpse of the future as a very young squad played the Irish eye to eye into overtime.  It’s a learning experience.

“We’re paying our dues,” Wright said.

Boxscore

Written By:  Glenn Papazian

“I thought we contained then for a while, then the problem was we couldn’t contain them off the dribble and stop them from getting to the hoop,” said Villanova Coach Harry Perretta.

Laura Sweeny Led Villanova With 19 Points

For Villanova to win the game, they would have to establish the tempo and make three-point shots.  Villanova had an offensive rhythm early.  The Wildcats held the lead early, and led 16 – 14 on a three ball by Sophomore guard Devon Kane with 6:58 on the clock.  Rutgers turned up the defensive pressure.  The Scarlet Knights began to get to the basket leading 30 – 25 at halftime.  The trend continued in the second half as Rutgers moved in front 44 – 32 with 12:06 to play.  Villanova got to within 5, but could not sustain a run to stay in contention.

Rutgers was causing turnovers.  Villanova committed 12, but it was not the number that was the problem, it was the points off turnovers that hurt Villanova.  Rutgers got 19 points off Villanova turnovers.  The Wildcats got only 10 off 13 Rutgers miscues.  The Scarlet Knights made the Wildcats pay for their mistakes.

“It disrupts us,” Perretta said of the Rutgers defensive pressure.  “It throws us off our kilter.  You can’t run your offense as well because they disrupted us getting into the passing lanes.”

Rutgers got into the open floor and was able to get to the basket off dribble-drives.  The points in the paint advantage was 28 – 18 for Rutgers.  The Scarlet Knights attempted 48 shots in the game, only 8 three-pointers.  The third piece of the puzzle for Rutgers was to limit the three-point shooting of Villanova.  They did as the Wildcats made only 6 of 31 from beyond the arc. The athleticism of the Rutgers players forced Villanova to rush many of the three-point shots.

“For us to win we had to make a minimum of 10 threes,” said Perretta.  “Our rule was to get as many threes up as possible.  We put up 31 but you have to make at least 10 to be able to win the game.”

Sweeney did have her offensive game going making 6 of 9 from the floor and 7 of 9 free throws for her 19 points.  Sweeney also had a team-high 6 rebounds.  Junior guard Rachel Roberts scored 9 points.  Junior forward Megan Pearson contributed 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Rutgers had three double-digit scorers as forward April Sykes had a game-high 20 points and 7 rebounds.  Guards Erica Wheeler and Khadijah Rushdan scored 16 and 13, and each player had 4 rebounds.

With the win Rutgers snaps a 5 game losing streak.  The Knights return home to play Seton Hall as they retain an eighth place standings in the conference.  Villanova is 15 – 12 on the year, 5 – 9 in the Big East.  The Wildcats came into the game tied for tenth place.  With the loss Villanova has lost four in a row, and have  yet to defeat a top eight team in the Big East.

Rutgers Coah Vivian Stringer

The game featured a clash of the two of the most tenured coached in the country.  Perretta has coached in the Big East Conference longer than any basketball coach in the league.  Rutgers Coach Vivian Stringer is in her 17th year at Rutgers and 41st overall as a collegiate head coach.  Stringer is a successful coach who had made the Final Four with three different schools.  She began her head coaching career at Cheyney making the Final Four in 1982.  Stringer moved to Iowa getting to the Final Four in 1993.  Her Rutgers teams played in the Final Four in 2000 and 2007, the season in which  Rutgers played in the national championship game.  Her teams shared the court at Cheyney with the men who were coached by John Chaney.  The both Stringer and Chaney are enshrined members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

“I have the utmost respect for Harry,” said Stringer.  “I have major headaches coming here, but I’m glad we came out as far as we did (on defense).  Otherwise Harry would have had them shooting from out there all day.  We went with the people who would get out there and make things happen.”

Boxscore

Written By: Glenn Papazian

Jaymie Tabor - Courtesy of Temple University

“We were happy that Oregon was willing to come east and play us,” said Temple Coach Bonnie Rosen.  “They’re a top team from the west coast and we haven’t had the chance to play them in awhile.  They will do well in their conference.  Not only having the chance to play them, which is the first step, to come away with a strong win builds our reputation.  But this is one game, and we take it one game at a time.”

The contest was close throughout.  Temple started quickly taking a 4 – 1 lead with 13:05 to play in the first half.  Oregon showed this would be a close contest as they scored the next three as the teams entered halftime tied at 4.  The Ducks scored the next goal to get a 5 – 4 lead.  Each team would get back to back tallies giving Oregon a 7 – 6 lead at the 20:54 mark.  Tabor got her first of the game to tie the match a 7 with 19:56 to play.  The teams alternated scoring until the 13:12 mark when the Owls scored three consecutive goals, two by Tabor to move in front 11 – 9 with 10:46 on the clock.  Oregon got to within one on a goal by Midfielder Shannon Propst with 5:51 remaining.  Temple took control of the game by consecutive goals by Tabor, and keeping Oregon out of the goal until there was 1:41 to play.

“We wanted a comfort zone especially when the clock is running down,” said Tabor.

The contest was offensive, but when it mattered at the end the Owls won it with defense.

Temple Coach Bonnie Rosen

“I was thrilled with our defense,” said Rosen.  “There was a lot of working things out in this game, but we really stepped up to do that.”

In addition to Tabor the Owls got two goals from Senior Midfielder Kelsey Zenuk, Senior Midfielder Stephanie Markunas, and Senior Midfielder Jackie Mercer.  Sophomore Midfielder Kelly Syphard and Junior Midfielder Kellee Pace each scored one goal.  Senior Goal Keeper Tess Bishop got the win giving up 12 goals and turning away 9 Oregon shots.

Jess Drummond led Oregon with 4 goals, and her sister, Jana Drummond scored 2.  Midfielder Shannon Propst tallied 3 goals.

Most of the Oregon roster is made up of players from the Eastern part of the country.  The trip to Philadelphia is a homecoming for Midfielder Erika McCool from Moorestown High School in Moorestown, NJ., and Berwyn native Callie Wagner from Conestoga High School.  McCool registered a Ground Ball and a Caused Turnover.  The Ducks remain in Philadelphia to play La Salle on February 19.

Temple prepares for another high-profile match against Rutgers on February 22.

“We were really excited, and it started off our season right,” said Tabor.  “Hopefully we will continue next week against Rutgers.  On to another one.”

Boxscore

Written By: Glenn Papazian

“As much as I like them, I don’t want to rely on his heroics to win basketball games,” said Allen.  “Sometimes, we put ourselves in a position where we have to work extremely hard to get the results that we want.”

Zack Rosen - Courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania

The Quakers had a 35 – 29 lead at halftime.  Cartwright was steering as he scored 14 first half points.  Penn lost control of the wheel as Cornell limited the Penn offense and tied the score at 42 with 14:48 to play.  A 7 – 1 run gave the Big Red a 49 – 43 advantage at the 12:35 mark.  That is when the Penn leaders rose to the occasion.  Senior guard Zack Rosen found Sophomore forward Fran Dougherty underneath for a layup.  Rosen made a jumper.  On the next possession Senior guard Tyler Bernardini buried a deep three to give Penn a 52 – 49 lead at the 8:55 mark.

Still Cornell would not go away.  The Big Red put together a 10 – 3 run to move in front 59 – 55 with 4:33 to play.  Again, the Penn answered with Rosen leading the way hitting a long distance three.  On the following possession Rosen came up with a steal and was fouled attempting a layup.  Two made free throws later Penn led 60 – 59.

“Our backs were against the wall,” said Rosen.  “We were down 4 and we had to get in there and grind it out.  “We made two hustle plays.  That was a big swing for us.  We made plays down the stretch, but we put ourselves in a position that we don’t need to put ourselves in.  Hopefully, we can correct that.”

After guard Chris Wroblewski made a shot from beyond the arc, Rosen drained another deep three to give the Red and Blue a 63 – 62 lead with 2:47 to play.  After a Penn timeout Rosen got the ball again and was right on the mark with a three giving Penn space at 66 – 62 with 1:13 on the clock.  Wroblewski canned two more free throws Rosen found Cartwright in the right corner, and his three put the Red and Blue ahead by 69 – 64 with 29 seconds to play.

“We look to him (Rosen) and know what he can do in late game situations, and make plays for us.” said Cartwright.

Rosen scored 13 of Penn’s last 21 points.  Cartwright had 8, and Rosen assisted on his two three-pointers.  In addition to his game-high 25 points Rosen dished out 6 assists, took down 5 rebounds, and had 3 steals.  Senior guard Tyler Bernardini scored 9 points, and Senior forward Rob Belcore had 6 rebounds.

Guard Drew Ferry led Cornell with 17 points and 6 rebounds.  Also in double figures were guard Johnathan Gray scored 15 points, had 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, while guard Chris Wroblewski put in 14 points.

Penn improves to 14 – 11 and is 6 – 2 in the Ivy League.  The Red and Blue prepare for Columbia in the Saturday portion of this Ivy weekend.  Cornell is 5 – 4 in the league, 10 – 13 this season.

“We played well, we just got beat by Zack Rosen and Miles Cartwright,” Cornell Coach Bill Courtney said.

Boxscore

Written By: Glenn Papazian

“To come out and give the first punch in both halves sets the tone,” said Saint Joseph’s Coach Cindy Griffin.  “I think we did that.  We made shots and got some stops.”

Kelly Cavallo with a team-high 14 points - Courtesy of Saint Joseph's University

At the beginning of the game Saint Joseph’s went in front 21 – 4.  In that first half of play Saint Joseph’s shot 13 – 30 (43.3%). The Hawks moved the ball effectively getting the ball inside for 18 points in the paint.  They were credited with 8 assists on their 13 baskets.  The unselfish play was best exhibited by a fast break sequence that was started with a block by Senior forward Kelly Cavallo who threw an outlet pass to Sophomore guard Erin Shields.  Shields took the ball down the middle finding Senior guard Katie Kuester in the left corner.  Kuester saw Cavallo streaking down the middle, hitting her with a perfect pass for a layup.

On the defensive end Saint Joseph’s held Rhode Island to 8 – 26 (30.8%) and just 1 – 6 from beyond the arc.  The Rams were held to just two field goals in the first eight and a half minutes of the game.  The Hawks blocked 5 shots, 3 by Cavallo who takes the defensive end seriously.

“That’s something I take pride in all of the time,” said Cavallo.  “That is something I can do all of the time.”

I love it when we play well on defense,” Senior guard Michelle Baker said.  “I feel like every time we talk and work together as one when we play good defense.”

Starting the second half Saint Joseph’s pulled away to a 20 point lead in the first six and a half minutes.  The game took an offensive tone as each team began matching basket for basket.  Rhode Island began to score, but never put a run together to get close.  The eleven point deficit at the end of the game was as close as the Rams were able to get in the second half.

“Even though they were scoring on us, we got it going back,” said Baker.  “I don’t like getting scored on but it was nice we were scoring too.”

The Hawks had 3 scorers in double figures.  Cavallo led the team with 14 points adding 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.  Baker scored 12 points and dished out 4 assists.  Junior guard Ashley Prim scored 10 points and had 4 assists.  Saint Joseph’s made 26 – 57 from the floor (45.6%).  The Hawks dished out 18 assists on their 26 baskets, seven players were credited with assists.  The Crimson and Gray were only 4 of 17 from distance, but they were able to rely on getting points on the inside, 26 in close.

“You can’t live or die by the three,” said Griffin.  “We don’t.  We have the ability to go inside, and that’s something we want to exploit every time we are on the floor.  Be hard to guard.”

Rhode Island forward Emilie Cloutier scored a game-high 17 points.  Guards Ashley Rivera and Sherrie Session each scored 14 points.  As a team the Rams made 20 of 50 shots (40%).  Rhode Island committed 15 turnovers in the contest.

Saint Joseph’s improves to 17 – 8 for the season, and are 7 – 4 in Atlantic 1o play.  The Hawks move on to play at Charlotte.  They do so coming off a team win.

Boxscore

Written By:  Glenn Papazian

RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Steven Graziano - Courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania

This past weekend, he went 2-0, and clinched a pair of duals for the Quakers inside the EIWA. The big win was on Saturday, erasing a Penn deficit heading into the last match in grand style to earn Graziano EIWA Wrestler of the Week honors.

Ramone Moore - Big Five and Atlantic 10 Player of the Week

La Salle 17 – 9, 6 – 5 – Tied for 6th Place in the Atlantic 10

It was a tough week for the Explorers as the team lost at Richmond 78 – 76 and at home vs. St. Louis 59 – 51.  La Salle has lost three straight.  Richmond guard Derrick Williams got a put back with 5.8 seconds to play to give the Spiders the win in a close game.  Six points were the largest lead by either team in the last six minutes of the game.  Guard Tyreek Duren led La Salle with 17 points, guard Sam Mills added 16 points.  The loss to St. Louis snapped a 14 game home win streak for La Salle.  20 turnovers proved to be the undoing for the Explorers.  Forward Jerrell Wright scored 18 points as the top La Salle scorer.

Next Week: 2/18 at UMass, 2/22 home vs. Temple in an Atlantic 10 and Big Five game.

Penn 13 – 11, 5 – 2 – 3rd Place in the Ivy League

Penn had a shot to get into a first place tie, but their title hopes took a hit as Harvard came away with a 56 – 50 win at the Palestra.  It was the sixth consecutive win for Harvard over Penn.  Guard Zack Rosen scored 16 points, but had a tough shooting night.  He also scored 16 the following night against Dartmouth, none more important than a three from deep in the right wing as time ran out giving Penn a 58 – 55 win at home.  Guard Tyler Bernardini scored 2 against Harvard, but put up 15 against Dartmouth.

Next Week: 2/17 home vs. Cornell, 2/18 home vs. Columbia

Saint Joseph’s 16 – 10, 6 – 5 – Tied for 6th Place in the Atlantic 10

The Hawks played two home games during the week.  They got a split losing to St. Louis 72 – 60, then beating UMass 73 – 63.  It was a big rebounding week for forward Halil Kanacevic as he took down 10 rebounds against St. Louis and 15 on UMass.  The Hawks got balanced scoring as guard Langston Galloway scored 15 in each game.  Guard Carl Jones had 13 and 17 while forward Ronald Roberts scored 14 in each game.  Saint Joseph’s goes on the road for their next two games.

Next Week: 2/15 at Rhode Island, 2/18 at George Washington

Temple 19 – 5, 8 – 2 – 1st Place in the Atlantic 10

It was a big week for guard Ramone Moore as he was named the Atlantic 10 and Big Five Player of the Week.  Moore scored 25 points against George Washington and 30 against Xavier.  It was the 6th straight game that Moore led the Owls in scoring.  It was a slow start against George Washington, but Temple came on to score a 76 – 72 win.  Guard Khalif Wyatt did not start the game.  He came off the bench to get 22 points.  In the White Out against Xavier the Owls ran out to a large lead early and won 85 – 72 in the battle for first place.  Center Michael Eric pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds.  In the game Temple shot 19 – 31 (61.3%), and made 7 – 11 from beyond the arc (63.6%).

Next Week: 2/15 at St. Bonaventure, 2/18 home vs. Duquesne

Villanova 11 – 13, 4 – 8 – Tied for 11th Place in the Big East

There was one game during the week for Villanova as the Wildcats rallied from 19 points down to beat Providence 74 – 72.  Villanova broke a three game losing streak.  Forward JayVaughn Pinkston scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.  He scored the last 9 Villanova points in the game.  For his efforts Pinkston was named Big East Rookie of the Week.

Next Week; 2/15 at USF, 2/18 home vs. Notre Dame

Drexel 13 – 2, 21 – 5 – 2nd Place in the CAA

Drexel has won 13 straight games as the defeat James Madison on the road, then come home to beat Hofstra 78 – 67.  Forward Samme Givins scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against James Madison for his 5th double-double of the season.  Guard Chris Fouch led the team against Hofstra as he goes over 1,000 career points.

Next Week: 2/14 home vs. William & Mary, 2/18 at Cleveland State in a Bracket Busters game on ESPN.

Ashley Prim - Big Five Player of the Week - Courtesy of Saint Joseph's University

La Salle 12 – 13, 6 – 4 – Tied for 6th Place in the Atlantic 10

In a game at Saint Joseph’s the Explorers out-rebounded the Hawks 51 – 34, but made 18 – 66 field goal attempts (27.3%) and just 1 of 16 three-pointers losing 57 – 53.  Brittany Wilson scored 20 points and Nadia Duncan 11.  At Rhode Island the Explorers closed out the game scoring the last 7 points to win 49 – 45.  Guard Alexis Scott scored 21 points, Brittany Wilson had 11.  Ruvanna Campbell blocked 3 shots giving her the all-time single season freshman record for blocked shots with 36.

Next Week: 2/15 vs. Dayton, 2/18 at Duquesne

Penn 9 – 12, 2 – 5 – 6th Place in the Ivy League

The Red and Blue finally got the close win they have been looking for as they got a career-high 17 points from forward Katy Allen beating Dartmouth 73 – 63 in Hanover, NH.  Allen was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week.  Forward Kara Bonenberger also scored 17 while guard Alyssa Baron added 14.  Guard Renee Busch contributed 11.  The night before at Harvard, the Crimson used a 6 – 0  run to take a 9 point lead with 12:43 to play.  After another 6 – 0 run the Penn trailed by 12 at 60 – 48 with 5:40 to play.  Harvard won the game 66 – 52.

Next Week: 2/17 at Cornell, 2/18 at Columbia

Saint Joseph’s 16 – 8, 6 – 4 – Tied for 6th Place in the Atlantic 10

Ashley Prim scored a career-high 18 points against La Salle in a 57 – 53 victory.  Prim was named Big Five Player of the Week for her effort.  Guard Erin Shields made 2 free throws down the stretch to ice the game for the Hawks.  In a 69  – 50 win at St. Louis guard Michelle Baker.  It was a season best for Baker who made 10 of 16 field goal attempts.  The Saint Joseph’s made 29 of 63 shots (46%) and went 4 – 16 from distance (25%).

Next Week: 2/15 home vs. Rhode Island, 2/18 at Charlotte

Temple 16 – 8, 9 – 1 – 2nd Place in the Atlantic 10

The Owls have won 9 in a row as the Cherry and White come home with a 66 – 50 win over St. Louis, then beat UMAss 77 – 50.  Guard Shey Peddy scored 21 points and had 5 steals and 5 assists in the game at St. Louis.  She scored 12 against UMass.  Forward Victoria Macaulay had 18 points in each game.

Next Week: 2/15 home vs. George Washington, 2/19 at Rhode Island

Villanova 15 – 10, 5 – 7 – Tied for 9th Place in the Big East

The Wildcats dropped both road games during the week.  In the game at De Paul it was the 1,000th game coached by Villanova’s Harry Perretta.  Forward Laura Sweeny scored over 1,000 career points was she posted 22 in the game.  However, De Paul won the game 79 – 73.  The Wildcats travelled to Tampa to meet USF.  Villanova made 15 of 52 shots (28.8%) and 5 of 25 three-pointers  losing 54 – 39.  Forward Lauren Burford led the team with 11 points.

Next Week: 2/14 home vs. Georgetown, 2/18 home vs. Rutgers

Drexel 12 – 11, 8 – 5 – Tied for 4th Place in the CAA

The losing streak at the DAC reached three games as the Dragons dropped a 56 – 51 decision in overtime to James Madison.  Guard Hollie Mershon led Drexel with 17 points.  IN the next outing at William & Mary the Dragons had their best offensive output of the season scoring 78 points to 59 for the Tribe.  Forward Kamile Nacickaite had a game-high 24 points, and forward Tyler Hale scored 17.

Next Week:  2/16 at Old Dominion, 2/19 home vs. nationally ranked Delaware