Women’s City Six Notebook: Third scorer emerging on offense just in time for Villanova

Villanova and Penn’s Big 5 matchup was one of the biggest games headlining last week’s action. The freshman stars, Penn’s Kayla Padilla and Villanova’s Madison Siegrist, played as expected and combined for 50 points. It was the surprising performance of senior forward Bridget Herlihy that propelled the Wildcats to victory.

In this women’s college basketball notebook, we’ll look at the biggest performances and recap the week of each of the City 6 schools.

If you didn’t know any better and someone told you Villanova went 2-0 last week, you might have assumed Siegrist and Mary Gedaka dominated the games and led the team in scoring. Well, that was partly true. Those two played well, but it was Herlihy’s performance that sparked the Wildcats’ wins. She scored 13 in the 70-58 win over Penn and tied Gedaka for team-high with 17 points against Georgetown in a 74-53 victory. She now is averaging 7.6 points per game.

“It was really nice to have other people score and see Mary and [Madison] score when we need them to,” coach Harry Perretta said. “Bridget’s gaining more confidence. She’s doing a lot of different things and scoring inside and outside.”

Junior guard Cameron Onken also scored 13 against Georgetown, after a 12-rebound effort against Penn. The Wildcats (11-7, 5-2 Big East) have won five of their last six, but two road tests are up next: DePaul (Friday) and Marquette (Sunday).

Drexel has been winning, but it has been living on the edge. The Dragons (11-6, 4-1 Colonial Athletic Association) saw Delaware erase a 12-point third-quarter lead, but they won in overtime, 63-59. Bailey Greenberg went 10-for-18 and scored 26 points. No other Dragon reached double figures.

“Bailey got a look in the first quarter that she typically wants and missed it, and she just gave a look. The switch went on and she was ready to go,” coach Denise Dillon said. “I think she did a really nice job of looking for the ball around the basket instead of floating around the perimeter and settling for shots.”

The Dragons have won four straight overall and seven consecutive home games. They are 3-4 away from the DAC. They’ll be tested with games at Elon and William & Mary on Friday and Sunday.

“I feel that the sense of urgency and focus is there a little bit more with those home games,” Dillon said. “We’re hoping that carries over to the road trip.”

When freshman guard Claire Jacobs rang up 29 points against UMass, you knew good fortune would eventually find the Explorers. La Salle lost that game (76-62) to extend its losing streak to 10 games, but that’s over now.

On Sunday, the Explorers defeated St. Bonaventure 67-61. Jacobs scored 16 and Kayla Spruill added 15 to lead the way. It’s a sign of promising things ahead for the Explorers (7-11, 1-4 Atlantic 10), who play at Richmond on Thursday and host St. Joseph’s on Sunday.

“It was a mixture of joy and relief. There’s was a lot of exhale after picking up that win,” coach Mountain MacGillivray said.

Shalina Miller tied the school’s all-time block record against UMass. Miller’s playing time has fluctuated based on how the Explorers match up with opponents. MacGillivray is playing Spruill at center in order to spark the offense, but he will turn to Miller when the Explorers face bigger opponents.

“We’ve shown flashes in practice where we have been really hard to guard, so we’re looking forward to continuing to grow that aspect of the game,” MacGillivray said.

When Lula Roig knocked down a jumper with 38 seconds left to give St. Joseph’s a one-point lead over Rhode Island last Wednesday, it looked like the Hawks were poised to post a home conference win. A foul, a couple of missed shots, and a turnover later, the Hawks had lost, 49-47.

“Unfortunately these games are won in the last two minutes. We got some good looks, the ball just didn’t go in the basket,” coach Cindy Griffin said.

Three days later, St. Joe’s lost to Duquesne, 58-51. The Hawks (7-10, 1-4 A-10) have dropped four straight games. Two keys to ending the losing streak are Katie Jekot’s scoring and Gabby Smalls staying out of foul trouble. Smalls has scored in double figures in her last five games when playing more than 20 minutes. The Hawks play at St. Bonaventure on Wednesday and La Salle on Sunday.

“The shots are going to fall some days, some days they’re not," Griffin said, "but you can always depend on your defense and rebounding.”

Penn’s fast start has come to a screeching halt of late. The Quakers have lost their last two games to Princeton (75-55) and Villanova (70-58) after starting 10-1. Padilla has continued to light up opposing defenses, but she is the only bright spot for Penn’s offense right now. Padilla scored 23 against the Wildcats, but Eleah Parker (10) was the only other Quaker in double figures. Parker and Phoebe Sterba are both capable of helping Padilla and getting Penn back into the win column. The Quakers (10-3, 0-1 Ivy League) visit Temple on Thursday.

Temple (11-7, 4-2 A-10) extended its win streak to five games against South Florida (69-66) but saw it snapped Sunday at Wichita State, 72-70. The Owls’ field goal percentage dip from 43.3% in the first half to 34.6% in the second against the Shockers. Mia Davis’ seven-game double-double streak ended against USF, but she started a new one against Wichita State with 25 points and 15 rebounds to earn second straight Big 5 Player of the Week honor. After the Penn game Thursday, the Owls play at Cincinnati on Sunday.