Women’s City 6: Villanova’s Harry Perretta and Mary Gedaka share special moment

It’s the final two weeks of regular-season basketball for most City 6 women’s programs, and the last week for others. It’s also an emotional time. Seniors are playing their final home games, and Harry Perretta is wrapping up his 42nd and final season as Villanova’s head coach.

We look at the biggest performances and recap the week of each of the City Six women’s programs:

Perretta said it was “like a Disney movie." You couldn’t have written a better script. Villanova (16-11, 10-6 Big East) beat Marquette and DePaul, the top two teams in the Big East. The wins were special because it was Perretta’s final home game after 42 seasons at Villanova. The 76-58 win over DePaul was also Mary Gedaka’s last game in the Pavilion. She scored 17 points in the game and was named the Big East and Big 5 player of the week after averaging 19 points and 5.5 rebounds.

“Everything just doesn’t go right like that very often,” Perretta said. “For me, and for [Gedaka]. I think she’ll remember that for a long time.”

Gedaka’s mother, Lisa Angelotti, played at Villanova from 1984-88 and was an All-Big East performer. Her jersey was retired in 2002. Angelotti is fifth on Villanova’s all-time scoring list, and Gedaka is eighth.

“[Angelotti] was a forward, but she could play more of guard,” Perretta said. “Mary had to develop that more when she was here. Their rebounding was the same. They are both very aggressive.”

Cameron Onken and Bridget Herlihy were among the seniors honored. Herlihy has stepped up and become the third offensive piece who has helped the Wildcats improve. Onken’s performance against DePaul added to the Disney script. Onken finished with 12 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists — the second triple-double in program history.

Shalina Miller’s role usually depends on the opponent. Sometimes, La Salle coach Mountain MacGillivray plays her more against bigger teams. Other times, he opts for a smaller lineup that is better offensively.

That was thrown out of the window at Rhode Island. Miller, a 6-foot-2 senior, had 11 points, 13 rebounds, and seven blocks in a season-high 34 minutes. La Salle (12-15, 6-8 Atlantic 10) defeated Rhode Island, 54-42.

“That was the best game I think she has played since she’s been here,” MacGillivray said. “She’s bought into the idea that she can impact the game defending the paint. She’s really vocal and does a good job of communicating in games.”

Miller is the program’s all-time and single-season leader in blocked shots. As MacGillivray put it, no other La Salle player can say that.

Penn rebounded from its earlier loss to Harvard in convincing fashion and wasted no time with Dartmouth. The Quakers (17-5, 7-2 Ivy) defeated Dartmouth, 67-31, and Harvard, 70-48. It’s safe to say they are playing their best basketball right now.

Eleah Parker had two doubles-doubles and averaged 17 points and 11.5 rebounds in the two wins. Kayla Padilla had her 11th 20-point game this season, scoring 23 vs. Harvard.

Penn is second in the Ivy League behind 23rd-ranked Princeton. The Tigers dominated the first matchup and remain the biggest obstacle in Penn’s path to the NCAA Tournament.

ESPN bracketology is still projecting Drexel to be a 12-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Fifth-seeded Florida State is the projected matchup in the Greenville (S.C.) region.

The Dragons continue to show their flare for the dramatic. Drexel trailed William and Mary by two when Aubree Brown drove to the basket and tied the game with 7.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Drexel (20-6, 13-1 Colonial Athletic Association) dominated overtime in the 84-74 win.

A 66-47 win over Elon increased the winning streak to 13 games. The program record is 16. Road games against James Madison (Friday) and Towson (Sunday) are the next hurdles.

The Hawks (9-17, 3-11 A-10) stopped their six-game losing streak with a 63-54 win at Davidson. Katie Jekot’s 19 points were her most since Dec. 4, when she scored 20 vs. Sacred Heart.

St. Joe’s ended the week by losing, 54-49, to George Mason. That result was important. The Hawks are tied with George Mason for last place. Both teams have two games remaining.

St. Joe’s will host UMass on Wednesday and travel to Fordham on Saturday.

58: Combined points by Mia Davis, Ashley Jones, and Lena Niang for Temple (15-11, 7-6 American Athletic Conference) in its 78-64 win against Memphis.

15: Davis double-doubles this season, after getting 13 points and 13 rebounds in a 56-50 loss at East Carolina.

17: The Owls led by that many points against East Carolina. They were outscored, 23-10, in the fourth quarter.