Philly Women's Summer League: Maroon and Gold Take Semifinals to Advance To Title Showdown

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

And Bob Heller

HATBORO, Pa. --  Seed-wise it's 1 vs. 2 while off the regular season final standings it will be 1 vs. 1 but the short of it is Maroon, also known as Division II USciences, will go against traditional power Gold Thursday night at 7 p.m. For the 2016 Philadelphia/Suburban NCAA Certified Women's Summer Basketball League championship.

The two grabbed victories in their respective semifinals Tuesday night with Gold turning aside Pink in the second half for an 80-61 triumph while Maroon avenged a regular-season loss to Purple, winning 59-44, on Court 1 at Kelly Bolish Gym, also home of the AAU Renegades, the same court that will be the site of Thursday's showdown.

If any of you get caught in traffic, which happens at times, you technically have an extra 20 minutes, since longtime commissioner David Kessler dresses up this one last game of the summer, using a remote mike to introduce the rosters (listed below the recaps here) and then commence as a public address announcer for the 40-minutes of action.

Meanwhile, Gold, the second seed, had another powerful performance by Saint Joseph's junior Adaisha Franklyn, the daughter of former Temple and Gratz High sensation Marilyn Stephens, who scored 27 points for the win. 

Alex Smith, a 2014 Holy Cross grad out of the Peddie School, added 19 points while third-seeded Pink was led by Emma Dorsheimer, a sophomore at Gettysburg at Jenkintown High, who collected 15 points.

The Pink-Gold game had a rarity in the league with sideline coaches for each team -- Steve Flynn of the AAU Renegades handled the Pink squad while Gold was guided by Keith Woods.

In the opener, Maroon came into the game fresh off news earlier in the day from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association that as USciences in the winter, the Devils placed 13th overall in terms of academic success among Division II Women's Basketball programs.

By the way, in that same ranking, Holy Family, which has several players in the league, placed 23rd.

Micah Morgan, a sophomore out of Caravel High in Delaware, topped Maroon players for No. 1 seed Maroon, with 11 points, the same as Natalie Stella, a Devils junior out of Wilmington Christian.

Saint Joseph's junior Chelsea Woods didn't score 30 or more Tuesday night but still hit the nightly honor roll for fourth-seeded Purple with 20 points.

Woods came into the summer already holding Philadelphia Big Five women's teams most improved honors and scored 30 or more points eight nights, 20 or more on two prior to Tuesdy's action, not hitting those standards on just two nights -- one when she was attending business matters elsewhere and another when Purple gained a 2-0 forfeit and did not play a 40-minute game.

The play of Woods and Franklyn, if carried into this winter when they return to Hawk Hill, indicate it could be a nice season ahead for Saint Joseph's.

Menwhile, Gold and Maroon on Thursday will be meeting for the second time in nine days after Maroon edged Gold 44-43 on the final night of the regular season to force a tie for first with 9-2 records and take the top seed off its slim one-point win.

Maroon has a two-game win streak over Gold, having pulled an upset in last year's semifinals before winning last week.

Recaps:

#1 Maroon 59,  #4 Purple 44 – Top seeded Team Maroon (also known as Division II University of the Sciences) scored on their first four possessions and never looked back as they advanced to the championship game for the second consecutive year with a 59-44 win over fourth-seed Team Purple.

 

Senior Natalie Stella (Wilmington Christian School) and sophomore Micah Morgan ( Caravel Academy) led Maroon with 11 points apiece.  St. Joseph’s University junior Chelsea Woods  led the Purple squad with 20 points while St. Joe’s teammate Jaryn Garner (Germantown Academy)added 16.   Woods’ 20-point performance marks the 11th time this season she has scored 20 or more points in a game.

 

A pair of three-point field goals followed by a pair of baseline jumpers from the left side staked Maroon to a 10-0 lead en route to a 17-8 first quarter margin and a 28-21 lead at halftime.  Morgan opened the third quarter with a triple to push the lead back to ten before Purple closed the gap to 34-29 with an 8-3 run, with Woods scoring five of the eight points.  Maroon countered with a 7-2 run over the final 1:30 of the period to boost their lead back to double digits 41-31 enter the final quarter.

 

Junior Molly Greenberg’s (St. Basil Academy) three-pointer triggered a 6-2 run to push Maroon’s lead to 14 51-37 with just 1:30 left.  The Maroon squad was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line (Greenberg 4-4, junior Laura Trisch (Archbishop Wood HS) 2-2) in the final minute and junior Colleen Walsh (The Shipley School) closed out the scoring with a fast break layup with 7.5 seconds left to seal the win for Maroon.

 

In  limiting Purple to just 44 points, Maroon has now held their opponents to 50 or fewer points in seven consecutive games and nine times overall (seven regular season and both playoff games).  

 

Maroon will face #2 seed Team Gold in the championship game on Thursday.  The game will feature the league’s top defensive team with Maroon holding opponents to 46.7 points per game through the first two playoff contests facing off against the league’s top offensive team in Team Gold, who is scoring 72.3 points per game.

 

 

#2 Gold 80, #3 Pink 61 – Second-seed Team Gold used a dominant third quarter to break open a close game with third-seed Team Pink to advance to Thursday’s championship game with an 80-61 victory.

 

St. Joseph’s University junior Adaisha Franklyn (Bayard Rustin HS)  paced Team Gold and led all scorers with 27 points.  Alex Smith, a 2014 graduate of Holy Cross University via The Peddie School added 19 points.  Team Pink placed three players in double figures led by Gettysburg College sophomore Emma Dorshimer’s (Jenkintown HS) 15 points.  Colgate University sophomore Mackenzie Carroll (Central Bucks West HS) and Salisbury University junior Lauren Rothfeld (Upper Dublin HS) added 14 and 11 points respectively.

 

Gold scored the final six points of the second quarter to retake the lead, 36-33 at the half. Neither team led by any more than five points throughout the first two quarters which also saw a total of eight lead changes and six ties. 

 

Kutztown University graduate Ashley Wood (Spring-Ford HS) and Smith opened the third quarter with three-pointers to start a 12-5 run, enabling Gold to take a double-digit lead, 48-38.  Gold would boost their lead to 13 by quarter’s end 54-41.

 

Wood opened the fourth quarter with a four-point play and Franklyn added a put back layup to give Gold a 19-point lead 60-41  in the first 1:12 of the fourth quarter.  A little over three minutes later a Dorshimer layup closed Pink’s deficit to 16, 63-47, which would be as close as they would come the rest of the way.

 

The second seeded Gold team will now face the top seed Team Maroon in the championship game on Thursday, a game that will pit the league’s top offensive team (Gold, 72.3 points per game) against the league’s top defensive team (Maroon, allowing just 46.7 points per game).

Championship Game Rosters

#1 Team Maroon

1-Micah Morgan (5-7), USciences '19, Caravel

4-Molly Greenberg (5-6), USciences '18, St. Basil

5-Alyx McKiernan (5-4), USciences '19, Immac. Heart Acad,

10-Marissa Sylvester (5-8), USciences '19, Nazareth Acad.

12-Colleen Walsh (5-10), USciences '18, Shipley School

13-Haley Helms (5-7), USciences '18, Cardinal O'Hara

14 Mikaela Giulliani (6-1), USciences '20, North Penn

15 Brigit Coleman (5-7), USciences '20, Gwynedd Mercy Acad.

20-Hadiyah Tucker (5-11), USciences '19, Sanford School

22-Laura Trisch (5-10), USciences '18, Archbishop Wood

23-Natalie Stella (5-9), USciences '18, Wilmington Christian

25-Alex Thomas (5-9), USciences '20, St. Elizabeth

#2 Team Gold 

1-Shira Newman (5-7), Millersville '13, Upper Dublin

2-Jazmin Horne (5-7), Saint Joseph's '17, Franklin

3-Tuga Goff (5-4), Rosemont, Upper Dublin

13-Danielle Derr (5-10), Bloomsburg '13, Upper Dublin

14-Ashley Wood (5-7), Kutztown '13, Spring-Ford

15-Nia Holland (5-7), Lafayette '19, Shipley School

22-Alex Smith (5-7), Holy Cross '14, Peddie School

23-Monica Newman (5-5), Millersville '10, Upper Dublin

33-Adaisha Franklyn (6-1), Saint Joseph's '18, Bayard Rustin

34-Mia Hopkins (5-9), Bloomsburg '17, Pittston Area High School

40-Michele McCaughern (5-11), La Salle '12

Coach: Keith Woods 

 

Notes (Repeating from last week's previous report)

The Guru would like second the thank you shoutouts by longtime commissioner David Kessler, but first a thank you goes to the commissioner himself for all the organizing and administration he excutes to maintain a smooth operation.

Hand-in-hand a thank you to deputy commissioner Steve Michielli, as well as thanks to Tim McGrath and his game officials.

As for the AAU host Renegades, thanks for a great snack bar and overall hosting from Steve Flynn, who will be coaching Team Pink Tuesday night, and Meg Baum.

Media-wise the Guru thanks to Bob Heller, who has helped fatten the overnight report with recaps and also handling the lede opening when the Guru was out of pocket. Thanks to Tom Utescher for providing photos and look at the moment for the Guru photo newcomer Melissa Willhouse, who hopes to be on the scene for the playoffs and shot Wednesday's USA Olympic Team doubleheader at Delaware Wednesday night and whose photo gallery is right next to this post.

  Final Regular Season Standings

Team,  W-L, Pct., G.B., PF, PA

^-Maroon, 9-2, .818, ---, 624 525

^@-Gold, 9-2, .818, ---, 727 533

^-Pink, 7-4, .636, 2.0, 727 616

^%-Purple, 7-4, .636, 2.0, 689 650

^-White, 6-5, .545, 3.0, 671 686

^-%-Black, 6-5, .500, 3.0, 556 578

^-Sky Blue, 5-6, .455, 4.0, 671 717

^Royal Blue, 5-6, .455, 4.0, 659 636

#-@-Hunter Green, 4-7, .364, 5.0, 546 561

#-%-Red,4-7, .364, 5.0 , 543 612

#-@-Orange, 4-7, .364, 5.0 552 634

#-Kelly Green, 0-11, .000, 9.0, 592 809

%-includes forfeit win

@-includes forfeit loss

^-Clinched playoff berth

#-Eliminated from playoffs

Playoff Schedule and Results

Quarterfinals Results

Thursday, July 28

1-Maroon (9-2)  vs. 8-Royal Blue (5-6), Court 1

3- Pink (7-4) vs. 6-Black (6-5), Court 2

2-Gold (9-2)  vs. 7-Sky Blue (5-6), Court 1

4-Purple (7-4) vs. 5-White (6-5) , Court 2

Semifinals Results

1-Maroon  59, 4-Purple 44

2-Gold  80, Pink 61

Championship Schedule

(Records are from regular season only)

Thursday, Aug. 4

7 p.m.

2-Gold (9-2)  vs. 1-Maroon (9-2), Court 1

Regular Season Results

Tuesday, July 26

Black 53, Red 48

Sky Blue 59, Pink 55

White 56, Orange 38

Purple 75, Royal Blue 67

Maroon 44, Gold 43

Hunter Green 69, Kelly Green 36

Thursday, July 21

Black 65. Kelly Green 52

Pink 79, White 52

Gold 80, Orange 57

Red 51, Royal Blue 46

Maroon 55, Hunter Green 41

Purple 64. Sky Blue 60

Tuesday, July 19

Pink 90, Kelly Green 35

Gold 79, Red 51

Maroon 49, Orange 35

Hunter Green 59, Purple 33

Black 62, Sky BLue 44

Royal Blue 61, White 56

Thursday, July 14

Hunter Green 54, Red 45

Black 72, Orange 64, OT

Maroon 56, Pink 46

Gold 55, Royal Blue 51

White 59, Sky Blue 56

Purple 85, Kelly Green 78

Tuesday, July 12

Black 69, Purple 65

Orange 56, Royal Blue 48

White 66,  Kelly Green 55

Pink 62, Red 37

Maroon 60, Sky Blue 40

 Gold 62, Hunter Green 43 

Thursday, June 30

Gold 90, Kelly Green 52

White 67, Maroon 65

Red 67, Purple 65, OT

Royal Blue 69, Pink 56

Orange 69, Sky Blue 57

Black 2, Hunter Green 0, forfeit

Tuesday, June 28

Purple 90, White 81

Gold 76, Pink 59

Maroon 58, Kelly Green 47

Royal Blue 55, Black 45

Orange 67, Hunter Green 42

Sky Blue 61, Red 56

Thursday, June 23

Sky Blue 78, Royal Blue 71

Orange 71,  Kelly Green 65

Purple 2,  Gold 0, forfeit

Maroon 64, Black 41

White 67, Red 64, OT

Pink 70, Hunter Green 66, OT

Tuesday, June 21

Purple 57, Maroon 52

Royal Blue 80, Hunter Green 58

Red 69, Kelly Green 66

White 60, Black 44

Gold 89, Sky Blue 59

Pink 75, Orange 50

Thursday, June 16

Sky Blue 67, Hunter Green 66

Pink 63, Black 51

Maroon 59, Red 53, OT

Purple 88, Orange 45

Gold 90, White 63

Royal Blue 56, Kelly Green 44

Wednesday, June 15

Hunter Green 48, White 44

Sky Blue 90, Kelly Green 66

Pink 72, Purple 65

Gold 63. Black 52

Maroon 62, Royal Blue 55

Red 2, Orange 0, forfeit

Individual Scoring 20 Or More Points (including Playoffs)

46 Chelsea Woods, Purple, L, vs. Black, July 12

43-Chelsea Woods, Purple, W, vs. White, June 28

39-Chelsea Woods, Purple, W, vs. Kelly Green, July 14

34-Chelsea Woods, Purple, W, vs. Sky Blue, July 21

33-Chelsea Woods, Purple, W, vs. Maroon, June 22

32-Chelsea Woods, Purple, L, vs. Pink, June 15

31-Chelsea Woods, Purple, W, vs. White, (Quarterfinal), July 28

31 Chelsea Woods, Purple, W, vs. Royal Blue, June 26

28-Alex Smith, Gold, W, vs. Sky Blue, June 22

28-Alex Smith, Gold, W, vs. White, June 16

27-Adaisha Franklyn, Gold, W, vs. Pink (Semifinal), Aug. 2

26-Chelsea Woods, Purple, L, vs. Red, June 30 

26-Alexix Roman, Hunter Green, L, vs. Sky Blue, June 16

25-Danielle Skedzielewski, Kelly Green, L, vs. Black, July 21

25-Ciara Andrews, Sky Blue, W, vs. Hunter Green, June 16

25-Ciara Andrews, Sky Blue, W, vs. Kelly Green, June 15

24-Ciara Andrews, Sky Blue, W, vs. Pink, July 26

24-Adaisha Franklyn, Gold, W, vs. Orange, July 21

24-Emma Dorshimer, Pink, W, vs. White, July 21

24-Alynna Williams, Black, W-OT, vs Orange, July 14. 

23-Alynna Williams, Black, L, vs. Pink, June 23

23-Kelsey Watson, White, L, vs. Gold, June 16

23-Chelsea Woods, Purple, W, vs. Orange, June 16

22-Ciara Andrews, Sky Blue, L, vs. Gold, (Quarterfinal), July 28 

22-Lauren Rothfeld, Pink, L, vs. Sky Blue, July 26

22-Alexix Roman, Hunter Green, W, vs. Red, July 14

22-Mia Hopkins, Gold, W, vs. Sky Blue, June 22

21-Adaisha Franklyn, Gold, W, vs. Sky Blue, (Quarterfinal). July 28

21-Adaisha Franklyn, Gold, W, vs. White, June 16, 

21-Sierra Taylor, White, L, vs. Purple, (Quarterfinal), July 28

21-Ciara Andrews, Sky Blue, L, vs. Orange, June 30

21-Lauren Rothfeld, Pink, L, Royal Blue, June 30

21-Tori Smick, Red, L, vs. Sky Blue, June 28

21-Julia Glantz, Hunter Green, W, vs. White, June 15

21-Jessica Gerber, Sky Blue, W, vs. Kelly Green, June 15

21-K.T. (Katie) Armstrong, Royal Blue, L, vs. Maroon, June 15

20-Chelsea Woods, Purple, L, vs. Maroon (Semifinal), Aug. 2

20-Michele McCaughern, Gold, W, vs. Red, July 19

20- Emma Dorsheimer, Pink, W, vs. Kelly Green, July 19

20-Taylor Thames, White, W, vs. Maroon, June 30

20-Ciara Andrews, Sky Blue, W, vs. Royal Blue, June 23

20-Lauren Rothfeld, Pink, W-OT, vs. Hunter Green, June 23

20-Mackenzie Rule, Orange, L, vs. vs. Pink, June 22

20-Micah Morgan, Maroon, W-OT, vs. Red, June 16

Seed Tracker (In order)

^-Maroon (9-2) vs. RB (W), vs. Red (W-OT), vs. Pur(L), vs. Bk (W), KG (W), vs. Wh (L), vs. SB(W),

vs. Pnk(W), vs. Orng(W), vs. HG(W), vs. Gold (W).

^-Gold (9-2) vs. Bk (W), vs. Wh (W), vs. SB (W), vs. Pur (L-@), vs. Pnk (W) ,vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W),

RB(W), vs. Red (W), vs. Orng(W), vs. M(L).

(Maroon wins head-to-head)

^-Pink (7-4) vs. Pur (W), vs. Bk (W), vs. Orge, (W), vs. HG (W-OT), Gold (L), vs. RB(L), vs. Rd(W),

 vs. M(L), vs. KG(W), Wh(W), vs. SB (L).

^-Purple (7-4) vs. Pk (L), vs. Org (W), vs. M(W), vs. Gd (W-%), vs. W (W) vs. Red (W-OT), vs. Bk(L), 

 vs. KG(W) vs. HG(L), vs. SB(W), vs. RB(W).

(Pink wins head-to-head)

^-White (6-5) vs. HG (L), vs. Gd (L), vs. Bk (W), vs. Red (W-OT), vs. Pur (L), vs. M (W), vs. KG(W)

 vs. SB(W), vs. RB(L), vs. Pink(L), vs. Ornge(W).  

^-Black (6-5) vs. Gd (L), vs. Pk (L), vs. Wh (L), vs. M (L), vs. RB (L), vs. HG (W-%), vs. Pur(W), vs. Or(W-OT), vs. SB(W), vs. KG(W), vs. Red (W).

(White wins head-to-head)

^-Sky Blue (5-6) vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W), vs. Gold (L), vs. RB (W), vs. Red (W), Ornge(L), vs. M(L),

  vs. Wh(L), vs. Blk(L), vs. Purple(L), vs. Pink (W).

^-Royal Blue (5-6) vs. M (L), vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W), vs, SB (L), vs. Black (W), Pnk(W), vs. Orng(L), vs. Gold(L), vs. Wh(W), vs. Red (L), vs. Pur (L).

(Sky Blue wins head-to-head)

#-Hunter Green (4-7) vs. Wh (W), vs. SB (L), vs RB (L), vs. Pk (L-OT), vs. Org (L),vs. Blk (L-@) vs. Gd(L), vs. Red(W), vs. Pur(W), vs. M(L), vs. KG(W).

#-Red (4-7) vs. Org (%-W), vs. M (L-OT), vs. KG (W), vs. Wh (L-OT), vs. SB (L), Pur (W-OT), vs. Pk(L), vs. HG(L), vs. Gold(L), vs. RB(W), vs. Blk (L).

#-Orange (4-7) vs. Red (@-L), vs. Pur (L), vs. Pnk (L), vs. KG (W), vs. HG (W), vs. SB (W), vs. RB(W),

 vs Bk (L-OT), M(L), vs. Gold (L), vs. Wh(L).

(All 1-1 against each other. Hunter wins tiebreak 2, best win: Purple, then Red takes next off head-to-head win over Orange)

#-Kelly Green (0-10) vs. SB (L), vs. RB (L), vs Red (L), vs. Orange (L), vs. M(L), vs. Gold (L), vs. Wh(L), vs. Pur(L) vs. Pnk(L),vs. Blk(L), vs. HG(L).

%-forfeit win

@-forfeit loss

^-Clinched playoff berth

#-Eliminated from playoffs