City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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With the schedule about to turn to 2025, it’s time for Division I hoops conference play to start en masse around the country. A few leagues have already played their first league game or two, but for the vast majority of teams (including five of the six Big 5 schools), it’s been nothing but non-league opponents over the first couple months of the year. 

It’s been a mixed bag of results all across the men’s side of the Big 5 early on — so, rather than attempt to sort them in a Power Rankings, I figured it’s better to just take a look at what’s gone right, what’s gone wrong, and how the rest of the season looks for each of the Big 5 women’s programs.

We’ll also be referencing the fantastic HerHoopStats quite a bit in this roundup — keep in mind all of HHS’s numbers only apply to games against Division I competition, and thus might not exactly match the official Division I rankings.

(All stats as of Monday afternoon)

Drexel Dragons
Record: 3-6 (0-0 CAA)
Recent Results: @ Penn State (L, 86-78 OT), vs. Lehigh (W, 53-44), vs. Saint Joseph’s (L, 69-47), @ Florida State (L, 101-51), @ Norfolk State (L, 68-56)
HerHoopStats Rating: Started 74th, currently 149th

Overview
After two strong wins to start off the season, it’s been rough sledding for Amy Mallon’s Dragons, who have lost six of their last seven heading into conference play. Generating offense outside of Amaris Baker (17.8 ppg) has been something of a struggle; they’ve failed to crack the 60-point mark six times, finishing with fewer than 50 points three times. It’s not for a lack of sharing the ball — Drexel’s assisted on 70.2% of its buckets, fifth-best in the country.

Amaris Baker (above) has been Drexel's only consistent double-digit scorer this season. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Sophomore forward Deja Evans (9.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg) has given them a presence inside, but they don’t have anybody else who’s really been able to take pressure off Baker. It hasn’t helped that the rest of the perimeter — Cara McCormack, Grace O’Neill and Laine McGurk — are a combined 25-of-89 (28%) from the 3-point arc. The Dragons as a group are shooting just 37.4% overall, 265th nationally, and they’re not winning the rebound or turnover battle to make up for it. 

Baker carried Drexel to the 2024 CAA championship, but heroics over the course of three days are much different than being able to do so for an entire season. The O’Hara product can’t be counted on to be their only offensive shot-creator; what’s unclear is who exactly will step up alongside her. That being said, the CAA is generally weaker than most of Drexel’s non-conference slate, so a turnaround is entirely possible. 

Grade: C-

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La Salle Explorers
Record: 7-7 (1-0 Atlantic 10)
Recent Results: vs. Penn (L, 74-63), vs. Chestnut Hill (W, 95-46), @ Texas (L, 111-49), vs. Northern Kentucky (W, 70-67), @ UC San Diego (L, 69-53)
HerHoopStats Rating: Started 251st, currently 281st

Overview

It’s been something of a Jekyll-and-Hyde start to the season for La Salle, which has suffered a couple blowouts at the hands of high-major opponents as well as at Drexel, but also won its Atlantic 10 opener over Loyola (Chicago) and has beaten a few other regional mid-majors to even its record at the midpoint of the season. 

Ashleigh Connor (above) is leading La Salle in scoring in her first year with the Explorers. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Mountain MacGillivray has largely gone away from his 10-to-12 deep rotations of the last few years and settled in on more of a top eight, with a few others seeing spot stretches here and there. Saint Louis transfer Ashleigh Connor (11.8 ppg, 35.3 3PT%) has jumped right in as the team’s leading scorer, but she’s the only one shooting well from beyond the arc. As a team, the Explorers have made just 25.3% of their 3-pointers, 310th nationally per HerHoopStats. They’re even worse from the foul line, coming in 328th (62.7%), with three of their top six scorers shooting at or below 50% from the charity stripe.

Ultimately, this wasn’t a team with high expectations, picked to finish dead last in the Atlantic 10. Beating Loyola was a good sign that the Explorers have what it takes to finish higher, but they have to develop some kind of consistency if they want to push for anything close to a .500 record in league play. 

Grade: C+

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Penn Quakers
Record: 8-3 (0-0 Ivy League)
Recent Results: vs. Immaculata (W, 114-39), vs. Chattanooga (W, 74-61), vs. Cal Baptist (W, 64-51), vs. La Salle (W, 74-63), vs. Delaware State (W, 72-45)
HerHoopStats Rating: Started 117th, currently 140th

Overview

The future looks bright in University City. After senior Stina Almqvist (18.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg), the rest of the Quakers’ rotation all have at least one year of eligibility remaining, including a trio of talented underclassmen. The non-con hasn’t been flawless, but Penn’s riding a four-game winning streak into a Monday afternoon test at Arizona State, with Ivy League play coming Jan. 4 with a tough home test against Columbia. 

Sophomore Mataya Gayle pushes the ball upcourt. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

There’s no doubt the play of freshman forward Katie Collins (8.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and classmate Sarah Miller (7.0 ppg, .463 3PT%), have been the biggest reasons for optimism, as both have immediately been able to produce at a high level. Collins, a 6-1 forward whose 23 blocks are by far the most of any player in the Ivy League, has shown her versatility by hitting nine 3-pointers thus far on 26 attempts (34.6%), while Miller proved herself good enough to move into the starting lineup five games into the season. On top of that, sophomore guard Mataya Gayle (11.8 ppg, 4.3 apg) has taken a step forward from last year, giving Mike McLaughlin a terrific trio to build around for the next two seasons. 

There’s no doubt the road ahead in the Ivy will be tough, with Columbia and Princeton both loaded at the top. But after a string of seven straight 20-win seasons was snapped in 2021-22, Penn hasn’t gotten back to that mark again, and it’s a reachable goal this year. They need to shoot it better from deep, however — take away a 17-of-37 showing against D-III Immaculata, and Penn is just 27.9% from deep, 265th nationally per HerHoopStats.

Grade: B

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Saint Joseph’s Hawks
Record: 9-2 (0-0 Atlantic 10)
Recent Results: vs. Villanova (L, 85-61), vs. Drexel (W, 69-47), vs. Maine (W, 74-48), vs. Howard (W, 69-53), vs. Charleston (W, 59-54)
HerHoopStats Rating: Started 24th, currently 42nd

Overview
No team in the city had higher expectations coming into this year than St. Joe’s. So far, Cindy Griffin’s Hawks have largely lived up to them, despite some bumps and bruises along the way. Their only two setbacks thus far have come at a Utah squad which as of this writing is 10-2 with a win over nationally ranked Notre Dame, and archrival Villanova, whose win at Hagan Arena to open December certainly has to be SJU’s biggest regret of the early goings. 

Talya Brugler (above) is putting up career-best numbers thus far. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

As expected, the trio of Laura Ziegler (17.5 ppg, 11.3 rpg), Talya Brugler (17.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and Mackenzie Smith (16.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg) are leading the way, all three playing the best basketball of their careers. With that group leading the way, St. Joe’s is third in the nation in 3-point shooting (40.1%) and fifth in foul shooting (81.4%), according to HHS. Gabby Casey (9.6 ppg) has made the most of her opportunities as she enters the starting lineup, and Emma Boslet (3.3 ppg, 4.3 apg) has been strong on the ball. They’re still without senior point guard Julia Nystrom as she recovers from an offseason injury, but freshman guard Rian Stokes (5.8 ppg) has had some really good moments in extended minutes in her stead. 

Currently, the only team on HHS ranked higher than St. Joe’s is Richmond (9-4), the Spiders the only team picked above the Hawks in the A-10 preseason poll. Next in the rankings are VCU (94th) and Rhode Island (95th), with Duquesne (106th) not far behind. St. Joe’s opens with VCU at home on Dec. 29, and they’ll play the Rams twice in their first five league games; they first play Richmond in Richmond on Feb. 13, hosting the Spiders in the regular-season finale on March 1. 

Grade: B+

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Temple Owls
Record: 6-5 (0-0 American Athletic)
Recent Results: @ La Salle (W, 73-68), @ Villanova (W, 76-62), vs. West Virginia (L, 68-46), vs. Xavier (W, 66-51), @ Cal (L, 89-63)
HerHoopStats Rating: Started 71st, currently 115th

Overview
Coming off a season in which it tied (with North Texas and Tulsa) for the AAC regular-season championship, Temple’s women captured the inaugural Big 5 Classic title, downing Villanova in the Wildcats’ own gym earlier in this month. That’s been the high point of an up-and-down non-conference slate for Denise Richardson’s Owls, who’ve lost to two ranked teams (West Virginia and Cal) and two others picked to win their leagues (Richmond and Princeton) as well as Georgetown, a mid-level Big East squad. 

In her fourth year on North Broad, Tiarra East (above) is having a career year, averaging 16.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 2.7 apg; most impressively, the career 28.6% 3-point shooter is 15-of-39 (38.5%) from deep. They’re also getting quality play from transfers Anissa Rivera (8.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Kaylah Turner (8.0 ppg), both of whom have gotten more comfortable as the season has progressed, and sophomore Tristen Taylor (8.0 ppg, 3.9 apg) has settled into her role as the team’s starting point guard. 

The good news for the Owls is that when it comes to the AAC, they’re still right near the top of the pack in the HHS ratings. South Florida (81st), UTSA (88), East Carolina (116), Tulane (118), Rice (131) and North Texas (136) are all in a similar range, so this should be quite the competitive league race come the second half of February. If Richardson wants her group to take a run at a title, it would help if senior Tarriyonna Gary snapped out of her shooting funk (27.1 3PT%) as well as more consistent play inside from the likes of Amaya Oliver and Jaleesa Molina. 

Grade: B-

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Villanova Wildcats
Record: 7-6 (1-0 Big East)
Recent Results: vs. Temple (L, 76-62), @ Fairfield (L, 74-71), @ Delaware (W, 75-65), vs. James Madison (L, 71-67), vs. St. John’s (W, 71-57)
HerHoopStats Rating: Started 20th, currently 49th

Overview
It’s been a mixed bag thus far for Denise Dillon’s Wildcats, who started off with wins in four of their first five games but have lost four of six since, including to Temple in the Big 5 Classic championship game. They did pull off a win in their Big East opener, beating St. John’s behind 24 points from freshman Jasmine Bascoe to send them into the break on a high note. 

Bascoe (photo above) has no doubt been the biggest positive for ‘Nova this season. The Canadian collegiate rookie has stepped right in to become Villanova’s primary offensive option following Lucy Olsen’s transfer to Iowa, averaging a team-high 15.5 ppg, 4.2 apg and 2.0 spg; her 34.8 minutes/game also lead the squad, proving how invaluable she’s become already. Sophomore Maddie Webber (13.1 ppg) has also taken a big step forward from her rookie season, and junior forward Denae Carter (9.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg) has given them quality minutes up front after missing last year due to a torn ACL. As a team, 3-point shooting has been a strength (35.4%), with Bronagh Power-Cassidy (17/34, 50.0%) and Maddie Burke (20/44, 45.5%) leading the way. 

Villanova’s biggest team weakness this season has been on the offensive glass, and rebounding in general. The Wildcats are getting out-rebounded by 4.1 boards/game, and despite an almost-identical number of missed shots between themselves and their opponents (426 and 430, respectively), and by almost three rebounds per game on the offensive end. According to HerHoopStats, their offensive rebound rate of 23.4% is 343rd in Division I, and their overall rebound rate (47%) is 261st. Individually, it would be great to see more out of Vanderbilt transfer Ryanne Allen, who’s only played in four games after an offseason knee injury but has yet to get going, scoring a total of four points in 39 minutes of action.

Grade: B-

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