While most of America is running to stores or shopping online on Black Friday, today’s date marks a golden moment in the history of women’s college basketball.
On Nov. 28, 1976, The Inquirer’s annual college basketball preview included a story with a headline proclaiming, “Move over guys, here comes another Top 20 poll.”
Just below was a graphic of Delta State’s center Lusia Harris, the consensus national player of the year, overlooking the Top 20, complete with an added national preview.
And thus, under the stewardship of this writer, inside the Inquirer offices was born an institution that led to seismic change in terms of national attention on women’s basketball. Two years later, at the request of the College Sports Information Directors of America, the Associated Press began running those first-of-their-kind weekly rankings. This season, the poll celebrates its 50th anniversary.
A clipping from the Sunday, Nov. 28, 1976 Philadelphia Inquirer. Page 14-F featured the first edition of Mel Greenberg’s women’s basketball poll.
Just as the 50th anniversary of the Title IX landmark federal legislation bringing equal opportunity to women in collegiate sports was celebrated in 2022, so too will the poll’s 50th anniversary be celebrated all season.
Technology helped spur the poll’s growth, from the pre-NCAA era to 1981-82, when the organization started sponsoring women’s championships. (Before then, women’s championships were held by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.) This writer handled the tabulation operation through 1993-94, which is when Connecticut began an appearance streak that totals 610 times through this week.
Mel Greenberg, right with former Inquirer editor William J. “Butch” Ward, inside the Inquirer offices as Greenberg is honored for winning the first Women’s Basketball Association Media Award.
Until 1994-95, coaches did the voting because writers were at a minimum nationally.
Fifty years ago, the poll was created using typewriters and $70 calculators that today cost a couple of bucks. It evolved from telerams, faxes, floppy discs, and Radio Shack TRS-80 calculators to giant hard drives, laptops, Blackberries, and, ultimately, smartphones and iPads today.
Early on, a sports media relations professional at North Carolina State called looking for information, but I wasn’t keeping records. An hour later, legendary Wolfpack coach Kay Yow, a voter, called to lecture me on the importance of preserving history.
Fortunately, Colleen Matsuhara, who phoned in then-Cal Fullerton coach Billie Moore’s vote from out West, was keeping tabs, so the first six missing weeks from the records were restored. Today, that has evolved into a spreadsheet of all polls, among other records, and this is now the 889th week of the poll.
Two people most excited about the poll creation were based here — this writer’s Temple classmate, Dick “Hoops” Weiss, the acclaimed men’s writer, and Mike Flynn, who, until recently, ran national AAU powerhouse, the Philadelphia Belles.
Way back I said one day to them, “You think I’m going to do this the next 50 years?”
They nodded in the affirmative.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, center, reacts after a championship banner reveal at Gampel Pavilion on Nov. 9.
Grandpa Geno
A few years after Philadelphia hosted the Women’s Final Four in 2000, Geno Auriemma’s UConn squad was back in town to face Villanova. Over at the hotel where his Norristown posse were hanging out, Auriemma’s brother noted that perhaps some decisions would have to be made in the near future.
Two days later, UConn signed another No. 1 recruit, so he wasn’t going anywhere.
I saw his brother again shortly after that and quipped that one day someone is going to say they came to Storrs, Conn., because they like Geno’s grandfatherly ways.
Geno’s birthday is March 23, right in the middle of March Madness. Decades later, the date gets noted at an NCAA Tournament news conference, and now-WNBA standout Paige Bueckers shouts out, “Yeah, we call him Grandpa.”
For the third consecutive year and the fourth time in the last five years, Villanova will open the FCS playoffs at Villanova Stadium, where it has not lost since Sept. 24, 2022.
The Wildcats have won 22 straight home games, including the playoffs. They have won their last three playoff games at Villanova Stadium by an average of nine points, including last year’s five-point win over Eastern Kentucky.
This season, Villanova’s opening-round matchup will be against the Ivy League’s Harvard on Saturday (noon, ESPN+). The Crimson (9-1, 6-1 Ivy) lost to rival Yale to end the regular season, but both teams earned playoff berths and will be on opposite sides of the bracket. The Ivy League is competing in the FCS playoffs for the first time this season.
Harvard is led by its passing game. Quarterback Jaden Craig is tied for the 12th most touchdown passes in the FCS (24) and ranks 16th in passing yards (2,722). His 272.2 yards passing per game ranks fifth in the FCS, while Villanova is middle of the pack in defending the pass (213.8 yards, 61st).
Yale’s Brandon Webster (7) recovers a fumble by Harvard’s Dean Boyd. The two Ivy League schools made the FCS playoffs this season.
Harvard’s defense, meanwhile, ranks seventh in rushing yards allowed (105.5 yards) and has surrendered just nine rushing touchdowns, tied for the second-fewest in the FCS. Villanova’s offense ranks 29th in rushing yards per game (178.6). Sophomore running back Ja’briel Mace has come on strong since starting running back David Avit’s injury, gaining 524 of his 600 total rushing yards in the last three games, including a school-record 291 in a win over Towson on Nov. 8.
Experience is on the Wildcats’ side. They’ve been here before under Mark Ferrante and have a quarterback in Pat McQuaide who takes care of the football (19 touchdowns to two interceptions.
If the Wildcats win, No. 5 seeded Lehigh (12-0) awaits them. Ferrante has led Villanova to at least the FCS quarterfinal in two of its last three trips to the playoffs.
North Texas wide receiver Wyatt Young (10) has the fourth-most receiving yards in the FBS.
The BIG number
1,076: That’s the number of receiving yards North Texas wide receiver Wyatt Young has this season, the fourth-most of any player in the FBS. Young, whose Mean Green face Temple on Friday, has 56 receptions and 10 touchdowns on the year.
One more chance to go bowling
Penn State and Temple will be playing for the right to continue their seasons this weekend. Both teams enter the final week of the regular season at 5-6, and each team is going in very different directions.
The Owls have lost three straight games and now are in danger of failing to end their six-year bowl eligibility drought with North Texas (10-1, 6-1 American Conference) up next on Friday (3:30 p.m., ESPN) in Denton, Texas. The Mean Green, though, learned earlier this week that head coach Eric Morris will take the Oklahoma State job at the conclusion of their season, which could end with a College Football Playoff berth. Temple and K.C. Keeler will be hoping to play spoiler.
North Texas’ offense ranks first nationally in scoring (46.3 points) and total offense (503.3) with Drew Mestemaker (3,469 yards, 26 touchdowns) under center. But if the Owls are to pull off the upset, they’ll need running back Jay Ducker to have a monster game against the North Texas’ fifth-worst rushing defense nationally (211.2 rushing yards allowed per game) and keep the Mean Green offense at bay.
Penn State running back Kaytron Allen rushed for 69 yards and two scores against Rutgers in 2023.
Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions are looking to punctuate a lost season with a fifth straight bowl appearance and their 11th trip over the last 12 seasons. The offense has found its groove behind Kaytron Allen, who became the program’s all-time leading rusher last weekend, and Nick Singleton, who tied Saquon Barkley for the most all-purpose touchdowns in school history.
On Saturday Penn State will play Rutgers (3:30 p.m. BTN), which hasn’t beat the Nittany Lions since 1988.
Considering the Nittany Lions’ run-heavy approach, Rutgers (5-6, 2-6 Big Ten) will have to prove it can stop the ground game. The Scarlet Knights’ defense ranks 127th in rushing yards allowed (201.7) and gives up 31.1 points per game, which ranks in near the bottom nationally. With Penn State riding a two-game winning streak and plenty of momentum heading into Piscataway, N.J., it could be a long day for Rutgers, which also is fighting for bowl eligibility.
Eastern University quarterback Brett Nabb (left) will lead the Eagles against Franklin and Marshall in the Division III playoffs on Saturday.
Three questions
🏈 What’s Penn looking for in a new head coach now that Ray Priore is stepping down? Priore has been with the Quakers for nearly 40 years, his last 11 as head coach. Whomever comes in next will be looking to kickstart a program that has fallen in recent seasons, but the Quakers won 12 Ivy League titles with Priore in the building, including consecutive titles in 2015 and 2016 with him as head coach.
🏈 How will Eastern look after having a week off to prepare for Saturday’s Division III playoff game against Franklin and Marshall College (noon, watch live)? If we’re looking at history, just fine. Following a 39-37 nail-biter against King’s College on Sept. 27, the Eagles had a bye week and then dropped 37 points on Delaware Valley College on Oct. 11, which perennially is one of the better teams in the Middle Atlantic Conference.
🏈 How big or (not) will the transfer-portal exodus be starting next week after Penn State’s regular-season finale? The word is that players are fond of interim coach Terry Smith, but is it enough to play in whatever bowl a six-win Big Ten team would compete in after such a tumultuous season? Not to rip off a Band-Aid, but this was the No. 2 team in the nation at one point. Wild.
Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore (8) and the Wolverines will be out to upend No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday.
Game of the week
No. 1 Ohio State at No. 15 Michigan (noon Saturday, Fox29)
One of the most storied rivalries in all of college football, the Wolverines are 9.5-point underdogs at home against the 10-0 Buckeyes. There’s nothing Michigan would love to do more than beat Ohio State, and if it can, that could be just enough to clinch a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Temple guard Drew Alexander entered this season with six career field goals and 17 career points. She redshirted her freshman year in 2023-24 and never played more than eight minutes in a game last season.
Owls coach Diane Richardson made a point in the offseason that she was going to use her depth, which included Alexander.
She was one of the first players off the bench in Temple’s season opener against George Mason on Nov. 3 and immediately made an impact. Known for her sharpshooting abilities, Alexander made three three-pointers and scored 13 points in the Owls’ 94-85 overtime win. She has since made at least one three-pointer in four of Temple’s first six games and has emerged as a key bench piece.
“I know that my role on the team is to shoot the ball, rebound, and defend,” Alexander said. “I know every time I step on the floor, no matter if it’s for 30 minutes or 30 seconds, I have to do my role no matter what and play the hardest that I can.”
Shabach alumnus Drew Alexander of Temple University was an instant microwave for the Owls against George Washington. Alexander came off the bench and scored 13 points and added 7 rebounds. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6LMol66IbU
Alexander grew up in Durham, N.C., and had a basketball in her hands at 3 years old. Her father, Darryl, played ball at Central Michigan and overseas. He taught her how to shoot, which has become her strength. They used to take 100 form shots before workouts and then put up 200 three-pointers a day.
She started to receive college scholarship offers after her freshman year, and following her sophomore year at Greensboro Day School, she made a major decision.
Alexander decided to attend Shabach Christian Academy in Maryland and played for the DMV Lady Tigers on the AAU circuit. To do that, she had to move to the Washington area, which meant leaving her family. Alexander spent that year living with her AAU coach, Sam Caldwell.
“It was a little difficult not seeing my parents every day, but also it was a good experience for me to get adjusted to the college level the next year,” Alexander said.
Caldwell led Alexander to Temple. Alexander graduated a year early and reclassified to join the Owls for the 2023-24 season.
She redshirted her first year with the Owls and played on the scout team while learning the playbook. She had a limited role off the bench last season, but that mostly was because her expected role had been filled.
Richardson likes to have one high-level three-point shooter on the court. Last season, that often was guard Tarriyonna Gary, who led the team in threes, making 72 of 188 attempts (38.3%).
Drew Alexander shoots a three-pointer against George Washington.
With Gary occupying the shooting role, Alexander did not see the court much. However, the role was up for grabs after Gary graduated, and she has taken it.
“Her ability to come in and immediately make an impact within the first possession she touches the ball is a really good thing for us,” assistant coach Myles Jackson said. “I think her development throughout the year and her confidence throughout the year are only going to be improved.”
Alexander finished with 13 points in the Owls’ first two games to surpass her total from last season. She came into the season hoping to have a role coming off the bench, but even she was not expecting to have that kind of performance to start the year.
“I wasn’t expecting to have 13 points in the first two games,” Alexander said. “My confidence is really high right now, and I feel like I am in a really good spot.”
Alexander’s shooting has earned her a spot in the rotation, but she still has plenty of room to grow on defense and in getting rebounds.
As the Owls, who entered Friday with a 3-3 record, move further into the season, Alexander’s growth and confidence will continue to play a role on the court.
“I think she’s going to keep progressing,” Jackson said. “We are going to see a really good Drew Alexander come February and March.”
With Villanova without the nation’s leading rebounder, Duke Brennan, on Tuesday night, 7-footer Braden Pierce started in his place in the Wildcats’ 89-75 win over visiting Old Dominion.
The change forced Villanova coach Kevin Willard to play a small lineup more than he would have preferred.
“I mean, I think that’s something that we’re still not very good at,” Willard said. “Because we just haven’t had time to practice. I think the more we practice it, the more we will be comfortable with having five guys out there that can shoot, pass, and dribble.”
Brennan was sidelined with a right ankle sprain he suffered last week in a win over La Salle. The Grand Canyon transfer has averaged a double-double while leading the country with 14.4 rebounds per game.
With Pierce starting, Villanova (5-1) struggled to find a rhythm on either side of the court. Forward Tafara Gapare ended up getting more playing time off the bench, with 31 minutes to Pierce’s 12.
Brennan’s absence was noticeable early in the first half. Villanova gave up a few offensive boards that could have been hauled in.
Villanova tied a season-low with nine offensive rebounds but still won the battle on the boards, 34-29. Entering the game, Villanova had double-digit offensive boards in each of its games, including a season-high 22 against Queens University on Nov. 8.
Beyond the arc, Villanova allowed an Old Dominion team that averages 32.7% on three-pointers to shoot 47.8% (45.3 overall). How does Willard think Villanova should address that?
“Don’t schedule good shooting teams,” he said.
Early shooting woes
Villanova opened the game shooting a sloppy 1-for-7 on three-pointers but spun it around in the tail end of the first half and closed it with marks of 35.7% from beyond the arc and 45.2% from the field. Overall, the Wildcats shot 53.6% from the field, including 38.5% from deep.
Bryce Lindsay knocked down a three-pointer to open the second half. With the help of an Acaden Lewis steal, Tyler Perkins broke away on the next possession and finished it on the other end of the court, forcing a timeout by Old Dominion (3-5).
All told, the Wildcats opened the second half with a 15-3 run.
Villanova guard Bryce Lindsay during the game against Duquesne on Nov. 15.
Perkins scored a season-high 21 points, shooting 8-for-13 from the field, including 3-for-4 on three-pointers.
“Tyler just gives us great energy,” Willard said. “I think that’s something that he’s still trying to figure out, a little bit of what he’s doing and what we need him to do. To start the second half, he gets two big steals, gets a layup, and a good pass. Tyler just gives us energy and some toughness. And I think he’s really starting to figure out, ‘How do I play in this system?’”
Ball screens and movement
Midway through the second half, Willard motioned to forward Matt Hodge to set a pick for Perkins at the top left of the arc in front of Villanova’s bench.
Hodge set the pick. Perkins shifted left, then Hodge drove to the basket while hauling in the pass from Perkins and was met at the rim with a foul, stopping him from capping the pick-and-roll with a dunk.
“I feel like we moved the ball well,” Hodge said. “It allows me to be very versatile.”
Villanova dished out 16 assists and limited its turnovers to seven. It has been a successful early start for a squad with 13 new faces and a starting freshman point guard in Lewis. The team has had at least 15 assists in its last five games.
Lewis, who had 20 points, led Villanova with four assists. He is averaging 5.2 assists on the season.
“Well, he’s super talented,” Willard said. “If you look at college basketball this year, the freshman class is loaded. This is probably one of the best freshman classes, probably about five to 10 years. I mean, the draft can be loaded. He’s going to get better and better every game. He’s getting a little bit more comfortable.”
Up next
Villanova is on five-game winning streak. Next up is a Big 5 clash at home against Temple (4-2) on Monday (6:30 p.m., FS1). The winner claims a spot in the championship game of the Big 5 Classic on Dec. 6 at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Villanova leads the all-time series, 51-43.
Oklahoma State has chosen North Texas’ Eric Morris as its new head football coach, the school announced Tuesday.
Morris has been the head coach at North Texas since 2023. The program went 5-7 his first season, but now is 10-1 and contending for a American Conference championship and College Football Playoff berth. The Mean Green are No. 21 in the Associated Press’ Top 25 poll.
Morris has a reputation for helping quarterbacks, having coached, developed or recruited Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, John Mateer, Cam Ward, Chandler Morris and Drew Mestemaker.
“For many reasons, including the kind of person he is and the lasting relationships he builds with his players, Coach Morris is the perfect fit as the next leader of Cowboy Football,” Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg said. “The future is bright for OSU Football and I look forward to introducing him and his family to our team, our former players and all Cowboy fans.”
The hire is pending board approval.
North Texas leads the country in scoring offense and total offense this year, and the team has reached the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1959. Mestemaker, a redshirt freshman walk-on, leads the FBS in yards passing.
North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker leads college football in passing yards.
North Texas said in a news release that Morris will coach through this season.
“On behalf of the University of North Texas, I want to express our deep gratitude to Eric for everything he has done for Mean Green Football over the past three seasons,” North Texas athletic director Jared Mosley said.
Morris will step in for Mike Gundy, who was fired in September during his 21st season. Doug Meacham is 0-8 as the interim coach. Oklahoma State is 1-10 heading into its season finale at home against Iowa State on Saturday.
Morris was head coach at Incarnate Word for four seasons, then was an assistant at Washington State before becoming head coach at North Texas. He was offensive coordinator at Texas Tech, his alma mater, from 2015 to 2017 and has been an assistant at Houston.
North Texas will host Temple (5-6, 3-5 American) on Friday (3:30 p.m., ESPN).
Last year, Arcadia University transformed a basketball gymnasium on campus into the home of its newest athletic programs: men’s and women’s wrestling.
“Compared to most wrestling rooms, we have a very open facility,” men’s coach David Stevens said. “We have three full-size wrestling mats and a turf field. We have treadmills, standalone bikes, and a weight room. [Arcadia] did a really good job of supporting us.”
As the facility was under construction, women’s coach Michael Childs gave prospective members of his 11-athlete squad an up-close look at the progress.
“I took [recruits] through a construction site with our facility that was being built,” Childs said. “There were certain days that they had to wear hard hats when they went through the building. I could show them pictures on my phone, and the education piece kind of sold itself. … The more difficult part was selling them a vision for the program.”
“Wrestling is very popular in the state of Pennsylvania and has very passionate fans, but countrywide, it is still a niche sport,” Childs said. “So introducing that to the Arcadia community in general and the administration, it’s been a growing year for us.”
Focus on ‘family’
The men’s roster features 32 wrestlers, primarily freshmen. The team leadership comes from a group of older wrestlers who entered the season nationally ranked.
Senior Caden Frost was ranked No. 15 in the 149-pound weight class, graduate student Logan Flynn (285) was No. 6, and senior Jacob Blair (133) was No. 8.
Blair and Flynn followed Stevens, their former assistant coach, to Arcadia from Delaware Valley University, while Frost transferred from New England College.
“It’s a lot of leading by example,” Blair said. “We’re trying to build something here with longevity and make an impact not only this year, but also down the road. We’re trying to create good team camaraderie and spirit because this is something none of us have ever experienced. We’ve never wrestled on a team with 25 freshmen.”
Arcadia wrestling is in its first season.
The Knights (1-3) secured their first team win on Nov. 8 over Eastern, 27-20.
Stevens believes the young roster will grow significantly over the course of the season, which begins in November and culminates with the NCAA championships in March.
“We tell every recruit that if you join this team, you become part of a family,” Stevens said. “We haven’t had the early success that we expected or that we wanted. But I think that’s what a family does, is that even through the hardships, we don’t give up on each other. We truly believe that we’re going to do something special here in our first year.”
The three leaders went undefeated in Arcadia’s most recent competition at Misericordia University.
“We talked about how you either have to buy in now or hop off,” Blair said. “But the fire under these guys is that they truly want to be here and want to be college wrestlers. They know it’s going to take hard work, because it’s a grueling sport, both mentally and physically.”
While the Arcadia women’s team (0-2) is a MAC member, there are fewer than 100 NCAA women’s wrestling programs nationwide. The limited number means that all programs, regardless of division, will vie for the same national championship.
In addition to helping freshmen adjust to the rigors of college athletics, Childs must also prepare his team to face some of the country’s top wrestlers.
“I think that the biggest challenge for us is bringing our student-athletes along to understand what this commitment is,” Childs said. “It’s not just your morning lifts and your daily practices. It’s a lifestyle. We’ll potentially be seeing world team members in competitions, All-Americans, and Olympians. So it’s really exciting, and it’s really challenging.”
Taylor McCue, a junior, is the only non-freshman on the Arcadia women’s wrestling roster.
Junior Taylor McCue is the only non-freshman on the women’s roster. From goal-setting meetings to decorating the locker room before competitions, the team is establishing its identity.
“The best thing that I can do for the success and growth of this program is to surround it with good people, and that’s what I’m trying to do,” Childs said. “We had our first tri-meet a couple weeks ago on our floor. After our event, we had a parent social, and over a hundred people were there. It was pretty cool to see.”
Freshman Molly Lubenow (right) in action for Arcadia.
A sport on the rise
Arcadia’s addition of a women’s wrestling program follows the rapid expansion of the sport nationwide. According to the NCAA, 17 schools began offering women’s wrestling programs in 2024-25 alongside its promotion to a championship sport.
The inaugural NCAA women’s wrestling championship will take place this spring.
Both Arcadia programs see themselves as leading the growth of wrestling. They also aim to bring national attention to the small university through success in Division III.
“Why I’m grateful to be at Arcadia is the support they give us,” Stevens said. “High school and even college programs are usually focused on other sports that more people are familiar with. But here at Arcadia, we feel like they’re really investing in us and giving us a great opportunity. This is a place that I want to continue to grow.”
The Temple women’s basketball program had not taken a trip outside the United States since 2019, when it competed in the Cancun Challenge in Mexico.
Coach Diane Richardson wanted to take a similar trip with her team this season, and this time the Owls are set to land in the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship.
Temple will play No. 20 Michigan State at 6:30 p.m. Friday, then Clemson or Western Carolina on Sunday.
The trip will give the Owls a chance to bond and experience a foreign country, Richardson said, while also continuing to gain experience against difficult competition in preparation for American Conference play.
“Not only is it a competitive environment with the sports, but they get to see the culture and all of that other stuff,” she said. “We’ll do some cultural things while we’re over there, too.”
Temple’s Tristen Taylor drives against Villanova’s MD Ntambue during Saturday’s game.
When the Owls head to the islands Wednesday, they’ll have a special guest with them.
New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones is a Bahamas native and Richardson’s adopted daughter. Jones will be with the Temple players for most of the trip to help show them the culture.
The Owls have competed in multiteam events in the last two years. They went to Tempe, Ariz., for the Briann January Classic in 2023 and Berkeley, Calif., for the Raising The B.A.R Invitational last season. However, this event will be a different experience, Richardson said.
“They’re going to swim with the dolphins and maybe some yoga with the flamingos,” she said. “So we’ll do some nice cultural things. Take up a lot of the different Bahamian meals … and meet some of the townspeople. It’ll be a great experience.”
The Spartans are unbeaten through six games and have scored at least 90 points in each game. Michigan State also will be the fourth team the Owls face this year that made the NCAA Tournament last season.
Savannah Curry and Temple lost big to Kelsey Jones and Villanova on Saturday.
Depending on the results of the first round of games, Temple then will face Clemson or Western Carolina. The Tigers had a losing record last season but are 4-2 so far. The Catamounts entered Tuesday with a 2-4 record.
“It’s important for us to be challenged early, so that we’re used to that,” Richardson said. “And then we’re resilient and can fight through some things because we’ll be challenged by some Top 25 teams. And when we get to conference play, it won’t be a heavy lift because we’ll have been through it already.”
NEW YORK — Maggie Doogan turned and launched a three-pointer from the top of the key, then yelled, “What?” when the ball splashed through the net to give Richmond a 13-point lead at Columbia last week. The former Cardinal O’Hara star grinned when she sank another deep shot to continue her team’s fourth-quarter surge.
After a cold shooting start, Doogan was Richmond’s leading scorer (16 points) and added nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks in a key early-season matchup between mid-major programs that won NCAA Tournament games in March. And when a reporter in the postgame news conference suggested she had struggled offensively in the 77-67 road victory, coach Aaron Roussell playfully responded with, “Tough ‘evals,’ man.”
“I think it’s a pretty good stat line, with all due respect,” Roussell said. “ … I’ll take those ‘off’ nights from her.”
That illustrates the heightened expectations for Doogan, the reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and perhaps the best mid-major player in women’s college basketball. The 6-foot-2 do-everything forward is averaging 23.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.4 blocks through the Spiders’ first seven games. That includes a monster performance in last week’s 72-57 victory over Temple, when she racked up 31 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists.
Her ascent has coincided with Richmond’s, which last season won a second consecutive A-10 regular-season title and its first March Madness game in program history. The 5-2 Spiders, whose only losses so far are to No. 4 Texas and No. 8 TCU, were ranked in the preseason Associated Press top 25 poll and are receiving votes now.
Doogan acknowledges building this legacy is “not at all” what she envisioned when she signed with Richmond. But Roussell calls her a “perfect model” for player development, with the versatility to anchor the Spiders’ read-and-react offensive system. In this new era of college athletics, Doogan also made an increasingly rare decision to not entertain NIL opportunities from power-conference programs and stay at Richmond for her final season.
Richmond’s Maggie Doogan dives for a loose ball in a 2023 game against Villanova.
Also fueling Doogan’s rise? Her on-court diligence and quest for basketball intel. That sets the standard for everybody in the Spiders’ program — including its coach.
“You can’t fake anything with her,” Roussell said in a telephone interview last week. “You can’t be a teammate and not work hard around her. You can’t be her coach and not invest in her and not put the time in with the film. Because she’s going to have questions, and you need to be able to answer those.
“That’s probably been different for me coaching her than maybe any other kid that I’ve ever coached.”
Spiders?
When Doogan was a sophomore in high school, her mother, Chrissie, gave her a Richmond T-shirt as an Easter present.
“Mom, I’m not going to a school where Spiders are the mascot,” Maggie jokingly retorted.
But the Doogan family, based in Broomall, already had a connection to the Richmond coaching staff. Assistant Jeanine Radice, then at Marist, had recruited Chrissie (née Donahue) before she became La Salle’s second all-time leading scorer and member of the school’s athletics Hall of Fame. Then they stayed in touch as Chrissie entered coaching at La Salle, Cornell, and Cardinal O’Hara, where she currently is the school’s athletic director.
So Mom initially sent Maggie’s film, which highlighted her basketball IQ, to Radice. Maggie later demonstrated her outstanding shooting at one of Richmond’s camps, Roussell said. And the coach recognized untapped potential.
Maggie, meanwhile, was interested in branching out from the Philly area but remaining within a reasonable driving distance. She wanted strong academics and the opportunity to play right away. And while visiting Richmond’s campus, she fell in love with the “gorgeous” red-brick buildings.
“It was an easy choice once I really looked into it,” she said.
Cardinal O’Hara’s Maggie Doogan holds the the championship plaque as she celebrates with teammates after beating Archbishop Carroll for the Catholic League title in 2022.
Chrissie wondered whether Maggie’s lanky frame would be strong enough when she entered college. Roussell, though, deliberately took her early development slowly, because the coach “really wanted to make her earn” playing time. A broken hand kept Doogan sidelined for about five weeks, forcing her to step back and observe and pick coaches’ brains from the bench.
“I don’t know if they put something magic in my hand,” Doogan said, “but I was just kind of a different player and took that big leap. That kind of just gave me more confidence at the collegiate level.”
Her breakout game fittingly came in a nationally televised overtime victory over St. Joseph’s. Roussell called her “unguardable” as she totaled 28 points, six rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and two steals. By her sophomore season, she was the Spiders’ leading scorer for a team that won 29 games and the first A-10 championship in program history.
In Roussell’s positionless system, Doogan could be viewed as a post player with excellent perimeter shooting and playmaking skills — or a wing who can make an impact inside on both ends of the floor. She not only impressed with her commitment to the weight room and on-court work, but with her film study and tactical aptitude.
Roussell jokingly calls it “stressful” to coach Doogan because of the information she constantly demands. She is not afraid to approach her coach during a shootaround and respectfully ask why they have chosen a specific strategy against an opponent. And the Spiders have changed elements of game plans — before or during a matchup — because of something Doogan observed.
Roussell already says he hopes his “retirement job” is as an assistant coach on Doogan’s future staff.
“The level and the layers of which she thinks about the game is already like a coach,” Russell said. “ … I never want her to be bashful or not tell me what she’s feeling during a game or seeing during a game.”
Those qualities propelled Doogan’s numbers to jump again as a junior, to 17 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. She shot 55.5% from the floor, including 40.6% from beyond the arc. She helped Richmond win a second consecutive regular-season A-10 title, and became the program’s first conference player of the year since 1990.
But after a St. Joe’s buzzer-beater upset Richmond in last season’s A-10 tournament — a game during which Doogan took just five shots and scored five points — she and Roussell had “frank conversations” about what the Spiders consistently needed from her. Doogan went home for spring break and “didn’t speak for three days. … She was miserable,” Chrissie said.
Roussell believes that gave Doogan an extra dose of motivation for a monster NCAA Tournament, after Richmond earned a No. 8 seed in an at-large berth.
She racked up 30 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range, along with 15 rebounds and six assists, in a dominant 74-49 victory over ninth-seeded Georgia Tech. She totaled another 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting, seven assists, and six rebounds in an 84-67 loss to top-seeded UCLA, which advanced to the Final Four.
“I had a lot of pride. A lot of pride,” Doogan said of her team’s March Madness run. “ … Once you kind of step back, and a couple weeks later, I was like, ‘Wow, we really did that.’”
Richmond forward Maggie Doogan toward the basket as Georgia Tech guard Kara Dunn defends during last season’s NCAA Tournament.
Still, “literally the second we got back” from the NCAA Tournament, Roussell said, he and Doogan needed to have another honest discussion about her plans for the 2025-26 season. That is the reality in this transfer-portal era, because mid-major players regularly leave for power-conference programs that can offer more lucrative NIL deals.
Chrissie acknowledges she “got some calls on the side” to gauge Maggie’s interest in exploring options. She had to ask her daughter, “Would you leave for any certain amount?” Though Roussell received no indication from the family that he should be worried, he added, “I’m no dummy. I know the pursuers were out there.”
But Maggie and Roussell were aligned on how special this season could be for the Spiders — and that she wanted to finish her college career where it started.
“Not everybody would have made the decision that she did,” Roussell said. “There was a lot of loyalty involved. Now, do I think this was a great fit for her and this was the right answer? Yeah. But she left money on the table by coming back here, and that’s not something every 21-year-old is doing.”
Added Doogan: “Honestly, it’s home. And I wouldn’t want to spend my last year anywhere else.”
After Richmond’s win at Columbia, Chrissie sent Maggie a text about the two turnovers she committed during the game’s final minute.
“Wow, thanks for the love,” Maggie sarcastically responded.
Consider that evidence that the coach-player aspect of this close mother-daughter bond has never fully dissipated. Neither have other characteristics Maggie says she acquired while growing up as a Philly basketball kid. She immediately highlighted her toughness, that “I don’t really like to take a lot of B.S. from people, and I think I get that from back home.” She also credits her time at O’Hara with fostering her vocal leadership, which was on display while speaking up during timeouts throughout Richmond’s win at Columbia.
“I’m trying to calm everybody down, which hopefully works,” she said after that game. “I kind of know what [Roussell is] thinking, and I’m good at talking with everybody else. I think it’s kind of why I’m on the floor.”
She also is navigating life as a player who, before the season, was ranked among ESPN’s top 25 returners in the country.
She acknowledged after the Columbia game that she felt more defensive “crowding” while in the paint and a greater focus on wherever she was on the floor. Roussell is pleased that Doogan is executing on individual focuses, like better finishing, drawing fouls around the rim, and improving as a playmaker and rebounder. Being invited to last summer’s Team USA’s Women’s AmeriCup team trials, where she competed alongside some of college basketball’s best players, also boosted her confidence, Roussell said.
“She has not hit her apex yet,” Roussell said. “There is really good basketball in her future that will be better than what she is now.”
Yet the Doogan family is embracing Maggie’s final college season, which Chrissie compares to the ending of a book.
A group in Richmond gear swarmed Maggie for hugs following the Columbia win, then posed together for a photo op. Her grandparents make the four-hour drive to Richmond for nearly every home game. And whenever Chrissie visits, she notices children wearing No. 44 jerseys with “Doogan” on the back.
“As a parent, you’re like, ‘Wow, this kid,’” Chrissie said. “People all over Richmond know her.”
Richmond’s Maggie Doogan looks on after shooting as Georgia Tech center Ariadna Termis watches.
That’s the impact of Doogan becoming a perfect model of development and versatility.
And the player who stayed at her mid-major school through her entire career.
And the person who continues to set the standard for her program’s historic rise.
“It’s going to be awful whenever she takes off that jersey,” Chrissie said of Maggie. “I know there will be tears shed. But she’s got so much to be proud of, and so much to be excited for this season.
“We’re just trying to take it one game at a time, one practice at a time, and enjoy the ride.”
Temple is reeling after its third straight loss, but coach K.C. Keeler says his team needs to keep things in perspective.
Temple (5-6, 3-4 American) will need to win its regular-season finale Friday at No. 21 North Texas (3:30 p.m., ESPN) to become bowl eligible.
“Concerned the guys are losing some confidence, and I’ve got to make sure that we don’t,” Keeler said Monday at his weekly news conference. “My point to them [Tuesday] in our team meeting is going to be, ‘When I showed up in December, if I promised you that we’d be playing for a meaningful game in November, you guys would all be jumping up and down.’ So that’s what they have to remember. We’re playing a meaningful game in November. We’re playing for an opportunity to beat a nationally ranked team and go to a bowl game.”
Temple was cruising after defeating Tulsa, 38-37, in overtime on Oct. 25. The Owls were 5-3, a win away from their first bowl game since 2019, and even had an outside shot at making the American Conference championship game for the first time since 2016. Then came the three-game skid, capped by a 37-13 loss to Tulane on Saturday.
Temple coach K.C. Keeler on the sideline during the second half against Tulane.
Now comes a matchup with Drew Mestemaker and North Texas (10-1, 6-1). The redshirt freshman and former walk-on leads the conference’s top-scoring offense. Keeler said he tried to get Mestemaker to walk on when the coach was at Sam Houston State before the quarterback committed to the Mean Green.
North Texas averages 46.3 points per game, which ranks first in Division I. Mestemaker has passed for 3,469 passing yards, the most in the FBS, and 26 touchdowns.
“He’s a big, athletic kid who’s very smart and has a talented arm,” Keeler said. “You pressure him, he knows right where to get the ball. They do a good job with the screen game to where you try heating them up, boy, they’re going to really kill you with those quick screens. So, it’s not giving up the game plan, but we have to change it up.”
Temple’s defense has been banged up for much of the last month but is coming back to form for the regular-season finale. Keeler expects safeties Dontae Pollard (knee) and Avery Powell (shoulder) to play. He also expects to rotate cornerbacks, giving Adrian Laing, Denzel Chavis, and Devontae Ward-Grant some playing time.
However the priority will be getting the offense back to form. The Owls have failed to score 20 points in the last three games after three straight games scoring at least 31. Temple rushed for only 20 yards against Tulane, but Keeler expects that to change against the Mean Green, who are last in the conference in rushing defense (211.2 yards allowed per game).
“When we’ve played well, we’ve done a really good job of keeping our defense off the field,” Keeler said. “Just methodically moving the ball downfield, a couple big plays here and there, and taking that time off the clock and also getting points. Against these guys, you want to play by sevens, not threes.”
Temple’s Allan Haye (8) puts pressure on Tulane’s Jake Retzlaff on Saturday.
The three straight losses came against teams that rank in the top five in the American in scoring defense. Keeler hopes that with the toughest defenses behind them, the Owls offense will get back on track.
Temple was without right tackle Diego Barajas (flu) and center Grayson Mains (ankle) for much of Saturday, and they will be game-time decisions on Friday. Both saw limited reps Monday in practice, but linemen Luke Watson and Chris Smith also participated in case they need to fill in against North Texas.
“They’re a good football team,” Keeler said of the Mean Green. “When we’ve played well. We’ve played with everybody in this league. … I need to make sure that when we go into that game that our mind is set. … You know what? You kind of flush what happened last couple weeks. You’ve got to just go out and play this ballgame.”
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Terry Smith is no longer timid when asked about his interest in shedding his interim title to become Penn State’s next head coach. He wants the job, and he has made that desire known in recent days.
After the Nittany Lions’ 37-10 win over Nebraska on Saturday, Smith said he “has always been a head coach.” Dani Dennis-Sutton, the team’s standout defensive end, said Smith told players he wants to be Penn State’s next head coach.
And on Monday, Smith reiterated that statement.
“I would like to be the head coach [at Penn State],” Smith said. “If I don’t speak for myself, who will?”
After a 3-3 start led to James Franklin’s firing, Smith led Penn State (5-6, 2-6 Big Ten) through its toughest stretch of the season. The Nittany Lions went winless in his first three games, with losses to Iowa, No. 1 Ohio State, and No. 2 Indiana.
But the team was more competitive. Penn State lost to the Hawkeyes by one point in a tough road environment, trailed the Buckeyes by three points at halftime at Ohio Stadium, and nearly handed Indiana its first loss of the season.
Then came the team’s breakthrough, a 28-10 road win over Michigan State, followed by a dominant 27-point victory over Nebraska. Smith said he is interviewing for the head coaching job every day with the way he leads this team.
And through five games, he believes his interview is going well.
“No one knows Penn State better than me,” Smith said. “Of all the candidates that are out there, I [best] know the history of Penn State, I know the culture, the DNA, the locker room, the administration. I think I’m a good leader of men, and that will take care of itself when the time comes.”
Penn State interim coach Terry Smith celebrates after winning against Nebraska on Saturday.
Smith is correct. He spent four years as a player and 12 more as a coach at Penn State. He also has the backing of the team and its fans, which was showcased Saturday night with several “Terry!” chants and signs etched with “Hire Terry Smith.”
Smith has generated impressive support off the field, but his team also has improved in several key areas on the field since his promotion.
The Nittany Lions offense, which struggled to generate explosive plays before Franklin’s firing, has successfully thrown the ball downfield in recent weeks. After registering zero completions of 20 or more yards in his first two starts, Ethan Grunkemeyer had 13 completions in that category over his last three games.
“We’re answering all your guys’ questions about throwing the ball down the field,” Smith said. “The ball is going down the field, which is opening up our run game, which is why we ran for over 200 yards [against Nebraska]. We look like a real football team.”
On several occasions before his firing, Franklin said he wanted his defense to “play faster.” His pleas were not answered.
But three weeks ago, Smith simplified some of Jim Knowles’ defense and added a “prowler package” to generate a greater pass rush. The Nittany Lions have since allowed just 15.7 points per game and tallied 11 sacks — nearly half their season total.
After a six-game losing streak and a 3-6 start, Smith has his team positioned for bowl eligibility. The only thing standing in its way: a road date with Rutgers (5-6, 2-6) on Saturday (3:30 p.m., BTN).
“We approach these last couple of weeks as do-or-die, playoff-type games. And this is another playoff game for us,” Smith said. “We’re playing to get that extra game.”
