ARIES (March 21-April 19). Reinvention is available, and you’re willing to let go of the familiar. Even though certain beliefs about who you are feel safe — because they’re known — you’re brave enough to take a risk and let them go. You’re more than your role — more than your story.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Your efforts to listen better give you a competitive edge. Most people don’t value the skill enough to be excellent at it. It takes a calm and open mind to settle into what’s being expressed. People notice and respect your talent.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Finishing what you start is a declaration of your strength. Every completed project, big or small, builds momentum. Your credibility is increasing, and so is your confidence as you honor the commitments that honor you.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). If you don’t know quite what you want, at least you know what you don’t want, which is the best place to start. All that you don’t want is negative space, and you’re the sculptor freeing the figure from everything that is not the figure.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). What appears to be an ordinary encounter has more levels. Others are unstressed because they are naive to the stakes. You’re well aware. Because of your sensitivity, interactions require more of you, but they give you more, too.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You will live as the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche did, by the concept of amor fati, “a love of one’s fate.” Whatever destiny hands over, you’ll polish it until it gleams. You’ll be trusted with treasures of finance and heart.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Any clothing can be attractive on a confident person. However, it’s difficult to feel confident if you don’t like what you’re wearing. Address issues of style. It’s a power move.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You see your loved ones clearly, including their flaws and past mistakes, and you stay loyal. Loyalty shows up as discretion (not broadcasting their failures) and as a conscious choice to emphasize their strengths when you stand by them.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). No one knows what they are doing today. It’s unclear where we’re headed. There’s a general sense of being uninformed; it’s the same for everyone. Dive in and do what you can with what you know, and you’ll soon know more.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). It’s easy to want something just because everyone seems to. But those wants, even when fulfilled, are somehow unfulfilling. That’s why you seek deeper knowledge. Ask your true wants to speak a little louder to you.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). A good lawyer does not present all the information he has about his client during the opening statement. And nor do you need to tell your whole story immediately. You already have the attention, so you can be deliberate with your pacing.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). A lot of simple improvements don’t happen because no one thinks to make them happen. But you’re always looking around for opportunities to help. You’ll see what needs fixing and move things in a better, brighter direction.
TODAY’SBIRTHDAY (Jan. 26). Welcome to your Year of the Bold Declaration in which you simply say how it’s going to be and watch the world move to make it so. You’ve put the work in, been generous, taken the time to learn excellence, and now you ask the world to do its part. More highlights: exciting sites, tickets and venues, holding hands in solidarity and romance, and physical feats of health and vitality. Sagittarius and Virgo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 19, 29, 42, 6 and 4.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). There’s a problem to toy with — not a problem that’s urgent and needs solving, but one you can figure out in joy and playfulness. A relaxed state will do much of the work for you. So many solutions will come to you.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You don’t romanticize less-than-ideal circumstances, nor do you let them define you. These conditions add dimension to your work, your purpose and your life. You’ll use all that happens like the artist you are.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). It’s a day to revisit the rituals that connect you to your values and remind you of who you are and where you come from. That might sound serious and effort-intensive, but it plays out simply: “I do this because it feels good, familiar or fun to me, and here’s why …”
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You recognize quality quickly. You can point to the best things — the meat of an idea, the cute part of a story, the best characteristics of a person. Today, your instinct to find the best part saves time and elevates outcomes.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your confidence isn’t about what you have. It’s about knowing you can make something of whatever comes. You trust in your powers of adaptation, which seem to braid together your creativity, resilience and emotional intelligence to orient you toward possibility.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The sky is only blue a fraction of the time. Many carrots are not orange. Many radishes are not red. Not all blue whales are blue. Life comes to you vividly today because you have the open mind to see beyond color and into the possibility.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You’re learning for the joy of it. The fact you stumble upon today becomes a bridge to something larger. Curiosity compounds. It’s all casual today, but just wait and see how quickly it grows into an immersive interest.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You embody a cheerful cleverness, like you just cracked a code, and you’ll apply some of this to your relationship with money. Today, you’re centered on value rather than price. Spending becomes intentional. What you choose supports your priorities.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’re in the mood to zoom out and ask a bigger and brighter question. Possibility feels generous today, not abstract. An invitation, an idea or a change of scenery remind you how many choices you really have, and that freedom fuels your optimism.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Steady effort pays off in a satisfying way. You see how far you’ve come because something that once felt heavy now feels manageable. Your competence makes everything easier, and that ease frees you to think creatively about what comes next.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You notice where you don’t quite fit, and instead of adjusting yourself, you adjust the situation. Innovation can happen through small tweaks and original angles — you prove that today. What seems unconventional at first proves effective and very much your style.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). A pause will be necessary to get perspective. If it feels luxurious, let it be. If it’s merely practical, that’s good, too. Just don’t let it feel indulgent because this is necessary. Moments of stillness sharpen judgment and soften interactions. You return refreshed and clear.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Jan. 19). This is your Year of Strategic Magic. You’ll wield charm. Your charisma will get you into rooms where decisions are made and you’ll be an important part of the verdict. Confidence radiates from the calm way you take on challenges. More highlights: Relationships deepen. Your political and emotional savvy grows. You’ll achieve academic or financial success. Pisces and Virgo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 2, 14, 30, 1 and 37.
DEAR ABBY: I have three daughters with children of their own. Every year, we have a family vacation. My daughter “Monica’s” children, ages 8 and 9, whom I love and see regularly, behave badly. They cuss, yell at adults and show no respect whatsoever.
We have brought this to Monica’s attention multiple times. She always reacts like we are wrong and says, “I’m not going to beat my kids.” At no time did we imply she should “beat” her kids, just give them a time-out or a scolding. If any of us tell them “Stop, please don’t do that,” they act like victims. It’s so bad that one of my other daughters told us as we were planning a vacation that she will not be going because of Monica’s kids’ behavior.
Monica accuses us of not liking her kids and being mean. She goes to the school to argue with teachers and the principal if her kids tell her they didn’t get their way. I don’t know what her issue is. Her reasons sound like she is mentally ill. Anything you can recommend?
— NOT ENABLING IN NEVADA
DEAR NOT ENABLING: Monica is a terrible parent. A responsible mother would see that her children learn appropriate behavior before they get into serious trouble. Because you cannot help your daughter to see reality, I recommend you stop inviting Monica and her children on these vacations. Their behavior is unacceptable, and their cousins should not be further influenced by their bad example.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: I am a 70-year-old male caring for my 71-year-old wife. She has had health issues for more than 10 years. I own my own business and am the only employee, although my wife does help me with a portion of the business. Dealing with all her health issues, trying to run a business, trying to survive financially and navigating the world today is difficult.
I am seeking resources or a support group in my area that works with people who care for their family members. We have been to counseling, which helped, but did not help me with all that I feel and have to do. I don’t think my wife could navigate this world on her own. Can you point me in the right direction?
— RESPONSIBLE IN TEXAS
DEAR RESPONSIBLE: You are carrying a heavy load. An organization called The Caregiver Action Network (formerly the National Family Caregivers Association) may be what you are seeking. Established in 1992, it works to improve the quality of life for tens of millions of family caregivers, providing education, peer support and resources to family caregivers across the country free of charge. For more information, go to caregiveraction.org or call 855-277-3640.
** ** **
DEAR READERS: Today, we remember the birthday of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. who in 1968 was martyred in the cause of civil rights. During a time of insanity, his was a voice of reason when he eloquently preached, “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro questioned whether he was being unfairly scrutinized asthe only Jewish person being considered as a finalistto be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate — and briefly entertained his own run for the presidency — according to a copy of his upcoming book obtained by The Inquirer.
Shapiro, a popular Democratic governor long rumored to have future presidential ambitions, even briefly entertained a run shortly after then-President Joe Biden unexpectedly dropped out of the race in July 2024, according to his book. The Abington Township resident is now seen as a top contender for the 2028 Democratic nomination as he seeks reelection in Pennsylvania this year.
But before Shapiro ended up in the veepstakes for Harris’ running mate, he wrote in his book that there was a moment right after Biden dropped out of the race where he considered whether he should run for president.
“Well, now what?” Shapiro wrote. “Maybe there would be a process the party would engage in to replace him? Did I want to be part of that?”
He called his wife, Lori, who at the time was out of the country with their two younger kids. “I don’t think we are ready to do this,” Shapiro recalled his wife saying from a Walmart in Vancouver. “It’s not the right time for our family. And it’s not on our terms.”
After that call, Shapiro wrote that he quickly decided he didn’t want to run and would back Harris, as Biden also endorsed her for the top of the ticket.
Once the field cleared for Harris, Shapiro recalled seeing his face on TV as her potential running mate, before he was asked by her campaign manager to be formally vetted.
In the days that followed,Shapiro contended with increasing national scrutiny as he emerged as a front-runner. Some pro-Palestinian protesters began calling Shapiro “Genocide Josh” online, he wrote. And top Democrats questioned whether a Jewish running mate would deter voters from supporting Harris, as Shapiro had been outspoken against some pro-Palestinian campus protests that year.
What was unknown: Whether those same questions — and some even more extreme — were circulating within Harris’ camp, Shapiro wrote in his most detailed retelling of his experience vying for the vice presidency to date.
Gov. Josh Shapiro at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris at Wissahickon High School in Ambler on July 29, 2024.
Just before he went to meet with Harris at the vice president’s residence in the summer of 2024, Shapiro received a call from Dana Remus, former White House counsel for Biden who was coleading the vetting process for Harris.
“Have you ever been an agent of the Israeli government?” Remus asked, according to Shapiro’s memoir.
“Had I been a double agent for Israel? Was she kidding?” Shapiro wrote in his 257-page book. “I told her how offensive the question was.”
According to the memoir, Remus then asked if Shapiro had ever communicated with an undercover Israeli agent, which he shot back: “If they were undercover… how the hell would I know?”
“Remus was just doing her job. I get it. But the fact that she asked, or was told to ask that question by someone else, said a lot about some of the people around the VP,” Shapiro wrote.
In high school, Shapiro completed a program in Israel that included service projects on a farm, and at a fishery in a kibbutz, as well as at an Israeli army base, which he once described in his college student newspaper as “a past volunteer in the Israeli army.”
Harris’ office could not be reached for comment Sunday evening. Remus also could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday.
Shapiro, more broadly, recalled getting the feeling from Harris’ vetting team that she should pick Shapiro — a popular Democratic governor in a critical swing state — but that they had reservations about whether Shapiro’s views would mesh with Harris’.
In one vetting session with U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D., Nev.), former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, former associate Attorney General Tony West, and former senior Biden adviser Cedric Richmond, Shapiro wrote that he had been questioned “a lot” about Israel, including why he had been outspoken against the protests at Penn.
“I wondered whether these questions were being posed to just me — the only Jewish guy in the running — or if everyone who had not held a federal office was being grilled about Israel in the same way,” he wrote. (Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who is Jewish, was also vetted to be Harris’ running mate. Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is also Jewish.)
In his book, Shapiro recalled the whirlwind two weeks as an awe-inspiring window into an opportunity — but ultimately it was one he knew he didn’t want.
When Shapiro finally sat down with Harris in the dining room at the Naval Observatory, he said it became clear that she had a different vision for the vice presidency than what he wanted. He would work primarily with her staff and couldn’t say whether he would have access to her. In her own experience as vice president, she saw the job as mostly to make sure that you aren’t making any problems for the president, he wrote.
Shapiro noted his own relationship with his No. 2, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis. The role in itself has few powers, but Shapiro views Davis as a governing partner and is one of few people who can walk into his office unannounced at any time, he wrote. He wanted the same relationship with Harris, he said, noting that he knew he would not be the decision-maker.
“If we had door A and door B as options, and she was for door A and I was for door B, I just wanted to makes sure that I could make the case for door B,” Shapiro wrote.
But Harris was “crystal clear” that that wasn’t the kind of president-vice president dynamic she envisioned, he said.
In her own book released last year, 107 Days, Harris recalled the meeting differently. There, she wrote that Shapiro had “peppered” her with questions and “mused that he would want to be in the room for every decision.”His ambitions, she said, didn’t align with her view that a vice president should be a No. 2 and not a “copresident.”
Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with Dawn Staley (left), while promoting her new book “107 Days,” at the Met on Sept. 25 in Philadelphia. The event was held in partnership with Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books.
As Shapiro tells it, the friction with Harris’ team didn’t stop there.
Shortly after meeting with Harris, Shapiro in his book recalled another unpleasant conversation with Remus, in which he wrote that she said she “could sense that I didn’t want to do this.”
According to the book, Remus said it would be hard for Shapiro to move to Washington, it would be a strain financially for his family who “didn’t have a lot of money” by D.C. standards, and that Lori would need to get a whole new wardrobe and pay people to do her hair and makeup.
It was then that he decided to leave the apartment where he had been asked to wait until Harris could come and talk to him again, he recalled.
“These comments were unkind to me. They were nasty to Lori,” Shapiro wrote. “I hold no grudge against Remus, who I know was doing the job she had to do, but I needed to leave.”
Shapiro went home, he said, and went over the day’s events with Lori at the edge of their bed.
“On one hand, I was still tugged by the prestige of it all. It’s an honor. It’s a big title. But that’s never been enough for me,” he wrote. Still, he struggled with what it would mean to withdraw, concerned about not playing his part in a high-stakes election and letting his supporters down. Ultimately, he decided that it was not his race to win or lose, he wrote.
“People were going to cast their votes for her, or they weren’t,” he added.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic nominee for president, and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, address a rally to kick off their campaign at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
He decided that day he did not want the job, and toyed with the idea about publicly releasing a statement withdrawing himself from the running. He said he also tried to tell Harris he did not think it would be a good fit, but wasn’t able to reach her.
“I was wrung out. I just wanted to be home with my family, to take a walk with Lori, and just be,” he wrote.
Gov. Josh Shapiro takes the stage ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz at a rally in Philadelphia’s Liacouras Center on August 6, 2024.
But when it was time for him to take the stage ahead of Walz and Harris, he was long-applauded by his home city and gave a speech “from my heart” about how he took pride in his faith and his support for Walz and Harris.
Shapiro’s memoir will be released Jan. 27 and is a reflection on his decades as an elected official, including as Pennsylvania attorney general, as well as the firebombing of his home last year. He will tout the book in Philadelphia on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Parkway Central Library. He will also discuss the book at upcoming book tour stops in New York and Washington.
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday will end with the coldest temperatures of the season so far, the National Weather Service has forecast, after a snowy weekend.
The day was to start with overnight lows in the high teens and a wind chill that would feel like the low teens, said Paul Fitzsimmons, lead meteorologist with the weather service.
“The roads could still be icy in spots and any slush is going to … freeze,” he said.
Monday’s highs are forecast to stay in the low to mid-30s.
“With wind, it’s going to feel more like the 20s, even at the warmest part of the day,” Fitzsimmons said.
Temperatures are expected to dip into the mid-teens Monday night, which along with a breeze will feel like the mid- to high single digits, he said. In a word: bitter.
Recent weather patterns have kept things cold.
“Basically, we just have a pattern where there’s a persistent upper-level trough over the eastern part of North America, and that’s just a favorable pattern to get reoccurring incursions of this Arctic air,” Fitzsimmons said.
Lou Kratz and his daughter Jules, 10, walk along Umoja Park in Swarthmore on Sunday, after the second snowfall of the weekend. Cleveland, their half sheepdog, half mutt rescue from Texas, is a “Christmas dog,” Jules said.
Philadelphia saw less than an inch through Sunday afternoon but was forecast to finish the day with around 2 inches, according to the weather service. Some suburbs saw higher snowfall, with much of Bucks County seeing the highest totals, above 2 inches.
Things won’t be getting better on Tuesday.
In fact, the weather service forecast a Tuesday night low of 9 degrees. The good news: “There won’t be as much wind,” Fitzsimmons said. “So in terms of the actual real feel, it may not be quite as bad Wednesday morning.”
For sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe, Villanova is “right where we want to be” after a 73-65 victory over Butler on Sunday at the Finneran Pavilion.
Bascoe led the way with 22 points and added two rebounds and six assists as Villanova (15-4, 8-2 Big East) maintained its hold on second place in the conference.
The Wildcats trailed by 33-31 at the half but used a productive third quarter to seal another Big East win. In their last outing, they were thumped, 99-50, at No. 1 UConn on Thursday.
“We want to be trailing UConn in the Big East,” Bascoe said. “That’s a great spot for us going into the second half of the league [schedule], and then hopefully the Big East Tournament. … So it’s just continuing to push through.”
Turning it around
Heading into the game, Villanova coach Denise Dillon urged the team to come out stronger after halftime.
Butler (8-11, 2-7) went on a 7-0 run in the final 1 minute, 13 seconds of the second quarter. The Bulldogs kept the game close in the first half with efficient shooting, going 60.9% from the field. Meanwhile, Villanova shot just 34.4% from the field and 16.7% from the three-point range in the half.
Villanova’s Denae Carter in action against Xavier on Jan. 8.
“[At halftime,] we just acknowledged that we weren’t playing like ourselves in the first half,” Bascoe said. “And to finish off the game right, we had to come out hard in the third quarter. So, you know, we drew up some plays, we intensified our defense, and then it kind of slowed down from there and we didn’t have to force any shots.”
Carter has her moment
Villanova opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run of its own. Bascoe sank a three-pointer and layup off a Butler turnover. Then, sophomore forward Dani Ceseretti assisted on a layup by junior forward Brynn McCurry.
The Wildcats outscored the Bulldogs, 24-15, in the third quarter and led for the rest of the game.
Graduate forward Denae Carter accounted for 11 of those points, shooting 5-for-7 from the field. She added six points in a scoring burst within the last 1:31 of the quarter.
“This is [Carter’s] final run, and when she realizes it, it just fuels her,” Dillon said. “There’s nothing better for this group. You can even see it in the huddle, when all of a sudden she’s like, ‘I’m ready to go.’ … Denae is one of our top defenders, and when she’s disruptive, good things happen for us.”
With less than four minutes left to play, Carter had to leave the court after she was struck in the face and Butler was charged with a flagrant foul. She finished the game with 15 points and four rebounds.
Next up
Villanova visits St. John’s (15-5, 5-4) on Saturday (2 p.m., FS1).
Officials say a medical emergency or an issue with the gas pedal may have led the driver of an SUV to accelerate into a neighbor’s yard and crash into a house in Mullica Hill, N.J., on Saturday, killing the husband and wife in the vehicle and causing a house fire.
Thomas Hengel, 72, and his wife, Lisa Hengel, 61, both died after their vehicle became trapped in the neighbor’s house on Banff Drive, according to Harrison Township Police Chief Ronald Cundey.
“The family in the house, by the grace of God, were in the kitchen, and they weren’t injured,” Cundey said. The home is uninhabitable as a result of the fire, and the family has been temporarily relocated, he said.
Officials are working to determine whether the driver suffered a “medical event” or if the gas pedal “got stuck,” Cundey added.
Harrison Township Mayor Adam Wingate and the police chief both applauded the quick response from the Harrison Township Fire District and other first responder agencies throughout the county.
“It’s a real shock, and it’s sad,” Cundey said. “I’m sure lots of people will have thoughts and prayers for both families.”
Thomas Hengel was a retired teacher from Clearview Regional High School, Cundey noted. He was also a longtime track coach, according to NJ.com.
“It’s just a tragedy,” said Wingate. He described the township, in Gloucester County,about a half hour outside Philadelphia, as a tight-knit community of about 14,000 people, where everyone knows everyone.
Wingate said at the high school,Hengel had a “Mr. Feeny way about him.” He compared him to the Boy Meets World character, played by actor William Daniels, because of Hengel’s passion for students’ success outside the sport.
“At the time, you might not have realized the lesson he was teaching, but even in gym class or as athletes on his teams, he pushed students to be the best version of themselves,” Wingate said. “Preparing them for success far beyond the classroom or track.”
Former student Kevin Walsh said Hengel was an “old-school coach,” who motivated and supported his student athletes even beyond their playing days. “He was almost like a second father figure to a lot of us,” Walsh said. “He really helped mold us during those impressionable years.”
Walsh recalled a time when Hengel showed up to his community college track meet on one of his days off from work. He remembers hearing Hengel’s motivational words from the crowd, pushing him past his physical limits — a moment and lesson he’s carried with him into adulthood.
Walsh said he and Hengel’s other students were “completely devastated” by his loss.
“It was just horrific, the nature of the accident. You just feel for him, his wife, and his family,” he said.
In a written tribute to the Hengel family on Facebook, Clearview graduate Andrea Eppehimer said, “Rest easy, Coach. You’ve earned it. And tell Lisa we’re grateful she was by your side every mile. We love you. We miss you. And we’ll keep running for you.”
Gus Ostrum, president of the Gloucester County Sports Hall of Fame, where Hengel was voted into back in 2018, also expressed his condolences.
”We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Coach Tom Hengel and his wife Lisa on January 18,“ Ostrum wrote in a statement. ”Mr. Hengel was a highly respected coach within the South Jersey cross country and track communities who was elected to the Gloucester County Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. He and his wife will be missed greatly not only among their Clearview Regional High School colleagues but all around South Jersey for their wonderful commitment to our local students, athletes and their families.“
Staff photographer Elizabeth Robertson also contributed to this article.
St. Joseph’s fell behind in the first half and could not come up with enough offense Sunday in 66-59 women’s basketball loss to George Mason at Hagan Arena. The Hawks have lost two straight.
St. Joe’s (12-6, 3-4 Atlantic 10) never led. The Hawks cut George Mason’s lead to five points in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, but the Patriots responded with five straight points and the Hawks never recovered.
“I thought we responded in the second half and did a much better job containing [Kennedy] Harris,” St. Joe’s coach Cindy Griffin said. “I was pleased with the second half. The way we came out and continued to fight and if we make a couple plays here and there, the outcome may be different.”
Guard Kennedy Harris led George Mason (12-6, 7-0) with 22 points. St. Joe’s had three players score in double figures, led by guard Rhian Stokes with 15 points.
Can’t stop Harris
St. Joe’s brought the second-ranked scoring defense in the A-10 into the game, but Harris had few problems cracking it. She poured in 12 points and went 5-for-5 from the field in the first quarter as the Patriots grabbed a 24-16 lead.
Harris got free at the top of the key for a three-pointer as the halftime buzzer sounded, which sent the Hawks to the locker room down 38-26.
“Kennedy Harris was really, really good,” Griffin said. “We had to make some adjustments and we did that much better in the second half.”
The Patriots went the first five minutes of the third quarter without a point before Harris made consecutive jumpers to push their lead back to 43-32.
Battle on the boards
George Mason entered the game with a rebounding margin of -2.3, while St. Joe’s had the fourth-best rebounding margin in the conference at 4.3.
However, the Patriots battled on the glass as each team finished with 33 rebounds. George Mason used the glass to stay ahead in the final quarter, outrebounding St. Joe’s by 9-4. Hawa Komara led the visitors with nine rebounds while Gabby Casey had 10 for the Hawks.
St. Joe’s guard Kaylinn Bethea (22) fights for the ball with George Mason’s Zahirah Walton.
The Hawks missed the presence of guard Jill Jekot, who averages 3.6 rebounds. The injured sophomore has not played since Jan. 3 but could be getting closer to coming back.
“I would love to have had her today,” Griffin said. “Hopefully as the weeks go on she gets stronger because it’s really not about the next game, it’s about the longevity of the season.”
Next up
The Hawks visit Duquesne (7-11, 0-7) on Sunday (2 p.m., ESPN+).
After starting out with three consecutive Atlantic 10 wins, La Salle skidded to its fourth straight conference defeat in women’s basketball with a 62-58 loss to Davidson on Sunday.
The Explorers (10-8, 3-4 A-10) never led in the game at John E. Glaser Arena. Sophomore guard Joan Quinn scored a game-high 19 points and redshirt freshman center Kiara Williams added 14 for La Salle. Katie Donovan scored 13 points to lead a balanced attack for Davidson (14-6, 6-1).
Containing Macktoon
With snow coating the outside of John E. Glaser Arena, La Salle started out cold. The Explorers mustered 10 points in the first quarter and trailed by 15-10. The Wildcats employed a full-court press early, leading to six La Salle turnovers in the first quarter.
Junior guard Aryss Macktoon came into the matchup averaging 15.5 points, but she went scoreless for the Explorers in the first quarter as the Wildcats routinely forced her into tough looks. She finished with eight points.
“I think they were fouling her a lot,” La Salle coach Mountain MacGillivray said. “We got switches with size advantages, and then they let them be really be physical with her. And you know, it’s tough.”
Macktoon finished with five steals, increasing her total for the season to 68, which ranks third in the country. Davidson made 13 turnovers in the first half but led by 25-18 at the break.
With La Salle trailing by 27-22 in the third quarter, Williams made a diving save as she crashed to the floor. Scrambling to her feet, she took a pass in the paint from Ashleigh Connors and sank a turnaround fadeaway jumper, making the shot despite being fouled. The Explorers bench erupted and Williams made the free throw as well.
“That’s the kind of stuff [Williams] does for us,” MacGillivray said. “She is willing to be physical. She’s willing to throw her body around. … She must have [hit the ground] five times today. She dove out of bounds for that one, but she’s on the floor all the time, scrounging for loose balls.”
La Salle Explorers forward Kiara Williams shoots during the third quarter.
The Explorers scored more points in the third quarter (21) than they did in the entire first half. But with 6 minutes, 14 seconds left in the game, Williams fouled out.
The Wildcats put the game away with free throws down the stretch.
Next up
La Salle visits Loyola Chicago on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).
First-place Florida Atlantic proved too much for Temple to handle on Sunday as the Owls dropped a 79-73 decision at the Liacouras Center, their second straight loss. FAU outscored Temple by 10 in the final 10 minutes of the game.
“FAU is a fantastic team. They’re super talented,” said coach Adam Fisher, whose Owls lost at Memphis on Wednesday. “They’ve won their last two [against Wichita State and Memphis]. They’re playing really good basketball, a super-talented group of guards.”
One of those guards, Josia Parker, led the visiting Owls with 22 points as FAU improved to 13-6, 5-1 in the American Conference. Aiden Tobiason finished with 23 points for Temple (11-7, 3-2), which shot just 36.8% from the field.
Temple’s defense delivered, clamping down on FAU’s two leading scorers, guards Kanaan Carlyle (seven points) and guard Devin Vanterpool (12). The visitors took control as Parker scored 19 points after halftime.
Turnovers were a problem for the Owls, who coughed up the ball a season-high 15 times. Guard Jordan Mason scored just five points and finished with one assist before fouling out.
Forward Jamai Felt had a problem pulling in passes in the first half, but Temple had a 34-30 lead at the break. Felt mishandled a pass from Derrian Ford that could have bumped Temple’s lead to six.
AJ Smith’s season over
Fisher said after the game that guard AJ Smith would miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury that requires surgery. Smith transferred to Temple this season after playing last year at Charleston.
The senior guard averaged 7.8 points for the Owls and was a key player off the bench. He has not played since Temple lost to Villanova on Dec. 1.
“He’s had some past history of it, I think at a previous institution, and tried to play through it at the next institution,” Fisher said. “They looked at it, and we tell him, just like we do anybody, ‘Hey, these are family decisions.’”
Temple coach Adam Fisher reacts as he watches a three-point shot in the second half against Florida Atlantic.
Next up
Temple will visit Rice (8-10, 2-3) on Wednesday (8 p.m., ESPN+).
