Hatboro, PA – In an exhibition league style with teams loosely comprised of talent from differing colleges, anything truly is possible. Players that struggle to acclimate to the competition initially can go off in any game and teams that looked strong at the start of the season might have peaked and played weaker teams, unbeknownst to those gauging the league.

Then there’s Gold’s situation. Arguably the biggest upset of the season, Gold came into Thursday night undefeated in the Philadelphia/Suburban Women’s NCAA Summer Basketball League. Purple, despite coming into the contest with a 2-1 record, evidently had less talent and were heavy underdogs despite one less win.

Gold ended up without five eligible players, having to forfeit the game to Purple. A win is a win in any competitive scene and Purple (3-1) were the arguable winners for the night. The majority of other games were highly competitive and made for exceptional basketball Thursday night.

Sky Blue (3-1) rebounded after a 89-59 drubbing against Gold Tuesday with an important seven-point overtime victory against Royal Blue. Ciara Andrews (Saint Joseph’s, 2016) is developing into one of the league’s most dominant offensive talents. She had a game-high 20 points and three other players for Sky Blue reached double digits in points.

Royal Blue’s (2-2) two-game winning streak comes to a halt, but their versatility should fuel their run in the standings in the remainder of the year. Rachel Falkowski (East Stroudsburg, 2017) and Noelle Powell (East Stroudsburg, 2019) both contributed 18 points a-piece.

Sticking on the top of versatility, Maroon had 10 players enter the scoring column, with three scorers in double digits. Laura Trisch (University of the Sciences, 2018) led Maroon with 13 points. Her college teammates, Alex Thomas (East Stroudsburg, 2018) and Alyx McKiernan (East Stroudsburg, 2019), both had 10 points in the 23-point victory.

Black (0-4) once again had problems putting the ball in the basket consistently. Outside of Alynna Williams (Philadelphia University, 2020), who had a team-high 23 points, there was little assistance. Possibly next week will be more fortuitous for a Black team needing wins in the league.

In the clash of the winless, Orange (1-3) was the first team to earn their first victory in the league. Unlike Tuesday, Orange used offense to fuel the six-point win, as five players scored 10 or more points Thursday. Allison Chernow (Emory University, 2020) paced Orange with 15 points and Mackenzie Rule (Saint Joseph’s, 2017), who is quietly becoming the team’s primary offensive option, had 13 points.

Kelly Green (0-4) again was single digit points down from notching their first victory, but against a winless team entering the night, it’s a definite letdown. Ashley Smink (Delaware Valley, 2020) had 17 points and Archbishop Ryan and Delaware Valley College teammate added 14 points.

White (2-2) overcame a strong Red team and sneaked out of overtime with the three-point victory. Taylor Thames (Kutztown, 2019) put up a strong performance on both sides of the ball and led White with 19 points. For the second straight game, Alexandra Heck (Philadelphia University, 2016) scored 13 points or more and dropped 17 Thursday. She looks to be a key part of white’s ascension in the standings.

Red (2-2) is stumbling in the standings and facing off against White, they ran into a surging team. Jenna Widdicombe (West Chester, 2019) led the team with 17 points and her incoming college teammate Gabby Troisi (West Chester, 2020) had 14 points. 

Stated previously, Purple won via forfeit. Gold might slip in the standings if they consistently don’t field a five-girl team (they had only six players Tuesday), but they should be ready no matter where they’re seeded in the playoffs.

Purple unfortunately didn’t play, but getting a dangerous Gold team out of the way on the schedule is a plus.

And then there was one. Pink (4-0) survives a major scare against an upset-poised Hunter Green team. Lauren Rothfeld (Salisbury University, 2017) once again led Pink in scoring with 20 points and Sarah Sherman (Juniata College, 2017) had 14 in the win. Pink is one of the more versatile teams in the league and looks to be a viable contender.

Hunter Green (1-3) seems to have a game plan by using 6-foot Alexix Roman (Scranton University, 2017) down low. She had a game-high 17 points and Amanda McGrogan (Downing, 2020) contributed 13 points in the close game for a Hunter Green squad that hopes to pick up wins next week in the standings.