Villanova WBB Falls at St. John’s After Cold Start

Villanova Women’s Basketball went through a quarter-long shooting slump on Saturday, Jan. 24, one that proved the difference in their 71-58 loss at St. John’s.

The loss pushes the Wildcats (15-5, 8-3 Big East) into a tie with Seton Hall for second place in the conference, but they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. Villanova played without usual starter Denae Carter, who required stitches after taking a hard hit against Butler on Jan. 18. Usual sixth player Ryanne Allen started in her place and let the team in scoring with 12 points.

Villanova went ahead 5-2 on a Brynn McCurry layup two minutes into the first quarter. Their next shot, a McCurry three, came more than nine minutes later. The Red Storm scored 24 straight points in the interim, Villanova committing four turnovers during an 0-for-10 freeze.

Five of those misses came from three, where the Wildcats attempted 28 of 62 shots on the day, making 29 percent.

Villanova continued to play aggressive defense, on Tuesday, Jan. 27 forcing 21 turnovers on the day, but St. John’s dominated inside to the tune of 42 points in the paint, taking advantage of Carter’s absence.

After falling behind 26-5, the Wildcats outscored the Johnnies 53-45 the rest of the way, but that early hole proved too much to overcome.

A Brooke Bender triple made it 33-20 with 2:26 to play in the first half, but St. John’s bookended the half with an 11-4 run that pushed their lead back to 20 points.

Villanova pulled no closer, the Red Storm responding to each of their scoring pushes; threes from MD Ntambue and Rachel Wirts in the final 30 seconds made the score look more respectable.

The Wildcats will return to action at home against Providence at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27.