Villanova Women’s Basketball Beats Marquette, Moves on to Semifinals

Villanova Women’s Basketball advanced to the semifinals of the Big East Tournament on Saturday, March 8, staving off a late push from Marquette on the way to a 73-66 win.

Freshman guard Jasmine Bascoe led the Wildcats with 22 points, adding ten rebounds for a double-double. Senior Maddie Burke set the tone with a three-point swish on the first shot of the game, going on to tie a season-best with five triples.

Villanova’s defense limited the Golden Eagles to a 38.6 shooting percentage, including a 3-of-13 clip on three-point attempts. The Wildcats tried to attack Marquette from beyond the arc, pouring on 23 attempts, but converted just nine of them, weighing down their 46.4 shooting percentage.

The first half saw ten lead changes and seven ties as Villanova struggled to pull away. Bascoe drew an and-1 layup with 1.1 seconds left in the half, sinking her free throw to put the Wildcats ahead 32-29. Although Marquette managed to fight back for a tie twice in the third period, Villanova never trailed again. Burke and Bascoe played their best basketball in the final frame, each notching 11 points. A Bascoe layup put the Wildcats ahead 65-55 with 2:11 to play, their largest lead on the day. Five quick points from the Golden Eagles kept them in the game, then Burke sank the dagger with another three-pointer, giving Bascoe a chance to sink her free throws and put the game away.

Villanova Women’s Basketball advances to face No. 3 ranked UConn, the top seed in the conference and the tournament host, in a semifinal matchup set for 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 9.