Villanova women’s basketball team is finding some consistency in Big East play, as it sealed a 65-53 win over Marquette on Sunday.
Entering the matchup, Marquette (14-7, 6-4 Big East) was fourth in the Big East and Villanova (12-10, 6-4) sat in fifth. Now, Villanova is tied with the Golden Eagles for fourth in the conference.
During their last meeting on Jan. 11, Villanova gave up an early lead and was missing freshman point guard and leading scorer Jasmine Bascoe due to an injury, which resulted in a 64-59 loss.
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“From that game to now, we have a new team that came in and there has been growth,” said graduate guard Bronagh Power-Cassidy. “Today, it was about having that pride and sense of togetherness. We’ve grown from that, we learned from that, and today we made sure it was a different outcome.”
Bascoe finished with a team-high 17 points and six assists. Junior forward Denae Carter also contributed 15 points, six rebounds, and two steals.
Marquette was led by sophomore guard Halle Vice with 20 points.
Power from three
Sharp shooting from outside the arc made a significant difference for Villanova.
The Wildcats finished the game shooting 47.1% (8 of 17) from three, despite averaging 35.3% per game. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles went 0-for-9 from deep.
“[The three-point shooting] was huge,” Villanova coach Denise Dillon said. “Our threes were falling. I feel that we’re playing better basketball as a whole.”
While the Wildcats have struggled with slow starts, on Sunday, three-point shooting helped them climb out of an early seven-point deficit. Late in the first quarter, Power-Cassidy nailed back-to-back threes to cut Marquette’s advantage by a point. She led the Wildcats in the first half, scoring 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting from three.
Freshman guard Dani Ceseretti then added another bucket from outside the arc to give Villanova the lead. The Wildcats shot 40.6% from the field and 46.2% from three in the first half.
Second-quarter surge
The Wildcats outscored the Golden Eagles in the second quarter, 20-10, setting the tone for the remainder of the game.
Late in the second quarter, Villanova went on a 9-0 run to claim a double-digit lead.
“There were times in the second quarter that it felt like we were having fun out there and that we were getting good movement,” Power-Cassidy said. “That gave us momentum on both ends of the floor, but ultimately it came from our defense and finding each other on offense.”
The Wildcats also capitalized on Marquette turnovers. Villanova scored 15 points off 11 Marquette turnovers in the first half, while committing just four of its own.
Defense closes out the win
Despite Villanova narrowly losing the rebound battle, 33-31, Dillon attributed much of the win to the team’s steady defensive performance.
“I just feel our defense was really on-point,” Dillon said. “Denae Carter definitely played one of her best defensive games. She played aggressively, she was where she needed to be, and she didn’t foul.”
The Wildcats maintained their lead through the third quarter, despite allowing a 9-0 Marquette run. Villanova went into the fourth ahead, 47-37, and kept its double-digit lead going.
Next up
Villanova will visit Butler on Wednesday (7 p.m., FloSports). The Bulldogs (12-11, 2-8) are eighth in the Big East.