700 For Perretta
Villanova erased a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit at Georgetown thanks in part to Adrianna Hahn’s career-high 29 points to lead the Wildcats to a 63-60 win over the Hoyas. The win not only moved Villanova into a three-way tie for second place in the BIG EAST standings but was head coach Harry Perretta’s 700
th career victory and his 300
th BIG EAST win. Perretta, who earned career wins Nos. 100 and 300 also against Georgetown, becomes the 14
th Division I coach to reach the 700 mark and the 25
th across all divisions. He is just the third active D1 women’s coach to earn all 700 at one school, joining Montana’s Robin Selvig and Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma. Perretta is just the fourth BIG EAST basketball coach, men’s or women’s, to reach 300 league wins, joining Auriemma (402), Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim (416) and UConn’s Jim Calhoun (309). The winningest coach in the history of Villanova basketball for men or women, Perretta has guided the Wildcats to 17, 20-win seasons, 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, 16 Philadelphia Big Five titles, three BIG EAST regular season championships and three BIG EAST Tournament titles during his 38-year Main Line career.
The Drama Builds
With just one weekend of play remaining, only three seeds have been solidified for the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament. DePaul has known for a week it will be the No. 1 seed, while Butler will be No. 9 and Providence will be No. 10. Sunday’s outcomes caused a logjam in the standings as the Bulldogs upset -/RV St. John’s, 62-58, and -/RV Seton Hall won at Xavier, 72-67, forcing a three-way tie between the Red Storm, Pirates and Villanova for second place (10-6). Marquette won the high-scoring battle at Providence, 92-85, and moved into fifth place all alone at 9-8 for its highest place in the standings all season. Just one game separates sixth-place Xavier (8-8) and Georgetown and Creighton, who are tied for seventh at 7-9. The Musketeers and Hoyas square off in next Sunday’s finale, while other notable matchups in the last weekend of the regular season include Xavier-Villanova (Friday on FS1), No. 21/19 DePaul-Marquette (Saturday, BEDN) and Creighton’s road swing at Seton Hall (Friday, BEDN) and St. John’s (Sunday, FS2).
Player Performances
In addition to Hahn’s 29-point showing at Georgetown, a number of players made highlight reels in an exciting day of BIG EAST action. Dorothy Adomako turned in one of her top performances of the year for the Hoyas with 24 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three assists. Tiffany Jones totaled 14 points and 16 rebounds, including seven off the offensive glass, in 29 minutes of turnover-free basketball for Seton Hall, which staved off Xavier in the final moments of a tense showdown in Cincinnati. Four of Jones’ offensive boards came in the fourth quarter as the Pirates’ clinched their third consecutive 20-win season. Blaire Langlois celebrated Butler’s senior day with 16 points to top St. John’s, despite 27 points and 11 boards from the BIG EAST’s leading scorer Danaejah Grant. Langlois added six dimes in the win. Jessica January led all scorers at Creighton on Sunday in a nationally televised tilt, totaling 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds in No. 21/19 DePaul’s seventh-straight win. All five starters scored in double figures for Marquette, including a game-high 22 points for Erika Davenport. Providence also saw five double-digit scorers in its highest scoring game since Dec. 9, with Allegra Botteghi notching her first double-double of the year with 15 points and 10 boards.
Weekend Results
Friday
-/RV Seton Hall 72, Butler 67*
21/19 DePaul 91, Providence 68*
-/RV St. John’s 69, Xavier 56*
Creighton 83, Marquette 81*
Sunday
Villanova 63, Georgetown 60*
Marquette 92, Providence 85*
Butler 62, -/RV St. John’s 58*
21/19 DePaul 78, Creighton 52*
-/RV Seton Hall 72, Xavier 67*
*BIG EAST game