Postseason Update
No. 11/11 Marquette used a 79-53 win over visiting Xavier on Sunday to earn at least a share of the BIG EAST women's basketball regular-season title and clinch the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep. RV/RV DePaul is two games back of the Golden Eagles with two games to play, but MU swept the Blue Demons during the regular season to lock up the top seed. The regular-season crown is the second straight for Marquette, which finished the 2017-18 season 15-3 to tie atop the standings with DePaul. MU can claim the title outright with one more win. The Blue Demons locked up the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament by claiming the season sweep of Butler with Sunday’s 76-62 win over the Bulldogs. Butler will clinch the No. 3 seed with one more win or single losses by Providence and Villanova next weekend. Butler’s highest seed in BIG EAST Tournament history is No. 6 (2015, 2014). DePaul is a top-two seed for the sixth consecutive year and seventh time overall. With Xavier locked in as the No. 10 seed, seven seeds remain up for grabs heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
#11/11 Marquette 79, Xavier 53
Natisha Hiedeman led five Marquette players in double figures, going 9-of-15 from the field for 21 points, her BIG EAST-leading 12
th 20-point game of the year. MU drained 13 threes on the afternoon, including four from Allazia Blockton who finished with 16 points. Hiedeman and Blockton also finished with double-doubles, grabbing 10 and 11 rebounds, respectively. A’riana Gray led Xavier with 21 points, one of two Musketeers in double figures. The Golden Eagles scored an impressive 33 points off fast breaks, while winning the rebounding battle 46-26.
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RV/RV DePaul 76, Butler 62
Butler sank a pair of free-throws for the game’s first points and what proved to be the Bulldogs’ lone lead of the game. DePaul responded with an 11-2 run and led by as many as 18 in the second quarter. Butler wouldn’t go away, however, trimming the Blue Demons’ advantage down to six twice in the fourth quarter. DePaul had an answer each time, thanks to 14 made three-pointers. Each team had four score in double figures with DePaul’s Chante Stonewall going for a game-high 17. Tori Schickel led Butler with 14. The win was DePaul’s sixth in a row and eighth in its last nine outings.
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Georgetown 82, St. John’s 80
The Hoyas halted the Red Storm’s series winning streak at 10 games with its first win over St. John’s since Feb. 18, 2014. The 162-point total marked the highest in the series since Feb. 18, 1995, when St. John’s won 93-72, and was the first time both teams reached the 80-point mark since Feb. 16, 1991 (95-89 OT). The Hoyas were assessed a technical prior to the start of the game as St. John’s made 1-of-2 free-throws prior to tipoff for its lone lead of the contest. GU led by as many as 15 before the Red Storm charged back, using a 24-point fourth quarter to get within one twice in the final 31 seconds. Tiana England had a solid look at a game-tying layup as time ran out, but her shot rimmed out. Dorothy Adomako and Dionna White celebrated senior day at McDonough Arena with 29 points apiece, while England led St. John’s with 23 off 8-of-12 shooting.
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Villanova 73, Seton Hall 68
The Wildcats jumped into a tie for fourth place in the BIG EAST standings with Providence and sealed the season sweep of the Pirates with Sunday’s win. Jannah Tucker scored 17 to lead four Wildcats in double figures, while Seton Hall’s Inja Butina posted a game-high 23 to go along with eight assists. Villanova led by as many as 22, but The Hall made one last push in the fourth quarter, scoring 28 points in the frame to close within five by the final buzzer. The Wildcats scored 22 points off 17 SHU miscues while committing just nine turnovers themselves, the 11
th game this season with single-digit cough-ups.
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Creighton 73, Providence 64
The Bluejays evened the season series with the Friars thanks to 21 points from Audrey Faber. Creighton shot .471 on the evening, maintaining at least a two-possession lead for the entire second half after an early back-and-forth. Typically dangerous from deep, Providence was limited to just four three-pointers (4-13). Creighton won for the third time in the last four games, shooting over 40 percent in each of those victories. Temi Carda added 14 for CU, while Providence saw five in double figures, led by Maddie Jolin’s 15.
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Final Weekend Of The Regular Season
Friday - March 1
RV/RV DePaul at Providence, 7 p.m.*#
Villanova at Xavier, 7 p.m.*+
Georgetown at Butler, 7 p.m.*#
11/11 Marquette at Creighton, 8 p.m.*#
Sunday - March 3
11/11 Marquette at Providence, 1 p.m.*#
Seton Hall at St. John’s, 2 p.m.*#
Georgetown at Xavier, 2 p.m.*#
Villanova at Butler, 2 p.m.*#
RV/RV DePaul at Creighton, 2 p.m.*+
+FS2 #BEDN *BIG EAST contest
All times Eastern