WBB Notes - 1.18 Update
Saturday Recap: Villanova 74, Georgetown 53
The Wildcats jumped ahead of Creighton and Butler in the BIG EAST standings, moving into sole possession of second place with their fifth win in their last six outings. Villanova (11-7, 5-2 BIG EAST) saw its offense firing on all cylinders as four Wildcats scored in double figures with Bridget Herlihy and Mary Gedaka tying for the game high with 17 points apiece, while Maddy Siegrist notched her conference-leading eighth double-double with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. VU shot nearly 46 percent from the field and 44 percent from deep while limiting Georgetown (4-14, 1-6) to just shy of 32-percent shooting. Taylor Barnes (14 points) and Nikola Kovacikova (13) each scored in double figures for the Hoyas, while Anita Kelava grabbed a team-high nine boards.
Up Next
Providence at Seton Hall - Sunday, 1 p.m. (Twitter | YouTube | Caffeine): The Friars have suffered four single-digit losses in their last six games while the last four meetings between Providence and Seton Hall have been decided by single digits. PC will look to get over the hump on Sunday in South Orange, facing a Pirates squad which had their hottest shooting performance of the season on Friday against -/RV Creighton. Alexis Lewis stepped up in a big way against the Bluejays, making 8-of-12 shots from the field for a team-high 18 points, adding seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Earlette Scott has led PC in scoring the last two outings, earning her second start of the season Friday at St. John’s – she’s averaged 13.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists over the last week. Providence defeated SHU in their most recent meeting, 82-75 last February at Alumni Hall.
Marquette at Xavier - Sunday, 2 p.m. (Twitter | YouTube | Caffeine): The Golden Eagles saw their three-game winning streak halted on Friday at Butler, but MU will look to stretch its series winning streak against the Musketeers, which currently stands at seven consecutive games. Reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week Selena Lott will lead that charge as the junior ranks sixth in BIG EAST play with a 17.7 scoring average. Lott and MU will have to get through the BIG EAST’s No. 2 scorer and No. 4 rebounder in conference action in Xavier’s A’riana Gray. Gray is averaging 21.3 points and 8.0 rebounds, scoring in double figures in seven straight games.
-/RV Creighton at St. John’s - Sunday, 2 p.m. (Twitter | YouTube | Caffeine): The Red Storm are half a game behind the Bluejays in the standings, with St. John’s hanging on for a win over Providence on Friday while the Bluejays were on the short end of a hot-shooting Seton Hall squad. Creighton and St. John’s have split the season series the last two years, while five of the last seven regular-season meetings have been decided by single digits. Tiana England stuffed the stat sheet for St. John’s on Friday, totaling 14 points, four assists and four rebounds, making 6-of-8 shots from the field. While Jaylyn Agnew gets much of the attention as the BIG EAST’s No. 2 overall scorer (19.8), Rachael Saunders has quietly been progressing – posting back-to-back double-digit scoring performances against The Hall and Providence to average 12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the last two games.
14/15 DePaul at Butler - Sunday, 2 p.m. (Twitter | YouTube | Caffeine): At 6-0 in BIG EAST play and 16-2 on the year, the nationally ranked Blue Demons have a target on their backs and Butler is the next team in line to try to take them down. No league team has succeeded so far as DePaul is averaging 82.2 points and holding a +7.33 turnover margin in BIG EAST play. The Blue Demons have had three different leading scorers the last three games, including Lexi Held who has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games to average 15.8 points during that stretch. Butler knocked off Marquette on Friday night as Kristen Spolyar led the Bulldogs in scoring for the 10
th consecutive game. Spolyar has scored in double figures in all but one game this season, reaching the 30-point mark for the second time this season Friday night against the Golden Eagles.