#BIGEASTwbb Minute: DePaul Clinches At Least A Share Of the Regular-Season Title
A Familiar Scene
For the sixth time in the last seven seasons, No. 13/13 DePaul claimed at least a share of the BIG EAST women’s basketball regular-season title, earning its 14
th conference win on the year Sunday against Xavier. At 14-1, the Blue Demons can finish no worse than 14-4 in league play, with only Marquette (11-4) able to catch up to 14-4, but no higher. DePaul will claim the title outright along with the BIG EAST Tournament No. 1 seed with one more win or a Marquette loss. The two face each other the final weekend of the regular season after visiting Georgetown and Villanova next weekend.
13/13 DePaul 97, Xavier 65
Lexi Held scored a game-high 26 points, going 7-of-14 from the field and 11-of-13 from the charity stripe, leading the Blue Demons to their fifth consecutive win and a clinch of their sixth regular-season title in the last seven years. Held led five DePaul players in double figures, including Sonya Morris who chipped in 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals. A’riana Gray stuffed the stat sheet for Xavier, tallying 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 28 minutes of play. Xavier shot .481 on the afternoon but was hampered by turnovers. The Blue Demons turned 26 Musketeer miscues into 26 points, while Xavier’s bench outscored DePaul’s 23-19, led by 17 points from Carrie Gross.
Marquette 76, Butler 54
The Golden Eagles scored a statement win on Sunday in Milwaukee, toppling a Butler squad which entered the weekend in second place in the BIG EAST standings and defeated Marquette earlier this season. MU remained in contention for a share of the regular-season title with the win, but will need to win out and have DePaul lose out. The Golden Eagles led wire-to-wire thanks to a 25-9 opening quarter. Five Marquette players finished in double figures, including a game-high 17 points for Isabelle Spingola who made 5-of-8 attempts from deep. Marquette shot 50-percent-or-better from the field for the fourth time this season, going .569 from the floor for its second highest clip of the year. Kristen Spolyar led Butler with 16 points as the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles split the season series.
Creighton 78, Seton Hall 66
Jaylyn Agnew scored a game-high 28 points off 9-of-18 shooting while dishing nine assists as the Bluejays picked up a big win over the visiting Pirates on Sunday in Omaha. Seton Hall and Creighton split the season series, while SHU holds a half-game lead on CU in the standings. Leading by five with 7:17 to play, Creighton went on a decisive 9-2 run as Agnew, Tatum Rembao and Gracey Griglione buried three-pointers to build up a double-digit cushion. The Bluejays finished with 16 triples on the afternoon, second-most by any team in league play this season. Rookie Mya Jackson shot 7-of-9 from the field to lead The Hall, finishing with 19 points and eight rebounds. Seton Hall won the rebounding battle 34-31 and committed just 10 turnovers.
Villanova 48, Georgetown 40
After leading 18-17 at the half, Villanova more than doubled its total scoring output with a 19-point third quarter to lead the entire second half. Mary Gedaka scored nine of her game-high 15 points over the final 20 minutes, matching fellow Wildcat Bridget Herlihy who also finished with 15. Maddy Siegrist notched her league-leading 10
th double-double of the year with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Nikola Kovacikova led the Hoyas with 12 points, six assists and four rebounds. Villanova swept the season series with Georgetown, as the Wildcats move into a tie for fifth place in the conference standings with Creighton.
Providence 54, St. John's 53
Earlette Scott’s and-one with four seconds left capped a comeback victory for the Friars, who erased a 16-point deficit to earn the season split with the Red Storm. PC outscored St. John’s 36-27 over the final 20 minutes, including 20-12 in the final quarter, after scoring just 18 points in the first half. Mary Baskerville led the Friars with 13 points and seven rebounds, but the sophomore fouled out with 1:12 to play as it was Scott’s heroics that sealed the deal. Scott finished with nine points and six boards. Qadashah Hoppie scored a game-high 22 points for St. John’s, which now moves into seventh place in the standings.
Up Next
Friday
Providence at Xavier, 11:30 a.m.*^
Marquette at Villanova, 7 p.m.*^
DePaul at Geogetown, 7 p.m.*^
Creighton at Butler, 7 p.m.*^
Saturday
Seton Hall at St. John’s, 2 p.m.*^
Sunday
DePaul at Villanova, 1 p.m.*^
Marquette at Georgetown, 2 p.m.*^
Providence at Butler, 2 p.m.*^
Creighton at Xavier, 2 p.m.*^
All times Eastern
*BIG EAST contest
^BEDN