Higher Seeds Prevail In #BIGEASTwbb Tournament Quarterfinals
No. 1 DePaul, No. 4 Seton Hall, No. 2 Marquette and No. 3 St. John’s advance to Sunday’s BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals set for FS1 at 5 and 7:30 p.m. CT.
BIG EAST Notes - 3.8.20
CHICAGO – Action continued in the 2020 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by Jeep at Wintrust Arena on Saturday with the Quarterfinals as No. 1 seed DePaul topped eighth-seeded Providence 97-59 and No. 4 seed Seton Hall bounced fifth-seeded Butler 83-57 in the afternoon session, before the evening session had No. 2 seed Marquette eliminate seventh-seeded Villanova 72-59 before third-seeded St. John’s rallied to defeat sixth-seeded Creighton 70-54. With higher seeds winning on Saturday, the top-four seeds all advance to the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals for the first time since 2015. Saturday’s winners move on to Sunday’s semis, with DePaul-Seton Hall set for 5 p.m. CT, followed by Marquette-St. John’s at 7:30 p.m. CT. FS1 will have complete coverage of Sunday’s semifinals, as well as the title game set for Monday at 7 p.m.
No. 1 seed DePaul (26-5) moves on to its seventh consecutive BIG EAST Tournament Semifinal after cruising by the eighth-seeded Friars for its 17
th consecutive win over PC. Providence (13-19) was without leading scorer and rebounder Mary Baskerville, as Kyra Spiwak scored a team-high 13 points. Four Blue Demons finished in double figures as Chante Stonewall and Deja Church tied for the game high with 16 points apiece. The 97 points scored were the most in the BIG EAST Tournament since DePaul scored 98 in the 2018 title game. DePaul won both regular-season meetings with Seton Hall this year, most recently winning in South Orange, N.J., 86-76, on Feb. 9. The Blue Demons are 3-0 in BIG EAST Tournament meetings with Seton Hall, most recently squaring off in the 2018 Quarterfinals when DePaul scored a 78-52 victory.
No. 4 seed Seton Hall (19-11) had one of its top shooting nights of the year, making 50.8 percent of its attempts from the field and 50-percent from deep, en route to sinking 16 triples – most by a Pirate squad in the BIG EAST Tournament and one shy of the overall conference postseason standard. Alexis Lewis scored a team-high 20 points for The Hall, which included a 6-of-10 mark from deep, while Lauren Park-Lane had a career-best 17 points off 6-of-12 shooting. Butler’s Oumou Toure scored a game-high 22 points as the lone Bulldog in double figures, as Kristen Spolyar, the BIG EAST’s No. 3 scorer, was held to a 3-of-12 clip for nine points. The Pirates are headed to their first BIG EAST Semifinal since 2016.
No. 2 seed Marquette (23-7) is headed to its fourth consecutive BIG EAST Tournament Semifinal after winning for the sixth time in the last seven outings. Selena Lott stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, nine rebounds, five steals and four assists against Villanova. The Golden Eagles used a 27-17 fourth quarter to pull away late from a surging Villanova squad (18-13), which was led by Bridget Herlihy’s 22 points and four blocks. The Golden Eagles will meet the Red Storm in the BIG EAST Tournament for just the second time after MU eliminated the Johnnies from last year’s quarterfinals, 88-57. Marquette swept the season series with St. John’s, last meeting in Queens On Feb. 9, with MU winning 67-57. The season’s first meeting was decided by single digits – 94-85.
No. 3 seed St. John’s (19-11) erased a 15-point first-quarter deficit thanks to a game-high 27 points by Leilani Correa to defeat the Bluejays (19-11) and take a three-game season sweep. St. John’s outscored Creighton 40-24 in the second half, despite 21 points from recently crowned BIG EAST Player of the Year Jaylyn Agnew. The Red Storm move on to their first BIG EAST Semifinal since 2017. They enter the contest with a league-high four-game winning streak.
2020 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by Jeep
All times local – Central
First Round – March 6
Game 1: #8 Providence 49, #9 Georgetown 46 –
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Game 2: #7 Villanova 64, #10 Xavier 56 OT –
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Quarterfinals – March 7
Game 3: #1 DePaul 97, #8 Providence 59 –
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Game 4: #4 Seton Hall 83, #5 Butler 57 –
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Game 5: #2 Marquette 72, #7 Villanova 59 -
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Game 6: #3 St. John’s 70, #6 Creighton 54
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Semifinals – March 8
Game 7: #1 DePaul vs. #4 Seton Hall, 5 p.m. (FS1)
Game 8: #2 Marquette vs. #3 St. John’s, 7:30 p.m. (FS1)
Final – March 9
Game 9: Semifinal winners, 7 p.m. (FS1)