WBB Notes - 12.2.21

Tipoff To League Play
Conference play tips off for all 11 BIG EAST women’s basketball teams this weekend, with five league games slated for Friday and five more on Sunday. FloSports will cover four of Friday’s openers, beginning at 1 p.m. ET when Georgetown (3-3) visits Creighton (3-2). Action continues at 7 p.m., with Seton Hall (3-2) hosting No. 2/2 UConn (3-1) in a game airing on SNY, and Villanova (3-3) visiting Providence (3-4) on FloSports. Two more games tipoff at 8 p.m. on FloSports when Marquette (4-2) hosts Xavier (3-3) and Butler (0-6) travels to RV/- DePaul (5-2). St. John’s (3-4) will play its first BIG EAST contest on Sunday when the Red Storm welcome rival Seton Hall (3-2) to Carnesecca Arena at 2 p.m. The Seton Hall-St. John’s tilt is the second game of an FS1 double-header on Sunday, as UConn hosts longtime foe Notre Dame in a non-conference matchup at noon to tipoff the day. The Irish are ranked 24^th in the AP Poll and 25^th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
 
Non-Conference Notables
Butler – The Bulldogs are a young team. Butler freshmen (true and redshirt) have scored 235 of the 352 Bulldog points this season (66.9%). Four of their top-five scorers are first-year players, including leading scorer Alex Richard, who is averaging 12.8 ppg.
UConn – Of the four 30-point performances by BIG EAST players this season, two have come from players wearing a UConn uniform. Paige Bueckers had 34 against RV/RV Arkansas in their season opener, while Christyn Williams dropped 31 against Minnesota on 11/20.  Bueckers leads the BIG EAST in scoring at 20.5 ppg.
Creighton – The Bluejays are coming off back-to-back quality wins, knocking off South Dakota State on 11/21 and Northern Iowa on 11/27. Emma Ronsiek led Creighton in scoring in both contests, and the sophomore leads CU in scoring on the season at 16.0 ppg.
DePaul – While DePaul’s roster is full of experience, it’s been a rookie making waves early. Aneesah Morrow is not only No. 3 in the BIG EAST in scoring and No. 1 in rebounding but ranks among the best nationally. Morrow leads all Division I freshmen in rebounding at 11.0 per game and is the No. 2 rookie scorer at 18.4 per game.
Georgetown – The Hoyas just completed a five-game homestand and will hit the road for the first time since opening the year with a double-digit win at Navy on Nov. 9. GU has the second stingiest defense in the BIG EAST, allowing just 58.3 ppg.
Marquette – Rebounding continues to be a key factor for the Golden Eagles who not only lead the BIG EAST and rank fourth nationally in rebounding margin (+16.7), but have four players who rank in the top 10 in the conference in boards per game. Seasoned veteran Lauren Van Kleunen leads MU with 7.3 per game. Marquette has outrebounded all six opponents this season.
Providence – Newcomer Janai Crooms has been a gamechanger for the Friars. The Michigan State transfer is tied for the BIG EAST lead with three double-doubles on the season and came within two assists of notching a triple-double in Wednesday’s win over Hartford. She ranks second in the BIG EAST in rebounding at 10.4 per game.
St. John’s – After a quiet start of just 6.0 ppg over her first two appearances, transfer Danielle Patterson has stepped up for the Red Storm, averaging 12.4 over her last five games. Patterson is one of four St. John’s players scoring in double figures, entering the weekend with a 10.6 clip after three-straight double-digit showings last week at the Gulf Coast Showcase.   
Seton Hall – Lauren Park-Lane is off to an impressive start for the Pirates. The reigning BIG EAST Most Improved Player ranks No. 2 in the BIG EAST in scoring (19.0) and is tops in assists (6.6). Park-Lane’s assists average ranks sixth nationally. She’s recorded at least seven dishes in three straight games.
Villanova – The Wildcats have been without All-BIG EAST player Maddy Siegrist since Nov. 12, but have won three of their last four thanks to players stepping up. One of those making key contributions has been Lior Garzon. Garzon has nearly doubled her scoring average from a season ago, leading Villanova with a 16.8 clip after averaging 8.8 as a freshman in 2020-21. She is tied for the BIG EAST lead with three 20-point games this season.
Xavier – The Musketeers enter Friday’s conference opener with the longest active winning streak in the BIG EAST. Xavier has won its last three games and all by an average of more than 16 points per game. After dropping its first three games, XU has turned things around, shooting greater than 42-percent from the field in its last four outings and winning the rebounding battle in its last three.
 
Midweek Recaps
BIG EAST teams went 2-1 between Tuesday and Wednesday. Georgetown was edged by a late rally from Temple on Tuesday, 49-47, while Providence topped Hartford 73-62 and Villanova defeated Lehigh 65-60 in Wednesday night action. Kelsey Ransom led the Hoyas with 15 points, while Janai Crooms was two assists shy of a triple-double for the Friars, tallying 25 points, 11 boards and eight dimes. Rookie Lucy Olsen impressed for the Wildcats, dropping a career-best 22 points.
Recaps: GU | PC | VU
 
Upcoming Schedule
Friday
Georgetown at Creighton, 1 p.m.* Stats BEDN on FloSports
Villanova at Providence, 7 p.m.* Stats BEDN on FloSports
2/2 UConn at Seton Hall, 7 p.m.* Stats SNY
Butler at RV/- DePaul, 8 p.m.* Stats BEDN on FloSports
Xavier at Marquette, 8 p.m.* Stats BEDN on FloSports
Sunday
24/25 Notre Dame at 2/2 UConn, Noon - Stats  FS1
Georgetown at Providence, 1 p.m.* BEDN on FloSports
Villanova at Creighton, 2 p.m.* Stats BEDN on FloSports
Seton Hall at St. John’s, 2 p.m.* Stats FS1 
Butler at Marquette, 3 p.m.* Stats BEDN on FloSports
Xavier at RV/- DePaul, 6 p.m.* Stats BEDN on FloSports
All times Eastern
*BIG EAST game