Sunday Recap
at Villanova 73, Butler 65 
Box Score
Jasmine Bascoe finished with 22 points, six assists and three steals for the Wildcats. Denae Carter recorded 15 points on 60% shooting from the field, while Brynn McCurry and Ryanne Allen both scored 12 points each. Villanova forced 31 turnovers and converted them into 27 points. Mallory Miller led Butler with a career-high 25 points, 16 coming in the first half. She finished the game shooting 9-for-11 from the field and had five rebounds and five assists. Kennedy Langham scored 10 points for her fourth double-digit scoring performance this season. Butler went on a 7-0 run to have a 33-31 lead at halftime, powered by five points from Miller. Villanova opened the second half with a 7-0 run while forcing the Bulldogs to eight miscues in the third quarter for a 53-48 advantage heading into the fourth. Villanova held a nine-point advantage with six minutes left as Butler was unable to come back.
 
#1 UConn to Host Notre Dame
The top-ranked UConn Huskies welcome Notre Dame to Storrs on Monday at 5 p.m. The game will air on FOX with Krista Blunk and Christy Winters Scott on the call. Sarah Strong leads the Huskies, averaging 18.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 3.7 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. Azzi Fudd has a .489/.470/1.000 shooting split this season. Her 3-point percentage is fourth in the nation. KK Arnold ranks second in the nation with a 4.73 assist-turnover ratio, while the team leads the nation in assists per game (24.3). 
 
Notre Dame has won the last three meetings, most recently in 2024 when the Fighting Irish defeated UConn, 79-68, in South Bend. ND is coming off a 79-66 home loss to #9 Louisville last Thursday. The team is led by Hannah Hildalgo, who is averaging 25.0 points and a nation-best 5.7 steals per game.
 
Catalon in Control: Automatic From The Line
Seton Hall’s Savannah Catalon has been a key player in the team’s success this season, averaging 14.0 points per game. The junior most recently scored a game-high 24 points in the team’s 86-77 win over DePaul to mark the fourth time this season she has reached 20 points in a single game. She has been lights out from the free-throw line with a perfect 10-for-10 tally in three games this season. Last week, she accomplished the feat in back-to-back games. It was also Catalon’s sixth game of her career with a perfect free-throw percentage on at least 10 attempts. 
 
‘Swiper No Swiping’
Three BIG EAST players are in the top-30 in the nation in steals per game. UConn’s Sarah Strong leads the way, averaging a league-best 3.7 per game for 10th among Division I players. Seton Hall’s Savannah Catalon (22) and UConn’s KK Arnold (28) average 3.0 and 2.8 steals, respectively. Arnold has recorded four or more steals in each of the last four games, including a season-high six steals in the win over St. John’s. 
 
Block Party
Five of the 11 BIG EAST women’s basketball teams rank in the top-75 for blocks per game. St. John’s leads the way with 5.0 per game, good for 23rd. The Huskies and Golden Eagles are both averaging 4.9 bpg, for 29th and 31st place, respectively. Villanova and Xavier round out the five teams in the 71st spot with 4.0 rejections a game.
 
BIG EAST to Provide Public Availability Reports for Men's and Women's Basketball
Beginning in the 2025-26 season, the BIG EAST Conference will provide public reports on the availability of student-athletes in conference games for the sports of men's and women's basketball. BIG EAST schools will be required to submit availability reports three hours before the scheduled tipoff time.  Under the reporting structure, players will be designated as "questionable" or "out."  Availability reports will be posted on the BIG EAST website throughout the 2025-26 season. Women's Basketball Availability Reports
 
This Week in #BEWBB
Monday, January 19
Notre Dame at #1 UConn, 5 p.m. Stats | FOX
 
Tuesday, January 20
Providence at Seton Hall*, 7 p.m. Stats | ESPN+
Xavier at Creighton*, 7 p.m. Stats | ESPN+
 
Wednesday, January 21
DePaul at Butler*, 7 p.m. Stats | ESPN+
Marquette at St. John’s*, 8 p.m. Stats | Peacock
 
Thursday, January 22
#1 UConn at Georgetown*, 7:30 p.m. Stats | TNT/truTV
 
Saturday, January 24
Villanova at St. John’s*, 2 p.m. Stats | FS1
 
Sunday, January 25
#1 UConn at Seton Hall*, Noon Stats | Peacock
Georgetown at Xavier*, 1 p.m. Stats | ESPN+
Marquette at Butler*, 2 p.m. Stats | ESPN+
Creighton at DePaul*, 3 p.m. Stats | ESPN+

* Conference game
All Times Eastern