It was a disappointing end to a disappointing season for the women’s basketball team, as they lost their first-round game of the Big East Championship last Friday to the Marquette Golden Eagles, 53-49. The team finished the year with a 14-16 record and had a 3-13 mark in conference play.

The game in many ways exemplified the struggles that the team has faced throughout conference play. The ‘Cats were down big early and late, at one point trailing by 11 with less than 14 minutes remaining. But the team mounted a valiant, albeit unsuccessful, comeback at the end of the game to account for the slim four-point margin of victory.

With the team trailing by eight with five minutes to go, back-to-back layups cut the Golden Eagle lead to 47-43. After a Marquette bucket, the Wildcats were able to score on consecutive possessions to cut the lead to just two points with less than a minute left, 49-47. After Marquette sank two free throws to build the lead back to four, freshman Jesse Carey scored to give the Wildcats one last chance to get a stop and win. That chance would never come, however, as Marquette’s Angel Robinson sank a falling layup with 11 seconds left to clinch the game for the Golden Eagles. 

The Wildcats struggled to shoot the ball for most of the game, only making 20 of their 60 field goals (33.3%) and shooting  a dismal 28.6% in the first half. Coupled with their shooting woes, Head Coach Harry Perretta’s squad was only able to get to the foul line twice.

The defeat was especially difficult for the seniors, who now are faced with the reality of the end of their collegiate careers.  Star senior guard Maria Getty had one of her best games of the season, scoring 17 points.  She also chipped in with six rebounds, three assists and two steals. The member of the recently selected All-Big East Honorable Mention team finished her career with 1,067 points, which places her 17th on Villanova’s all-time scoring list.

Other seniors for the Wildcats included guard Kyle Dougherty, who scored eight points, and guard Tia Grant, who was forced to watch the game from the sidelines with a torn ACL. The season was marred by an incredible amount of injuries, and Wildcat players missed a total of 52 games.