No. 1 Villanova defeated VCU in the first round of the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament on Thursday evening at the Pavillion, 75-60. It moves on to host No. 4 Virginia on Sunday in the second round.
“We’re happy to be representing,” Villanova head coach Denise Dillon said. “Great to have the game here at home, and it’s even more special when you get that win.”
Junior guard Lucy Olsen led the Wildcats with 29 points on 12-of-21 shooting. Junior guard Zanai Jones also reached double figures with 11.
The ‘Cats were able to outshoot the Rams to secure a victory. Villanova shot 51.8% from the field, its third best mark of the season.
The Wildcats led for 36:16 of game time. While the ‘Cats’ lead remained in the single digits for most of the first half and the third quarter, a 14-2 Villanova burst at the close of the third took the ‘Cats’ lead from four to 16. VCU was unable to cut the deficit back to single digits in the fourth quarter.
Villanova overcame some early foul trouble for its starters. Junior forward Christina Dalce was limited to 19 minutes after picking up two fouls in the first quarter. Olsen also picked up two in the first, though she was able to stay on the floor for 36 minutes. Freshman guard Maddie Webber picked up her second foul with 8:27 remaining in the second. She finished with five points in nine minutes of play.
Junior guard Kaitlyn Orihel played 31 minutes off the bench, scoring seven on 3-of-7 shooting.
Senior guard Sarah Te-Biasu led the Rams offensively with 21. Also contributing to the effort was sophomore guard Timaya Lewis-Eutsey, who posted 16.
The ‘Cats find themselves in the WBIT after losing in the first round of the Big East tournament. The loss dropped them off the bubble of the NCAA Tournament. Dillon said that the team was able to get over its disappointment of missing the NCAAs quickly.
“We came back, we had two days off,” Dillon said. “The first day of practice was a little tough. It wasn’t for lack of effort, it was just the emotion, the energy level. After that first practice, after that day, they came ready. We had a plan of competitive drills, competitive games in practice, and they embraced it. They rose up to the occasion of it, and we just saw them working. They’re playing the game they love.”
Postgame, Olsen spoke of the competitive nature of the tournament’s field.
“Every team in this tournament is tough,” Olsen said. “Everyone’s angry that they didn’t get into March Madness. Everyone wants revenge, so I think we’ve got to know that everyone’s going to be competitive, and that we’ve got to come out a little tougher in the first quarter, first half. I’m proud of how we adjusted and stayed together as a team, and didn’t get all frazzled when things weren’t going our way.”
Villanova advances to host Virginia on Sunday at the Finneran Pavilion. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip. It will be streamed on ESPN+.
