The new Villanova women’s basketball team had its first test on Sunday, claiming a victory over Wake Forest. The Wildcats fought from behind in the second half to win the season opener, 64-56.
“We are one of the last teams in the country to play their first game,” head coach Denise Dillon said. “So it was super exciting to have it here in the Finn in an opener against a talented, well-coached Wake Forest team. Getting the win was tremendous and it’s a good start for us. There’s just a lot to build on and learn from.”
The leading scorer for the Wildcats was freshman guard Jasmine Bascoe, with 18 points and five assists. She was followed closely by graduate guard and Holy Cross transfer Bronagh Power-Cassidy, who finished with 17 points and six rebounds.
Returning for her sophomore season, guard Maddie Webber also wasted no time, securing ten points and five rebounds. Also helping the ‘Cats on offense were graduate forward Lara Edmanson, with nine points, and senior guard Jaliyah Green, with eight.
The first quarter started off rough for the Wildcats, who could not find the net and did not score for the first seven minutes.
The only thing that kept the ‘Cats in the game early on was their defensive intensity, which generated turnovers from the Demon Deacons. Both teams scored 13 points off turnovers across the game.
Early in the game, the smaller Villanova team could do very little against the Wake Forest players, who were clogging up the lanes and denying any attempt other than a three-pointer.
“[The team] didn’t let it affect them even when things weren’t going our way early on with making shots,” Dillon said. “It was the recognition of getting the right shots. Then they just showed what they’re capable of doing.”
By the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats began finding their rhythm. Edmanson and Power-Cassidy found success attacking the Demon Deacons down low to get the deficit back to single digits.
“It came back to just connecting as a team,” Power-Cassidy said. “We’re all pretty new but we’ve bonded very quickly these past couple of months. I think we were kind of itching to get on the floor and play a game against different people. Obviously shots weren’t dropping, but we all trust in each other that once we see the ball go in the basket, we’re going to have faith in everybody else, that we’re just gonna keep rolling.”
Going into the second quarter, the ‘Cats continued to stay strong on defense, while freshman guard Jasmine Bascoe accelerated her team back in the game, draining Villanova’s first three-pointer of the season.
After Bascoe picked the pockets of a Demon Deacon and scored on the other end of the floor, Wake Forest was forced to call a timeout as its once double-digit lead was cut to four.
“[Bascoe] is such an integral part of our team,” Dillon said. “She’s so mature. She is such a great team player. She’s an ideal point guard in the sense of her ability in scoring but also her maturity as a freshman. She’s played a lot of big games. Playing for her national team in Canada has given her that experience to understand that every game is going to be close, every game is going to be impactful.”
At the end of the first half, Wake Forest’s lead was cut to two, at 25-23, as Villanova forced nine turnovers. In a battle of the defenses, neither of the teams were shooting well, with the ‘Cats going 7-27 (25.95) on field goals and 1-9 (11.1%) for three-pointers. The Demon Deacons were not finishing much better, at 9-26 (34.6%) and 1-6 (16.7%) for threes.
The same intensity from both sides ensued in the second half. Power-Cassidy and Bascoe kept chipping away at the deficit until the ‘Cats ended the third quarter up by one.
“I would say that’s definitely credit to the defensive end,” Dillon said. “Their willingness just to continue to battle and fight on defense, to make it as hard as possible. Wake Forest came out and hit shots early, but we settled in defensively and figured the offense would come eventually.
To finish out the game, Villanova played with urgency after getting back Webber who went into the locker room in the third quarter.
The ‘Cats found their rhythm again on defense, as steals converted into made baskets. Power-Cassidy led the charge, with a pair of back-to-back threes, extending the ‘Cats to their largest lead of twelve.
“My team put me in good positions and trusted me to hit shots and I’ve trusted them the exact same way,” Power-Cassidy said.
In the end, despite a last minute attempt by the Demon Deacons to come back, the ‘Cats had shaken off their growing pains and found their groove as a team.
“It’s grit and resilience and knowing that that needs to be part of our identity,” Power-Cassidy said. “No matter what happens, we’ve got to be able to rely on our defense and for us to build the rest of the season. It’s just going to have to go back to that day in and day out.”
Villanova finished the game going 23-53 (43.4%) from the field and 4-14 (28.6%) behind the arch.
Next up, the Wildcats will travel to Princeton, NJ on Wednesday, Nov. 13 to face off against the Tigers in the Jadwin Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
