On Monday night, Villanova concluded its time in the Bahamas with a 72-63 loss against No. 18 Baylor to finish fourth in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. With its 1-2 finish on the weekend, Villanova’s record now stands at 4-3.
Only three Wildcats were able to pass the double-digit mark, as junior forward Denae Carter led scoring with 13 points, followed closely by freshman Jasmine Bascoe and graduate Maddie Burke, who had 12 points and 11 points respectively. Carter and senior guard Jaliyah Green led the team in rebounds, with six apiece, while Bascoe led the team with seven assists.
The first quarter belonged to Villanova, as it came out ready to match the oversized Baylor basket for basket.
Through the majority of the quarter, the ‘Cats were able to hold onto their lead due to the four consecutive turnovers by the Bears, as well as Villanova’s consistency behind the arc. Bascoe, Burke, graduate guard Bronagh Power-Cassidy and graduate forward Lara Edmonson all made contributions.
In the second quarter, though the ‘Cats found the same success on offense, on defense Baylor’s leading scorer Aaronette Vonleh began to use her size and strength advantage against the smaller Villanova forwards.
This shifted Villanova’s defense, as two-three players often had to help with Vonleh in the paint, leading to open layups and shots for Sarah Andrews and Jada Walker. By the end of the quarter, the ‘Cats found themselves in a rut, not scoring for the last four minutes and having to go into halftime with their lead cut to 37-36.
The ‘Cats went into the locker room going 13-32 for field goals (40.6%) and 6-9 (66.67%) for three pointers.
Going into the third quarter, the game experienced various momentum shifts as Villanova was still off balance on defense and let Baylor take the lead early on.
The only thing to snap the ‘Cats out of this was Webber and Green’s efforts on defense, as they forced multiple offensive fouls on the Bears. Meanwhile, Carter pulled out her three-point abilities and aggressiveness in the paint.
Heading into the fourth, the Bears were re-energized by a buzzer-beater at the end of the third that tied the game.
While the score stayed close for much of the quarter, it became evident in the final minutes that after three consecutive days of competition, Villanova couldn’t sustain their defensive intensity. Baylor capitalized on this, dominating the boards and drawing multiple fouls from the Wildcats, which allowed them to extend their lead to a game-high 12 points as they finished out the game.
Villanova finished the game going 21-63 (33.3%) for field goals, 11-24 (45.8%) from behind the arch, and finished with 10 turnovers compared to the 20 committed by Baylor.
For its next game, Villanova will return back to Pennsylvania to play Big Five rival Saint Joseph’s on Sunday, Dec. 1 in Philadelphia at the Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena.
Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
