On Saturday, Jan. 11 Villanova fell 64-59 to Marquette (11-5, 3-2 Big East). The loss leaves Villanova 8-9 on the season and 2-3 in the Big East.
The leading scorer for the Wildcats was sophomore guard Maddie Webber with 16 points, followed by graduate guard Maddie Burke with 10 points. Graduate forward Lara Edmanson and senior guard Jaliyah Green both scored eight points each. Green tied with Webber as the leading rebounder, contributing six apiece.
Villanova’s usual leading scorer, freshman guard Jasmine Bascoe, remained on the bench due to injury. Her status is listed as day-to-day.
Even without Bascoe on the court, the game started off in the Wildcats’ favor. In her absence, Villanova leaned on its defense to hold off the Golden Eagles.
Villanova finished the first half as the better shooting team, going 43.3% from the field and 33.3% from three. Marquette struggled, going 28.1% from the field and 14.3% from three.
On offense, Webber and Burke led Villanova throughout most of the first quarter as shots fell for the Wildcats in the paint and from behind the arc.
Though Marquette started slowly crawling its way back into the game, Villanova was able to remain consistent throughout the remainder of the half. Greene stepped up at point guard to help the ‘Cats keep the lead and go into the locker room up 31-22.
Going into the second half, Marquette’s shots began to fall. Meanwhile, Villanova began to run out of steam on both ends of the floor, and could not replicate the success it had in the first half.
A combination of turnovers and an efficient Golden Eagle offense wore down the Wildcats. In the third quarter, Marquette outscored Villanova 21 to 10.
By the fourth quarter, the momentum had entirely shifted to the Golden Eagles. Marquette built its lead to double digits as guard Halle Vice could not be stopped. Vice ended the game with a double-double, including 12 rebounds and 20 points.
Though the Wildcats eventually cut the deficit down to five within the last 90 seconds, they were unable to regain the lead.
At the end of the game, the change in momentum was apparent, as Villanova finished 37.5% from the field and 35.3% from three. Marquette rose to a 64.7% field goal rate and improved to 31.3% from behind the arc.
Looking ahead, Villanova will return home to face DePaul (8-9, 3-1 Big East) on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Tip-off is set for 11:30 a.m. in the Finneran Pavilion and will be broadcasted on FloSports.
