On Sunday, March 9, Villanova fell to No. 1 seed University of Connecticut, 82-54, in the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
After a strong start and a brief lead in the second quarter, things got out of hand for Villanova (18-14, 11-8 Big East) in the second half.
“Obviously a disappointing finish,” Villanova head coach Denise Dillon said. “You never want to go out. You want to keep going and get to that championship game.”
UConn (30-3, 19-0) will now advance to the Big East championship game on Monday, March 10 against No. 2 seed Creighton (7 p.m., FS1).
Sophomore guard Maddie Webber led the way for the Wildcats with a total of 15 points, followed by junior forward Denae Carter, with 10 points and five rebounds. Villanova shot 31.1 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from beyond the arc and were outrebounded, 32-40.
The Wildcats started out with a strong first quarter, netting three baskets from beyond the arc and going on an 11-5 run at the end of the quarter. Webber connected on 5-of-7 from the field and one three pointer for a total of 11 points in the opening ten minutes.
Villanova took its first lead of the game early in the second quarter with a jumper from graduate guard Maddie Burke to go up 23-21.
“I think in the first half we were just the more aggressive team, and we were driving, getting to our spots, hitting our shots as well,” Webber said. “Then we were also offensive rebounding a lot and just doing our thing. I think we just stopped a little bit in the second half.”
But UConn went on a scoring run to close out the second quarter, with redshirt senior guard Paige Bueckers notching six points in a row. The Wildcats finished the quarter down ten, with a score of 47-37.
Things began to fall apart for the ‘Cats in the third quarter. They went silent from both the field and three point line for the entirety of the period. Villanova shot 0-for-11, and its only six points of the quarter came from the foul line.
From there, Villanova was too far behind to play catch up. Meanwhile, the Huskies built upon their dominant second half performance, stretching their lead to thirty.
Bueckers led UConn with 23 points. Husky freshman forward Sarah Strong added another 20 points and 16 rebounds for a double-double.
With the loss, the Wildcats will miss a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. The next step for Villanova in the postseason is likely the 2025 Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT).
Villanova went 4-1 in last year’s WBIT, ending its season in the championship game with a 71-57 loss to Illinois on April 3, 2024.
