Villanova women’s basketball fell to Belmont in a 66-57 loss on Monday, March 31 in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) semifinals in Indianapolis, IN.
The WBIT loss marks the end of Villanova’s 2024-25 campaign. The Wildcats finished the season with an overall record of 21-15.
Sophomore Maddie Webber led in scoring with 18 points. Jasmine Bascoe followed behind with 10. Denae Carter grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and added six points.
Villanova shot 34.3 percent from the field and 20.7% from the three point line across the game. Both teams committed 11 turnovers.
The Wildcats started out strong against the Bruins. Graduate guard Maddie Burke and senior guard Jaliyah Green netted two three-pointers in the first three minutes of play.
Webber continued the momentum with a few jumpers to finish the first quarter up, 20-17.
The Wildcats stayed ahead in the second quarter, and Villanova’s offense was concentrated toward the middle of the key. Senior guard Kaitlyn Orihel notched a layup, and junior guard Ryanne Allen hit her second three-pointer of the day.
Green ended the half with a layup to send the Wildcats into the locker room up, 31-29.
The momentum began to shift Belmont’s way in the third quarter. The Bruins tied the game on a jumper with 4:40 left in the quarter. Belmont sophomore guard Jailyn Banks led the way, scoring a game-high 25 points.
Bascoe tried to keep things afloat with a three and several layups, but Villanova struggled to answer back. The Wildcats ended the quarter down, 46-51.
Come the final quarter, the Wildcats struggled to get their shots to fall through. Belmont maintained its lead for the final 10 minutes of play, securing its trip to the WBIT Championship game.
