On Monday, Dec. 22, Villanova women’s basketball blew out St. John’s, 85-48, to extend its winning streak to eight games. It marked the Wildcats’ eighth consecutive win and third straight conference win.
Villanova (9-2, 3-0 Big East) climbed out to an early lead and ran away with the game in the first half with a lopsided second quarter. The Wildcats shot 50% from the field and converted 52% of their three-point attempts. St. John’s (11-3, 1-3) shot 13.3% from beyond the arc, holding the Red Storm to score season-low 48 points.
Villanova sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe totaled a team-high 21 points and a career-high nine assists. Junior guard Kelsey Joens tacked on 12 points and four rebounds.
The Wildcats took the lead minutes into the first quarter and held it until the final buzzer. Several early layups by senior forward Denae Carter allowed the ‘Cats to be up by 19 points at the start of the second quarter. Carter finished the game with 10 points and nine rebounds.
After failing to score for nearly three minutes, Bascoe sank two layups in 20 seconds to give the Wildcats momentum. Villanova scored 18 of the first 21 second-quarter points to give it a dominant 49-15 lead with just over three minutes left in the first half.
Villanova shot 21-of-35 (60%) from the field and 9-of-12 (75%) on three-pointers in the first half. Three Wildcats had double-digit points, including Bascoe (13 points), Joens (12 points) and senior guard Ryanne Allen had 11 points.
Allen ended the game with 13 points, marking her second consecutive game with double digits off the bench.
At halftime, Villanova led St John’s, 52-23.
To open the half, the ‘Cats went on a five-minute scoring drought. Bascoe ended the drought with two free throws.
Villanova’s largest lead of the game came halfway through the fourth quarter. The score was 79-38, and the ‘Cats overpowered St. John’s with an impressive 41-point deficit.
St. John’s was led by graduate guard Shaulana Wagner and junior guard Brooke Moore, each putting up 11 points.
The ‘Cats have the second-best record in the conference, behind the University of Connecticut (12-0, 3-0).
Villanova is now scheduled to take on DePaul (3-11, 0-3) next Monday, Dec. 29, in Chicago, IL. (7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT, ESPN+). Villanova has won the last eight meetings against DePaul, but trails the all-time series, 16-19.
