On Wednesday, Jan. 8, Villanova women’s basketball defeated Xavier, 67-50, at the Finneran Pavilion.
Villanova (13-3, 5-1 Big East) is back in the win column, coming off an 85-69 loss to Marquette that ended a 10-game win streak. Xavier (9-7, 2-5) has been struggling in conference play, picking up its fifth Big East loss despite entering the game coming off a win against Georgetown. The Wildcats capitalized on forced 21 Xavier turnovers with the help of 13 steals to score 33 points.
The Wildcats shot 25-for-64 (39%) on field goals but connected on a season-high 15 three-pointers on 32 attempts (48.4%) from beyond the arc. Xavier went 18-for-42 (42.9%) from the field and 4-for-13 (30.8%) from on three-point attempts.
Villanova junior guard Kelsey Joens led Villanova’s three-point barrage, totaling a career-high of 18 points. Joens attempted all of her field goals from beyond the arc, shooting a career-high 6-for-10 (60%) on three-pointers. Over the last five games, Joens is averaging 9.4 points and 57.1% on three-pointers per game.
Sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe scored 15 points and dished out a team-high seven assists. Bascoe is averaging a team-high 4.5 assists and 17.3 points per game.
Junior forward Brynn McCurry collected 10 points and hauled in seven rebounds. She is now averaging a team-high 5.7 total rebounds per game.
While Xavier held the lead for nearly four minutes in the first quarter, both teams got out to a slow start. Six minutes into the game, Xavier only led Villanova, 4-3. Once Joens and senior guard Ryanne Allen started sinking threes, Villanova took the lead for the remainder of the game. Xavier was shut down in the second quarter, scoring just nine points to Villanova’s 16.
By halftime, Villanova was up 13 points. Senior guard MD Mtambe, off the bench, was responsible for seven of Villanova’s 13 points in the second quarter.
Despite the substantial scoring gap, the ‘Cats missed several easy layups, going for 25-for-64 (39%) on field goals but connected on a season-high 15 three-pointers on 32 attempts (48.4%) from beyond the arc.
Villanova is now scheduled to face Providence (9-6, 2-4) on the road in Providence, RI, at Alumni Hall (noon, ESPN+).
