Women’s basketball clinches Big 5 title in win

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Claire Ferry

In the midst of Big East conference play, the women’s basketball team (13-7 overall, 6-3 in the Big East) overcame a tight loss to Georgetown last Sunday (57-51)with commanding win over the Penn Quakers on Tuesday night (66-46).  

The victory earned the Wildcats a guaranteed share of the Big Five championship for the second year in a row.

Even in falling to Georgetown, the atmosphere in the Pavilion was one of special meaning.  Fans attending the Big East clash wore purple in support of the We Back Pat campaign.

The annual game raises awareness for The Pat Summit Foundation. Bearing the name of the celebrated former Tennessee women’s basketball coach, it conducts research on Alzheimer’s and spreads awareness.

Villanova remained on Georgetown’s heels until the very final minutes but ultimately could not secure the win at the Pavilion against their bitter Big East rivals.

The Wildcats began the second half with a two-point lead, but the Hoyas took back command of the game with an 18-7 point run.  Georgetown junior Faith Woodward led the surge with six third-quarter points.

‘Nova trailed 50-49 with 1:15 left to play, and senior Caroline Coyer was unable to make a 3-pointer to take the lead.  Capitalizing from the foul line, Georgetown made five of six free throws to extend the lead and run out the clock.

Senior Megan Quinn and sophomore Alex Louin led the Wildcats with 11 points each.  Coyer followed with ten points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in a well-rounded performance.  

Villanova was out-shot decisively, converting only 28.1% from the field compared to Georgetown’s 40.4% on the night. 

On Tuesday night, though, ‘Nova closed out their final contest of its four-game home stretch with a decisive 66-46 win over the Penn Quakers (12-3 overall).

After allowing Penn to creep ahead 24-20 at the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats fought back to gain a nine-point lead before halftime.  Coyer’s four 3-pointers propelled Villanova’s prolifiv offense.

The ‘Cats never looked back in the second half, outscoring Penn 20-6 in a hot-shooting third quarter.  

The entire team would end up shooting a prolific 42% from beyond the arc against their cross-town rivals.

A total of 17 baskets beyond the arc—one short of the school record— helped ‘Nova to a 20-point victory.

Coyer led the team with an impressive 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.  Freshman 

Adrianna Hahn continued her impressive season as a freshman, contributing with a total of 15 points and four rebounds.

The Wildcats are now 41-2 against Penn, one of their most impressive records against another Big-5 opponent. They have also won their last 12 meetings against the Quakers.

Villanova has the most wins out of any Big-5 women’s basketball program with 109 wins and only 37 losses over their storied history.

They have now won 16 Big-5 titles with nine of them an outright championship.

The team will turn its attention back to the Big East for the remainder of the season.  

They will travel to Omaha to take on Creighton on Friday, with their Big Five championship in tow.

Creighton has flopped early on in Big East play, but does have a better record than the Georgetown team they just lost to.

It will be up to the Wildcats to ensure that they maintain their focus against an inferior opponent. 

Led by Megan Quinn’s 25-points, the Wildcats beat the Bluejays 65-62 earlier on this season, so they hope to replicate their success tomorrow in Nebraska.