Villanova claims the crown, Drexel outlasts Temple, and more highlights from the women’s Big 5 Classic
After battling with St. Joe’s in the final minutes, Villanova took home the championship, and freshman Molly Rullo scored a career-high 22 points to carry Drexel past Temple in the third place game.
Villanova entered Sunday’s women’s Big 5 Classic tripleheader with the chance to avenge last season’s championship loss, and the Wildcats did just that at Finneran Pavilion.
Against St. Joseph’s, Villanova came away with a 76-70 win to earn its first Big 5 crown in the new format. In the fifth place game, Penn locked down La Salle, 65-52, thanks to its second half performance and Drexel outlasted Temple, 59-52, in a defensive battle to take home third place.
These were the biggest moments from each game.
Game one: Penn 65, La Salle 52
Moment one: Penn (7-3) and La Salle (6-3) were evenly matched through the first quarter, before Penn flipped the momentum.
The Quakers went on a 14-0 run spearheaded by guard Simone Sawyer and forward Tina Njike. Sawyer saved a missed shot from going out of bounds then had a perfect pass to guard Saniah Caldwell to give Penn the lead. Njike followed with a layup plus.
Sawyer capped the run with a layup and three-pointer that pushed the Quakers’ lead into double-digits. Once the dust settled, Penn entered halftime leading 29-18 and comfortably in the driver’s seat.
Moment two: Despite a rough first half, La Salle went on a 20-4 run in the third quarter to trim its deficit to five entering the fourth quarter. The Explorers remained within striking distance, but Penn’s Ashna Tambe closed the door on their comeback hopes.
The guard, who entered the game averaging 2.3 points, drilled a three-pointer after a La Salle turnover that pushed the Quakers’ lead back to double digits. She hauled in an offensive rebound on the next possession and made the layup while being dragged to the floor. Tambe converted the free-throw to take a 55-40 lead.
Tambe scored a career-high 11 points, all coming in the second half.
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Game two: Drexel 59, Temple 52
Moment one: Arguably the most important moment of the game for Temple (4-5) came before tip-off. Starting point guard Tristen Taylor walked onto the court for warmups in street clothes and a boot. She was out against Drexel (6-3) with an ankle sprain injury suffered in the Owls win against Western Carolina on Nov. 30.
Taylor entered the game as Temple’s assist leader, averaging 4.6 per game, and second leading scorer, with 10.1 points per game. Without its main ball handler, Temple’s offense was stagnant in the first half.
The Owls shot just 34.6% from the field and had 13 turnovers compared to just five assists. Temple’s offense improved in the second half, shooting 44.4% from the field, but the slow start was too much to overcome.
Moment two: Despite its offensive struggles, Temple managed to hold a 22-20 halftime lead as its defense limited Drexel’s offense. The Dragons started to get going in the second half and won the third quarter by six points, before guard Molly Rullo and forward Deja Evans put the Owls away for good in the fourth.
Evans and Rullo guided Drexel to a 12-2 run with less than six minutes remaining. Rullo connected on a three-pointer to give Drexel a four-point lead then Evans got three consecutive buckets in the paint.
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With more than two minutes left, Rullo closed Drexel’s run by going deep again, which marked her fifth three-pointer of the day, to take a 52-41 lead, and it sent the crowd into a frenzy. Rullo finished with a career-high 22 points on 8-for-9 shooting.
Game three: Villanova 76, St. Joe’s 70
Moment one: As the first half neared conclusion, Villanova (8-2) and St. Joe’s (6-3) began to exchange three-pointers. Wildcats guard Ryanne Allen walked into an open look from the top of the key and made it to push their lead to 35-24. Villanova was threatening to run away in the championship game, but the Hawks answered back.
St. Joe’s guard Rhian Stokes hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final 90 seconds of the first half to pull the Hawks’ deficit within three heading into halftime.
Moment two: The final minutes of the championship game turned into a defensive battle with Villanova holding a four-point lead as neither team scored for nearly three minutes. Wildcats forward Brooke Bender finally snapped the drought with 2:27 left.
She found herself wide open for a three-pointer, and her clutch made basket sealed Villanova’s victory. Villanova’s defense continued to hold off St. Joe’s to escape with the Big 5 crown.