Villanova holds off Big 5 foe St. Joe’s to clinch spot in WBIT semifinals

In postseason play, it’s easy to hold your breath during the fourth quarter.

Now add in these two small factors for Villanova: it’s the last home game of the season, and it’s matched up against a Big 5 rival.

Luckily for Nova Nation, they can take a sigh of relief as the Wildcats edged out St. Joseph’s, 67-59, in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament.

It was a touch-and-go fourth quarter for the Wildcats, and despite building up a double-digit lead with 4 minutes, 54 seconds remaining, the Hawks were relentless on the attack.

But Villanova (21-12) kept St. Joe’s (28-6) at arm’s length as they maintained a six-point lead or more in the final 10 minutes of play. And come the final minute, it was just a matter of running out the clock.

“Going three in a row here to advance to the semis out there I think was tremendous,” Villanova coach Denise Dillon said. “ … here tonight with the crowd and with the excitement of women’s basketball, I think Philadelphia basketball is the best.”

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What happens when your leading scorer gets double-teamed the second she touches the ball?

You find success elsewhere … or you overcome it. Lucy Olsen and the Wildcats did both.

Olsen had a slow start, scoring her first baskets off a pair of free throws early in the third quarter. After that, Olsen took offensive matters into her own hands.

The honorable-mention All American finished the game with 16 points and four rebounds. Olsen surged her efforts in the final minutes of the game, including going on her own 7-0 run over the course of 1:46 in the fourth quarter.

“[St. Joes] number one goal is to get the ball out of the leading scorer’s hands and they did a really nice job of it,” Dillon said. “They wore Lucy down, but I was proud of her [efforts].”

But the offensive performance wasn’t a lone effort.

Junior Zanai Jones scored 10 points and grabbed six boards, while junior Kaitlyn Orihel and freshman Brynn McCurry each chipped in with nine and six points respectively.

Christina Dalce ended with a double-double, leading the Wildcats with 10 rebounds, despite playing just 23 minutes due to early foul trouble.

“I think I’m just happy that my team was able to pick us up,” Olsen said. “That’s why it’s a team sport and I don’t need to do everything because we have such a great team.”

The Wildcats shot 43.9% from the field and 27.8% from the three-point line, while the Hawks shot 34.4% from the field and 18.6% from behind the arc.

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For the first two rounds of the WBIT, Villanova prided itself on their home court advantage.

But when the opposing team is coming from just six miles away, the fan section looks a bit more split than usual.

This is the latest game Villanova has ever hosted in March and the first time in history that Villanova has seen St. Joe’s two times in one season. Those factors led to nearly double its attendance at the Finneran Pavilion on Thursday night.

“We’re on [spring] break right now, so they had a bigger student section than us,” senior Bella Runyan said. “But we were 15 minutes away from tipoff and we looked around like ‘aw man it’s packed this is awesome.’

“Even though it’s not March Madness, the energy this year for this tournament has been amazing.”

Wildcats fans packed the Finn for the Big 5 battle, with the Hawks having their own sea of red in support.

Any win is sweet, but your final win on your home court as a senior — that’s bittersweet.

With the quarterfinal win, the Wildcats end their season at home, and Villanova’s two seniors, Runyan and Maddie Burke, played their last game at the Finn.

Runyan tied her career high with 16 points, going a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc — the most success she’s found from three all season — and making 6-of-8 shots from the field. She also grabbed six rebounds for the Wildcats.

“I think [my scoring] has a lot to do with my coaches and my teammates just supporting me,” Runyan said. “They always saw something in me that I didn’t see in my confidence level.”

With the win, Villanova will face No. 1 Penn State in the semifinals of the WBIT at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. on April 1.