Villanova drops a crucial conference matchup on the road against St. John’s

A 22-point deficit heading into the final quarter was just too much.

In the end, Villanova found themselves on the tail end of a 71-58 final against St. John’s on Saturday in New York City. For St. John’s, the win was retribution from the last time the teams faced off on Dec. 22 — when Villanova claimed an 85-48 victory.

Ryanne Allen led the Wildcats with 12 points. Jasmine Bascoe, Villanova’s star sophomore guard, added 11.

Villanova (8-3, 15-5 Big East) is now tied for second place in the conference with Seton Hall. St. John’s (6-5, 16-6 Big East) stands fourth in the Big East.

The game quickly spun out of control for Villanova, as St. John’s sprinted off to a 22-5 lead across the opening 10 minutes. Brooke Moore led the way for the Red Storm, as the junior guard scored 10 points in the first quarter.

St. John’s shut down Villanova’s offense, going on a 17-0 run across the last 7 minutes, and 38 seconds of the quarter.

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Meanwhile, the Wildcats shot an uncharacteristic 2-for-11 from the field and 1-for-6 from three. Villanova entered the game as the second-best shooting team in the conference, averaging 45.1% from the field.

Villanova attempted to push back in an energetic second quarter, in which it was outscored just 18-17. Junior forward Brynn McCurry led the Wildcats in the first half, with eight points and four rebounds.

St. John’s, which saw some difficulty early in Big East play, was dominant on its home court on. Unlike in its previous meeting with Villanova, St. John’s controlled the game and led by double-digits throughout the second, third, and fourth quarters.

The Red Storm succeeded in holding back Bascoe, who leads Villanova in scoring with 17.2 points per game. Bascoe dropped 21 points with a season-high nine assists in the previous win over St. John’s. But in Saturday’s contest, she was restricted, scoring just four points in the first half to support her total.

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Villanova struggled to keep St. John’s offense away from the net. The Red Storm scored 42 points in the paint across the game.

Villanova scored its highest point total (20 points) in the fourth quarter. Allen helped the Wildcats make a late-game push to narrow the deficit, scoring seven points and continuing her consistent three-point shooting.

Villanova returns to Finneran Pavilion on Tuesday to take on Providence (7 p.m., ESPN+).

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