A career night from Jasmine Bascoe lifts Villanova past Providence in Big East quarterfinal
The No. 2 seed Wildcats now move into Sunday’s semifinal against the winner between No. 6 seed St. John’s and No. 3 seed Seton Hall (5 p.m., Peacock).
While Villanova entered the Big East tournament as a No. 2 seed, Saturday night’s 73-65 quarterfinal win against No. 7 seed Providence did not come without a fight.
The win marked their third this season against the Friars, and perhaps the most important, as the Wildcats now move into Sunday’s semifinal against the winner between No. 6 seed St. John’s and No. 3 seed Seton Hall (5 p.m., Peacock).
Sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe dominated the court with a career-high 31 points and four rebounds. Bascoe, the Big East’s leading scorer, reached double-digits for the 28th time this season while averaging 18.7 points per game.
Freshman guard Kennedy Henry finished the night with her first career double-double, recording 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The Wildcats now move onto the Big East semifinals. They will face either No. 3 seed Seton Hall or No. 6 St. John’s on Sunday, March 8 (5 p.m., Peacock).
Tight first half
The Wildcats quickly took control of the first quarter, looking poised for another runaway victory.
Bascoe dropped 12 points in the opening 10 minutes while shooting 5-for-8 from the field. Henry sank a pair of three-pointers, contributing to Villanova’s seven-point lead coming out of the first quarter.
But Providence was energetic late in the second as Villanova’s defense slipped. Graduate guard Sabou Gueye tied the game, 32-32, with a steal-and-score. Gueye was impactful for the Friars throughout the night, finishing with 19 points.
The Friars also stayed close by owning the rebound battle across the game, 35-32. However, it would be Villanova that went into the halftime break with a three-point lead.
Bascoe and Henry’s night
The duo of Bascoe and Henry helped establish a steady lead in the third quarter.
With just over four minutes left in the quarter, Gueye swatted the ball away from Bascoe as she drove toward the basket. But Henry made up for it and deftly stole the ball back. She found a wide-open Bascoe under the net to put Villanova back up by seven points.
With that, Villanova put together a 16-0 run that stretched into the fourth quarter. As Providence attempted to climb back with a 9-0 run of its own, Henry put a stop to it with a layup off an offensive rebound.
A flagrant offensive foul on Bascoe, whose swinging elbows hit Providence’s Orlagh Gormley in the face, gave the Friars a chance to get within eight points. But, with less than two minutes left in the game, that was the closest they would get.