Villanova rides three-point shooting to dominant win over Xavier
Villanova guard Kelsey Joens scored a career-high 18 points on six three-pointers in a 67-50 win over Xavier on Thursday.
Villanova maintained second place in the Big East women’s basketball standings with a 67-50 victory over Xavier on Thursday afternoon at the Finneran Pavilion.
On Sunday, Villanova (13-3, 6-1 Big East) was handed its first conference loss by Marquette, which snapped a 10-game winning streak. The loss also dropped Villanova from No. 28 to No. 34 in the NCAA’s NET rankings.
But the Wildcats bounced back against the Musketeers, thanks to junior guard Kelsey Joens. The Iowa State transfer scored a career-high 18 points on six three-pointers with four rebounds.
The Wildcats’ three-point shooting propelled their win. Villanova made 15 of 32 three-pointers, while Xavier shot 4 of 13.
Sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe added 15 points along with four rebounds and seven assists. Bascoe is the conference’s third-leading scorer, averaging 17.5 points.
Dropping threes
The Wildcats shot 5-for-9 from deep in the first quarter, which set the tone.
Villanova started to break away at the end of the first quarter, scoring eight consecutive points to take a 17-11 lead. To open the second, Villanova’s scoring run stretched to 11-0.
From there, the Wildcats maintained a double-digit lead and entered halftime with a 33-20 advantage.
Villanova held Xavier (9-7, 2-5) to 35% shooting from the field, including 2-for-9 from deep, and exploited its errors, as the Wildcats scored 18 points off turnovers in the first half.
Bascoe controls the court
The Musketeers picked up their shooting in the second half. Xavier went on an 8-0 run across 2 minutes, 35 seconds, shrinking Villanova’s lead to seven.
Bascoe took care of Villanova’s response. With two minutes left in the third quarter, she notched a steal and drove to the basket for an uncontested layup. Bascoe then assisted a Joens three-pointer to end the quarter.
Joens knocked down two more three-pointers in the fourth. Villanova outscored Xavier, 10-3, in the final 3:31 to seal the win.
Road challenges ahead
The Wildcats will head on the road for two crucial matchups.
Villanova faces Providence on Sunday (noon, TruTV), then will visit the nation’s top team, undefeated UConn, on Thursday (7 p.m., FS1).