Women’s City Six: Villanova, Temple advance in conference tournaments
The Wildcats move on to face the No. 2 seed Marquette in the Big East, while the Owls will face the top-seeded UConn in the AAC.
VILLANOVA 64, XAVIER 56 (OT)
The No. 7 seed Wildcats survived in overtime against the No. 10 seed Musketeers in the first round of the Big East tournament.
Villanova advances to play No. 2 seed Marquette in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats scored 15 points in the extra frame, more points than they scored in any quarter. They made seven free throws and went 2-for-3 from three-point range.
Junior guard Raven James, senior forward Mary Gedaka, and senior forward Bridget Herlihy scored 20, 19, and 13 points, respectively, to carry the scoring load for Villanova.
TEMPLE 67, EAST CAROLINA 57
Mia Davis led the charge for the No. 8 seed Owls with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists in a first-round American Athletic Conference victory over the No. 9 seed Pirates.
Temple advances to play top-seeded Connecticut on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Owls took control early, building their lead to as many as 25 by halftime. They shot 43.4 percent from the field and out-rebounded East Carolina 50-40.
Sophomores Alexa Williamson and Marissa Mackins added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Temple.
Senior forward Shannen Atkinson headlined the defensive end with three blocks for the Owls.
PENN 67, CORNELL 46
Junior forward Eleah Parker and freshman guard Kayla Padilla each had 16 points to lead the Quakers over the Big Red.
Three of Padilla’s six made field goals came from behind the arc. Senior guard Kendall Grasela contributed nine points, nine assists, four rebounds, and a career-high seven steals.
Penn improves to 19-7 overall and 9-4 in the Ivy League, where they’ve clinched a berth in the tournament.
The Quakers got off to a 20-9 start after the first quarter and never looked back. They shot 46 percent from the field and forced Cornell into 24 turnovers.
Penn is now 115-2 under under coach Mike McLaughlin when scoring at least 60 points in regulation games.
The Quakers will end their regular season on Saturday at Columbia at 5 p.m.