Photos: Lennie Malmgren
By: John Knebels
VILLANOVA, PA – It’s not the NCAA tournament, but it’s still pretty darn nice.
At 2 PM Sunday, Villanova University meets St. Joseph’s University in the second round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament. The Wildcats hope to emulate their earlier meeting with the Hawks back on Dec. 1, dominating the second half for a convincing 81-65 win.
But before considering the future, an assessment of the recent past – specifically this past Thursday night – deserves some plaudits.
Villanova vs. Boston College - PSD Gallery by Lennie Malmgren
Trailing visiting Boston College by 22-17 after one quarter, the Wildcats (19-14 overall record) methodically ironed out their difficulties for a 76-70 win. Taking advantage of a Boston College team playing with only seven players as a combination-result of injury and portal losses, the Wildcats methodically wore down their visibly fatigued foes behind a team effort that included nine players with two or more rebounds, seven players with four points or more, and six players with multiple assists.
“Emotions run high playing in the postseason,” said Villanova coach Denise Dillon, who complimented the Eagles for their tenacity and effort. “We needed to settle into what we needed to do as opposed to getting caught up into what BC was doing. I was really proud of our group in the fourth quarter for sticking together.
“I wasn’t happy with how we came out. We used that timeout early and made some substitutions, and that was a great spark. After that, everyone contributed. It went back and fourth and in the fourth quarter, we pulled away a little bit.”
The combination of freshman Jasmine Bascoe (24 points, four assists, three steals) and junior Archbishop Wood alum Ryanne Allen (career-tying 17 points; an implausible plus-25) proved to be too much for a Boston College team that attempted 26 free throws (making 18) to Villanova’s 16 (making 11).
Trailing by a concerning 15-4 with 5:09 left in the first quarter, a basket by Bascoe and two three-point swishes by Allen pulled the Cats to within 15-12 and jumpstarted the crowd. BC forged ahead, 22-14, but a last-second three by Bascoe trimmed the deficit to 22-17.
As Dillon alluded to, the contest resembled a tennis match before the Wildcats maintained, at minimum, a three-point lead in the fourth before clinching the game defensively, allowing only eight points over the final 7:48 of regulation.
Tying for her career-high in points, Allen dished most of the success to her teammates.
“Whenever I get on the floor I just wanna be the best teammate and player I can be, whether that’s shooting the ball when I’m open or making a pass or taking a charge,” she said. “I just want to do whatever it takes to help the team get the W.”
Villanova vs. Boston College - WBIT First Round Highlights by Lennie Malmgren for PSD
Ryanne Allen finished with a plus-25 and equalled her career high with 17 points in Nova win - PSD Video by John Knebels
Now comes a test on the road against Philadelphia-based rival St. Joseph’s. In the aforementioned first meeting, Bascoe (26 points) and sophomore Maddie Webber (18 points) proved lethal against the Hawks, who lost in the Atlantic 10 championship after a stunning upset of defending conference champ and current NCAA eight-seed Richmond in the semifinals but improved to 24-9 after whipping the University at Albany in the first round.
“I’m bummed the game isn’t here, but we will see what we can do,” said Dillon. “We just want to work and keep playing.”
(John Knebels can be reached at jknebels@gmail.com or on ‘X’ @johnknebels.)