By: Josh Abrams
(Photo by Jahmir Dunbar)
Olney - Another clash between two Big-5 schools took place on the Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving, as the Villanova Wildcats traveled a half-hour east to John Glaser Arena to take on the La Salle Explorers.
It was the visitors who emerged victorious over the hosts by a score of 66-54, thanks to a very balanced offensive output and stifling defense that has become a theme for the victors at this point.
Junior forward Brynn McCurry led the way with a game-high 18 points, along with seven rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe was a key spark in getting 'Nova going in the first half, finishing with 16 points and four three-pointers, while freshman guard Kennedy Henry (Westtown '25) stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, five boards, two assists and four steals & blocks apiece.
In their first Big-5 match of the season, Nova scored 88 points against Temple while holding the Owls to just 58 points. The Wildcats' offense was not nearly as potent when they played La Salle, but the defense was still a catalyst as they held the Explorers to just 36.8% shooting overall.
"(We) knew it would be a battle here at La Salle; these Big-5 games are," remarked sixth-year Wildcat head coach Denise Dillon. "Really happy to come out with a win and play for a championship next week."
Through their tenacious defense and strong start offensively, Villanova found themselves up on La Salle by a score of 18-6 after 10 minutes of play. Bascoe got the Wildcats in an early groove offensively by knocking down two triples, while Henry and senior guard Ryanne Allen pitched in with five points apiece. La Salle was able to cut the lead down to 10 at 26-16 midway through the second quarter after an Ashleigh Connor jumper, but from there it was all Villanova. The Wildcats used a 10-5 run over the final four minutes to take a commanding 15-point, 36-21 lead at halftime.
Villanova WBB HC Denise Dillon gives opening statement and talks to media, elaborating on 12-point victory for her squad against the Explorers (Video by Josh Abrams)
Dillon elaborates further on her team's performance, including talking about Jasmine Bascoe and how she was able to finish strong (Video by Josh Abrams)
Though they got outmatched for most of the night, La Salle deserves its flowers for not going away quietly nor easily. A 6-0 run from the Explorers to start the second half cut Villanova's lead down to nine in the blink of an eye, and just minutes later Bascoe picked up her third personal foul which made Dillon have to resort to her bench a bit sooner than she may have wanted.
"Credit La Salle; they played really aggressive basketball," Dillon said. "I thought they certainly stuck with their game plan, we got a little out of sorts... sometimes that's going to happen with youth, them not understanding how intense these games are."
The trio of McCurry, Bascoe and Henry traded baskets with Connor, Joan Quinn and Kiara Williams down the stretch of the third quarter. Leading by nine (43-34) with under three minutes left in the frame, Bascoe connected on her fourth three-point shot of the evening after McCurry grabbed an offensive rebound off a Henry miss. Brynn closed out the quarter with one of her many driving layups, giving her a game-high 14 at the time and, more importantly, a 12-point Villanova lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
Villanova is an extremely young team, but one of those youthful players who had an advantage coming into this game was Henry, as the 2025 Westtown School graduate had plenty of stellar performances at La Salle's Gola/Glaser Arena over the years.
"(Kennedy) may have been the only one that has played in this gym (before Tuesday night)," remarked Dillon. "I credit Kennedy; any time I went to watch her, whether if it was open gym, AAU tournament, high school game, Kennedy always looked to guard the best player on the other team. And it didn't matter if it was a stretch, post (player), point guard; she wanted that assignment. When you have somebody like that... when you have that mentality on the defensive end, really good things happen."
First half action from Nova-La Salle WBB; Wildcats extend lead, both teams with great defense (Video by Josh Abrams)
La Salle WBB HC Mountain MacGillivray reflects on his team's tough loss to a talented Villanova squad at home (Video by Josh Abrams)
For La Salle head coach Mountain MacGillivray, it clearly was not the result he or his team wanted. But the eighth year leader was able to find certain positives to take away from the game, even as frustrating as it was at times.
"I think if we could get rid of the first quarter I'd feel a little bit better about the game," MacGillivray said. "(I am) pleased with the fact that we responded after that. Obviously you're playing Villanova (which means) the primary defensive game plan is 'don't let them shoot a three' and I think we gave up four threes in the first quarter... I thought we adjusted and defended much better the rest of the game."
In addition to adjusting defensively, La Salle was also successful in getting Bascoe out of the game via foul trouble, so although Jasmine was still effective in hitting four threes, it could have been much worse for the Explorers.
"Those are steps for a young team that you need to see; that you can go out there and do the things you need to do," said Mountain. "The 23 turnovers didn't need to happen... we could have taken better care of the ball. It's a step in the right direction (but) it's disappointing because I think we showed through three quarters if we played differently early on, it's a game we might have been able to get."
MacGillivray gives initial thoughts in opening statement after coming up short in second Big-5 game of the season (Video by Josh Abrams)
Third quarter action between Nova and La Salle; both teams trade baskets as Explorers try to cut into Wildcats' lead (Video by Josh Abrams)
With the win, Villanova improves to 5-2 overall on the season and 2-0 in Big-5 play, clinching their berth in the title game of the Women's Big-5 Classic on Sunday, December 7th on their home floor at the Finneran Pavilion. The Wildcats are going to face Saint Joe's in the championship match after the Hawks narrowly defeated Drexel by a score of 57-55 over the weekend. Before that, the next time Villanova takes the floor will be Monday, December 1st when they hit the road to Morgantown to face West Virginia at 7 PM.
The loss for La Salle drops their record to 5-2 overall and 0-2 in Big-5 play. With Penn also sporting the same resume, this means the Quakers and Explorers will clash in the 5th place game (first game of three) of the Big-5 Classic. They have one game to play in between, as A-10 rival VCU makes an early visit to Glaser on Wednesday, December 3rd for a 6:30 PM tip.