Paige Bueckers scored 20 points and Sarah Strong had 10 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks as No. 3 UConn blew past St. John’s 71-40 in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament on Saturday in Uncasville, Conn.
Top-seeded UConn outshot eighth-seeded St. John’s 45.3 percent to 28.6 percent and forced 16 turnovers while committing only four. The Huskies (29-3), who also got 11 points from Azzi Fudd, will face Villanova in the semifinals.
St. John’s made its first shot of the game for a 2-0 lead but proceeded to finish the first quarter 1-for-11 with six turnovers, letting UConn race ahead 18-2. Kaitlyn Chen made it 22-2 early in the second on a fastbreak jumper. The Huskies cruised despite shooting 2-for-19 from 3-point range.
Ariana Vanderhoop and Kylie Lavelle each scored 11 points and Lashae Dwyer had 10 for the Red Storm (16-15).
Villanova 73, Marquette 66
Jasmine Bascoe tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists as the fifth-seeded Wildcats got past the fourth-seeded Golden Eagles.
Maddie Burke also scored 18 and Maddie Webber had 10 points with five assists for Villanova (18-13), which narrowly won all four quarters to keep Marquette at bay. The Wildcats outscored the Golden Eagles 27-6 at the 3-point line and turned 12 takeaways into 14 points.
Skylar Forbes racked up 20 points and eight rebounds for Marquette (20-10). Halle Vice added 17 and nine, respectively.
No. 23 Creighton 72, Georgetown 70
Kiani Lockett made the go-ahead free throws with four seconds left to lift the second-seeded Bluejays past the 10th-seeded Hoyas.
Creighton (25-5) fell behind by as many as 12 early in the second half before Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly guided the comeback. Jensen netted a game-high 22 points, Maly added 20 and Lockett had six of her eight points in the fourth quarter. The Bluejays — who will face Seton Hall on Sunday — first regained the lead on Mallory Brake’s fastbreak layup at 1:19 before Georgetown made it 70-70 on two free throws.
Kelsey Ransom racked up 20 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the upset-minded Hoyas (12-19). Ariel Jenkins added 16 points and 11 rebounds, but Georgetown shot 3-for-14 in the fourth quarter and missed its last seven attempts from the field.
Seton Hall 48, Xavier 40
I’yanna Lops recorded the go-ahead steal and score and added two game-sealing free throws as the third-seeded Pirates charged back to shock the 11th-seeded Musketeers.
Seton Hall (22-8) didn’t lead at any point until Lops intercepted a Xavier inbounds pass and laid it in to break a 40-40 tie with 1:41 left. She and teammate Faith Masonius each finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, and Jada Eads scored 10 points as the Pirates outscored the Musketeers 21-2 at the foul line.
Xavier (7-24) benefited from Seton Hall’s 24.5 percent field-goal shooting and nearly pulled off a second consecutive upset, but the Musketeers shot 0-for-8 in the fourth quarter and let the Pirates win the period 17-2. Meri Kanerva, Irune Orio and Aizhanique Mayo scored eight apiece for Xavier.
–Field Level Media
–Field Level Media
