There was a bevy of BIG EAST women’s basketball action on Saturday as 14 teams were hit the courts across seven league games. Road teams went 5-2 as improved to 29-32 across 61 conference games. The winning percentage for road teams during conference play stands at 47.5 percent. Last year, road teams went 55-73 over 128 league games for a 43.0 percent winning percentage.
One of the exciting games of the day saw Marquette (17-4, 5-3 BIG EAST) win at Pittsburgh (9-11, 1-6 BIG EAST) in overtime 74-70. With Pitt up 63-60 with 17 seconds to play in the second half, Marquette senior Tatiyiana McMorris banked in a 3-pointer as time expired to send the game to overtime. The Golden Eagles outscored the Panthers, 11-7, in the extra frame and got its second overtime win on the road this year. Marquette also won at Georgetown in double-overtime on Jan. 8.
McMorris led all scorers with a game and career-high 22 points. Marquette had three other players contribute double-digit point totals in senior Angel Robinson with 19, senior Paige Fiedorowicz with 15 and senior Jasmine Collins with 10. Collins also pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds for her first career double-double and helped Marquette earn its first win at the Petersen Events Center. The win was Marquette’s 17th of the season, matching their total in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Marquette converted 20-of-24 free throw attempts to mark the 11th time this season the Golden Eagles have made at least 20 of its charity tosses. Marquette is 10-1 in those games.
Taneisha Harrison led the Panthers with 18 points. Senior Shayla Scottmatched a season-high with 17 points while senior Chelsea Cole collected her tenth double-double of the season with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Cole leads the BIG EAST in double-doubles. Redshirt freshman Ashlee Anderson chipped in 11 points and classmate Leeza Burdgesshad a career-best 13 rebounds in the loss.
The game had 22 lead changes and nine ties.
In Cincinnati, senior Maya Moore scored 23 points on Saturday in leading Connecticut to its 59th consecutive win against BIG EAST Conference opponents. Moore finished 11-of-14 shooting with six assists.
Junior Tiffany Hayes added 16 points for UConn (20-1, 9-0 BIG EAST) which won for the eighth straight time since having its 90-game win streak snapped in a loss to Stanford on Dec. 30.
Cincinnati (8-12, 1-7 BIG EAST) has just seven available players due to injury. The Bearcats were led by freshman Kayla Cook’s 13 points. Senior Shareese Ulis added 12.
Senior Devereaux Peters scored 20 points to lead No. 9/9 Notre Dame to a 58-43 victory over Villanova.
Sophomore Skylar Diggins added 13 points and Natalie Novosel had 11 for Notre Dame (18-4, 7-1 BIG EAST), which has won five straight and 13 of its past 14. The Irish won despite scoring a season low in points—nearly 25 points under their average (82.9 ppg).
In South Orange, N.J., Adria Crawford scored 14 points to pace a balanced offense and lead No. 19/19 Georgetown to a 59-41 win over Seton Hall.
Sugar Rodgers and Tia Magee each added 13 points while Monica McNutt had 11 for the Hoyas (17-5, 5-3 BIG EAST). They have won three straight games.
Terry Green scored 11 points to lead Seton Hall (7-14, 0-8 BIG EAST), which has dropped seven consecutive games.
St. John’s (15-6, 4-4 BIG EAST) won at Providence (9-10, 2-5 BIG EAST) by the score 69-53 as junior Da’Shena Stevens scored a season-high 22 points. The Red Storm host Rutgers on Tuesday night in a pivotal matchup on CBS College Sports. Last year St. John’s posted its first win at Rutgers under the direction of head coach Kim Barnes Arico.
Louisville edged Rutgers 56-45 and a key matchup for both clubs. The Cardinals improved to 14-8, 5-3 BIG EAST, while the Scarlet Knights moved to 12-8, 5-2 BIG EAST. Junior Monique Reid scored 17 points to lead Louisville. Rutgers was just 3-of-5 from the free throw line and did not attempt a free throw in the second half.
Syracuse won at home beating USF 78-57. The Orange are 16-4, 4-3 BIG EAST while the Bulls are 10-12, 1-7 BIG EAST, Sophomore center Kayla Alexander led Syracuse with a game-high 17 points.
On Sunday afternoon No. 12/17 DePaul (20-2, 7-0 BIG EAST) hosts No. 8/8 West Virginia (19-2, 5-2 BIG EAST) in a top-25 battle on ESPNU. The 4 p.m. ET matchup will have a significant impact on the top of the league standings as the winner will have a clear edge for a bye to the quarterfinals of the 16-team BIG EAST Championship.
Material from interviews, the Associated Press wire service as well as league and team sources was used in this report.
