Saint Joseph's (PA) aims for 25th victory this season in matchup against Villanova
Villanova Wildcats (19-14, 12-8 Big East) at Saint Joseph's (PA) Hawks (24-9, 14-7 A-10)
Philadelphia; Sunday, 2 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Saint Joseph's (PA) will try to earn its 25th win of the season when the Hawks play the Villanova.
Saint Joseph's (PA) is 2-2 in one-possession games.
Villanova is sixth in the Big East with 14.2 assists per game led by Jasmine Bascoe averaging 4.1.
Saint Joseph's (PA) averages 7.0 made 3-pointers per game, 2.0 more made shots than the 5.0 per game Villanova gives up. Villanova averages 6.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.6 more made shots on average than the 5.2 per game Saint Joseph's (PA) allows.
The teams meet for the second time this season. Villanova won 81-65 in the last meeting on Dec. 1. Bascoe led the Wildcats with 26 points, and Mackenzie Smith led the Hawks with 18 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Laura Ziegler is scoring 17.4 points per game and averaging 10.5 rebounds for the Hawks. Smith is averaging 1.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Maddie Webber averages 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Wildcats, scoring 13.3 points while shooting 30.6% from beyond the arc. Bascoe is averaging 17.6 points, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hawks: 5-5, averaging 64.2 points, 32.5 rebounds, 14.9 assists, 5.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 40.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.2 points per game.
Wildcats: 6-4, averaging 61.6 points, 27.5 rebounds, 13.0 assists, 7.0 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 39.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 63.8 points.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
16 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Hanover Central's Rebecca Ferguson shines in the spotlight in the 3A state final: ‘She knew she could do it'
WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana — In the moment Saturday night, Hanover Central's Rebecca Ferguson knew she wasn't alone. The junior second baseman stepped to the plate with two outs and two teammates in scoring position in the seventh inning of the Class 3A state championship game. Top-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral had a three-run lead. 'There was a lot of pressure,' Ferguson said. 'But I had my teammates and my family, and everyone who came out was there to support me.' Ferguson came through, hitting a two-run single to give the Wildcats hope, but Cathedral pulled out a 5-4 win at Purdue's Bittinger Stadium. 'Everyone fought to the end and gave it everything they had,' Ferguson said. 'I don't think one person wasn't ready every second.' Ferguson, who entered the game hitting .324 with 15 RBIs, certainly seemed ready when it mattered most. 'Big hit,' Hanover Central coach Sam Antkiewicz said. 'Everyone on our team has had key hits throughout the year. She was right there battling, and she was able to get a barrel on it and put that ball over the second baseman's head. 'That's just a testament to her, knowing what to do, the softball IQ, and looking for a pitch she could handle and put the ball in play. She put the ball in play, and good things happen.' In the seventh, Hanover Central junior center fielder Adeline McMahon and junior designated player Kaden Poppe walked with one out and advanced on a wild pitch before Ferguson's hit. 'That was great,' Hanover Central junior catcher Sienna Stilley said. 'You could tell by the way she was just looking to attack, and that's exactly what she did. She had so much confidence in herself, and she knew she could do it. 'She got so much energy from the dugout because we were telling her, 'You got it,' and she did. I'm very, very happy for her.' Stilley crushed a two-run homer to left-center to give the Wildcats (18-3) the lead in the third inning against Cathedral (29-2), which was ranked No. 1 in the final state coaches poll and won its first championship. 'It was electric,' Stilley said. 'That's the only word for it. You look up from running the bases and you see your entire fan base standing there and cheering you on. That's one of the best feelings I've ever had in my entire life. 'We worked really, really hard. It just goes to show that no matter what your record looks like, you can't count us out. It just goes to show how much we care and how much we love it. We stuck together.' Cathedral scored four runs in the fourth against freshman pitcher Jillian DeYoung, who continued to excel in the circle and also had one of the Wildcats' four hits, and added a run in the fifth. Sophomore left fielder Nora Edgerton also had a hit for Hanover Central. 'You can't ask for anything more,' Antkiewicz said. 'Obviously, we'd like to be in the opposite position where we're up a couple of runs going into that last inning. But we're down, and credit to our girls, they didn't give up, they kept chipping away, kept getting girls on base. 'Then the next thing you know, we have the tying run up to the plate, and that's what I told them all along — just hang in there, just hang in there. When you're within three runs, you're within striking distance.' Antkiewicz came away impressed. 'I can't be prouder of this group,' he said. 'I'm so proud of the way they fought back and the way they handled themselves and the way they showed they deserve to be here.' Indeed, the Wildcats weren't the most likely of state finalists, but they proved worthy. 'We were really the underdogs,' Ferguson said. 'It was amazing we came through and beat everyone who we weren't expected to beat, even though we got here and couldn't do it.'
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kentucky basketball's Otega Oweh makes final NBA Draft decision
The post Kentucky basketball's Otega Oweh makes final NBA Draft decision appeared first on ClutchPoints. Kentucky basketball just got some good news about one of its key players, as they'll be returning to the team after withdrawing from the NBA Draft, according to ESPN's Jonathan Givony. Advertisement 'NEWS: Kentucky's Otega Oweh has withdrawn his name from the NBA draft and will return to the Wildcats for his senior season, agent Wilmer Jackson of Spencer Sports told ESPN. Massive news for Mark Pope to return his team's leading scorer from last season,' Givony wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Oweh posted on Instagram announcing that he would be returning for Kentucky. 'This year exceeded all my expectations,' Oweh said in the caption. 'Through all the highs and the lows, I found a family in Kentucky forever. So let's run it back: I'm staying home.' In his first season with Kentucky, Oweh averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 35.5 percent from the perimeter. After the regular season, he was named a Second-Team All-SEC selection. Advertisement In their Round of 64 win over Troy, Oweh finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals. With that statline, he became the first Kentucky player since Walter McCarty in 1996 to register 20+ points, 8+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in an NCAA Tournament game. Oweh had a season where he had 13 games of 20+ points, which also included a career-high 28 points and a game-winner against Oklahoma. With him coming back next season, Oweh can establish himself as a first-round pick going into the 2026 NBA Draft. He had a nice showing at the NBA Draft Combine, and hopefully, he was able to take some things away from that experience to bring back to his game in college. It will be interesting to see what Kentucky looks like next season, and Oweh will be a big part of how successful they can be moving forward in the program.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Roman Anthony's eventful Red Sox debut includes 111 mph rocket, RBI, error that ‘just can't happen'
BOSTON — Many highly touted rookies have rather forgettable major league debuts in which they don't find themselves in the middle of the action. Roman Anthony's first game, however, was pretty eventful. After being called up to the majors just a couple hours before first pitch Monday, Anthony — the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball — saw it all in a 10-8 Red Sox loss. He ripped an 111.2 mph liner that resulted in a groundout, made a costly error as the Rays jumped ahead in the fifth, had his first career RBI despite going 0-for-4, reached base for the first time with a walk and was lifted for a pinch-hitter with the game hanging in the balance in the 11th inning. Advertisement Anthony, hitting fifth and playing right field (a position at which he had just four starts in Triple-A this season) didn't light up the box score. But his night was an eventful one. 'It was awesome,' he said about his debut. 'Unfortunately, we couldn't get a win but it was a good experience, getting it over with, the first one out of the way.' As Anthony came to the plate for his long-awaited first at-bat in the second inning, he got a loud ovation from the Fenway Park crowd. He then popped out to left field. Two innings later, he absolutely smoked a Shane Baz fastball up the middle, but the ball hit Baz and deflected third baseman Junior Caminero, who threw Anthony out. A sixth-inning at-bat was a strikeout. But the seventh inning brought a six-pitch walk as Anthony reached base for the first time and an RBI groundout up the middle in the ninth turned a 7-5 deficit into a one-run game. Anthony said he felt comfortable at the plate all night and his manager concurred. 'He was able to slow it down,' said Alex Cora. 'The walk, hit the ball hard, stayed up the middle, didn't try to do too much. It was a good first day.' Advertisement Defensively, Anthony had a rather costly slip-up in a somewhat unfamiliar position on what was a wet, misty night at Fenway. One batter after Jarren Duran bobbled a ball in left and allowed Tampa Bay's second run to score in the fifth, Anthony let a Yandy Díaz single skid past him on the outfield grass, allowing Brandon Lowe to score from first and Díaz to get to third. The Rays went up, 3-0, but the Red Sox tied the game an inning later. 'Just can't happen,' Anthony said. 'It's one of those plays, I've dealt with that skip a million times in my career. It's tough when you lose a game like that and you feel like that's the reason why you lost, little things like that.' Anthony's night came to a premature end when Cora — for the second time in the game — pinch-hit for one of Boston's top prospects with a right-handed journeyman. In the bottom of the sixth, Cora subbed in Romy Gonzalez for the left-handed Marcelo Mayer against southpaw Garrett Cleavinger and was rewarded when Gonzalez tied the game with a two-run, opposite-field double. Cora had let Anthony, another lefty, face Cleavinger but pulled him for Rob Refsnyder against rookie left-hander Ian Seymour in the 11th. Refsnyder worked a leadoff walk but Boston unable to close the gap and lost. 'They've never been pinch-hit (for) in the minors,' Cora acknowledged. 'This is what we do here. There's gonna be lefties that we're going to hit for them. They're gonna pinch-hit for other guys. We've got some good pinch-hitters here. Romy, that's his job, and Ref. We'll pick and choose. But they understand.' Advertisement Anthony's first MLB hit will come soon, perhaps as soon as Tuesday night against Ryan Pepiot. He felt like there were some things to build on at the end of a chaotic Monday he'll never forget. 'I thought I swung at good pitches,' he said. 'Unfortunately, some of those balls couldn't skip up the middle and drive some runs in. I felt like I did a good job of putting the bat on the ball and getting guys over.' More Red Sox coverage Read the original article on MassLive.
