VILLANOVA, PA. – In Big 5 women's basketball action on Saturday night at the Finneran Pavilion, the Villanova Wildcats tallied an 88-58 win over the visiting Temple Owls. With the victory, Villanova improves to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in Big 5 play, while Temple falls to 3-3 on the year and 1-1 in City Series action.
The first quarter went back and forth with neither team able to open-up more than a five-point lead. Temple led 11-6 before the Wildcats scored seven of the last nine points of the period to tie the game at 13-13 after one.
Wildcat sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe tallied eight of Villanova's 13 first quarter points. Villanova forced seven Temple turnovers in the opening quarter and converted 11 points off the Owl miscues.
Villanova took control of the second quarter from the start using an 8-2 spurt to start the period to take a 21-15 advantage. Three-point field goals by Ryanne Allen and Kennedy Henry highlighted the run.
Following a basket by Temple's Savannah Curry that cut the Villanova lead to 23-19 with 5:44 remaining until halftime, Villanova closed the quarter on a decisive 21-5 run to take a commanding 44-24 lead into halftime. The Wildcats made four triples in the run with Allen draining two and Bascoe and freshman Brooke Bender connecting on one each.
Allen was 4-of-4 from long distance in the first half for 12 points, while Bascoe had 11 points. The Villanova defense forced Temple into 13 first half turnovers.
A lay-up by Bender gave Villanova its biggest lead of the third quarter at 62-37 with 1:30 to play. After Temple scored five straight points to make it a 62-42 game, Villanova guard Dani Ceseretti made one of two from the foul line give the Wildcats a 63-42 lead after three.
Villanova would lead by as many as 34 in the fourth quarter and cruise to the win.
Allen led the Wildcats with a career-high 19 points and a career-best six assists. She was 7-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range. Denae Carter tied her career-high with 17 points and she set a career-high with five steals. Brynn McCurry tallied 13 points and a career-high tying eight rebounds, while Bascoe and Bender had 11 points each.
Temple was paced by Tristen Taylor with 15 points and Felicia Jacobs who had 10 points.
For the game, Villanova was 35-of-62 from the field (56.5%), 12-of-25 from three-point range (48.0%) and 6-of-7 from the foul line (85.7%), while Temple shot 40.0 percent from the floor (22-of-55), 15.4 percent from long distance (2-of-13) and 70.6 percent from the charity stripe (12-of-17). Temple owned a 34-29 advantage on the backboards. Villanova was charged with just eight turnovers, while Temple had 19 turnovers.
Villanova returns to action on Tuesday with a road game at La Salle. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.
