UNCASVILLE, Conn. — And then there were four.
Here’s how eight teams became four in Sunday’s BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinals (winning teams in bold):
- UConn def. Georgetown, 84-39
- Creighton def. Marquette, 57-44
- Villanova def. Providence, 73-65
- Seton Hall def St. John’s, 63-61
On Sunday, No. 1 UConn will face No. 5 Creighton (2:30 p.m. ET), and No. 2 Villanova will face No. 3 Seton Hall (5 p.m. ET).
Saturday’s standout performers
Serah Williams — UConn
Following a dynamic 11-point, six-rebound performance from UConn senior transfer Serah Williams against St. John’s last week, head coach Geno Auriemma bestowed on her perhaps the highest form of praise.
“I told her that she played like a UConn player today,” Auriemma said. ” … That hasn’t always been the case all year long. Hopefully, this is the start of something.”
Based on Williams’ first postseason appearance as a Husky in Saturday’s BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinals, it seems it may just have been the start of something. Within the game’s first four minutes, Williams scored 8 of UConn’s 10 first points, including two fast-break layups in transition.
“When Serah starts off the game like she did today, it gets everyone going, and I’m happy to see her confident out there,” sophomore forward Sarah Strong said. “I feel like that gives the rest of the team confidence to be aggressive and do what she’s doing out there.”
Williams ended the day as the game’s leading scorer (14 points) on 7-for-8 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds, eclipsing her performance last week in Midtown. She also snagged three steals and had two blocks.
“I wish I can say it was a light bulb switch, but I think it’s just me coming in every day in practice and every game and just trying to be my best,” Williams told reporters.
Last season as a junior at Wisconsin, Williams averaged a near double-double with team-high averages in points per game (19.2) and rebounds per game (9.8). The 6’4 forward earned a double-double in 12 consecutive games, setting both the program and Big Ten records for most consecutive contests with a double-double. She went from first option in Wisconsin to a role player in Storrs for a chance to compete for championships.
“Usually by now my seasons in the past [have] been over, so [I’m] just taking advantage and trying to have fun with it,” Williams said.
If she continues to play as she did on Saturday, Williams just might be the x-factor UConn needs to win a 13th national championship in Phoenix.
“If this is … the Serah Williams that we’re going to have for the next, you know, three or four weeks, that’s pretty good for us,” Auriemma said.
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Kennedy Townsend, Creighton
Senior guard Kennedy Townsend led all scorers (17 points) in Creighton’s gutsy 57-44 win over Marquette. The 44 points from Marquette were a season-low for the Bluejay defense, and Creighton punched a ticket to the semifinals.
“Any wins at this time of the year are … not given, and everyone’s fighting for their life right now,” Townsend told reporters. “We really had a great week of practice, just knowing this is going to be a really tough game for us. I thought we came out and competed, and we executed our game plan really well. So, yeah, winning in March is always special.”
Townsend has stepped into a central leadership role for Creighton this season as a senior. Last year, she was secondary to the program’s core three of Lauren Jensen, Morgan Maly and Molly Mogensen, who accounted for 61.6% of the Bluejays’ scoring. This year, Townsend is guiding the future of the program by mentoring the Bluejays’ six true freshmen, including All-Freshman Team selections Ava Zediker and Neleigh Gessert.
“Kennedy’s a great example of somebody who, you know, stayed the course,” Creighton head coach Jim Flanery said. “I mean, I considered her a starter last year as a junior because she played a lot and I trusted her. “
Given all that it lost in the offseason, Creighton could have easily fumbled towards the bottom of the conference standings this season. Townsend’s experience and leadership were steadying forces, though, and that was on full display on Saturday in Uncasville. Next up is five-time defending conference tournament champs, UConn — but the Bluejays aren’t intimidated.
“We’ve got a bunch of competitors … I mean, it’s obviously a quick turnaround, and they (UConn) expose you in so many ways,” Flanery told reporters. “They’re so good defensively, and they’re pretty good on offense too. But, you know, if you’re a competitor, that’s what you want. You want that. That’s kind of what we’ve talked about in recruiting, is like, ‘Do you want to play against the best? Come here, and you’re going to play against UConn.'”
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Jasmine Bascoe, Villanova
Before heading into the locker room at halftime, Villanova head coach Denise Dillon pulled over her star guard Jasmine Bascoe for a quick coaching session. Providence was putting a lot of pressure on Bascoe and cut the Wildcat’s lead to 38-35 headed into the game’s second frame.
“[I spoke with her about] just handling the pressure, recognizing, yeah, they’re going to try and get the ball out of her hands. [I] think if she strings them out a little bit, [she] should see a little bit more of the floor, make it bigger,” Dillon told NBC’s Meghan Caffrey.
The court certainly looked bigger for Bascoe by the end of the game. She led all scorers with 31 points on 4-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc.
“I think I just did a decent job of just taking what they were giving me, not forcing up too many shots,” Bascoe told reporters. “They’re a really, really good defensive team, and so we knew it was going to be tough. But like she said, we respect them a lot, so I was just ready to play. I mean, I just, yeah, took what they gave me and I was happy with that.”
The performance marked the third-highest in the tournament by a Wildcat, and the most since Maddy Siegrist‘s 37-point performance in the 2023 semifinal against Creighton. Siegrist was in attendance at Mohegan and has been a consistent role model for Bascoe during her time at Villanova.
“Maddy is a massive supporter for us, and I would say we all have a relationship with her outside of basketball as well, which makes it mean so much more to us,” Bascoe said. “She’s just obviously a great role model for all of us, but she’s just a good person. So just her being here, like, I’m not surprised at all. She supports us all the time. She will send you a text after a game. She’s just a genuine, really good person.”
Next up, the Wildcats face regional rival Seton Hall, a team they swept 2-0 in the season series. Even so, Villanova knows how important it is to stay focused and continue building its resume for the upcoming NCAA Tournament, which can’t happen if the Wildcats are bounced in the semifinals while thinking about the next round.
“Every game could be your last, and we don’t want our season to end, ever,” Bascoe said.
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Jordana Codio, Seton Hall
In Saturday’s nightcap match, one Seton Hall player in particular — senior Jordana Codio — was not phased by the 9:30 p.m. ET tip time. She accounted for 35 of the Pirates’ 63 points in a thrilling 2-point victory over St. John’s.
“It’s win or go home, so, obviously, I was going to do whatever I needed to to help my team win,” Codio told reporters. “So, yeah, I treat it like every other game, but I did know that I had to play my best, you know. So I just had to go out and help my team.”
It wasn’t just that Codio scored a career-high 35 points; it was how she did it. She shot 13-for-26 (50%) from the field, including 6-for-9 from 3-point range. Her performance fell just a single-point shy of Lauren Park-Lane‘s Seton Hall BIG EAST Tournament record. She also did all the little things, like hustling after the ball, securing three rebounds, and notching two steals.
“Jordana’s stat line speaks for itself, but there were some other things she did in the game that really impressed me as a head coach,” Tony Bozzella told reporters.
Codio, a transfer from Texas, is used to high-stakes environments. She appeared for the Longhorns in last year’s Final Four, drilling a 3-pointer against South Carolina on the game’s biggest stage. Throughout this season, she’s evolved into Seton Hall’s third-leading scorer (12.0 points per game) and isn’t ready to be finished quite yet.
“I feel like this tournament, all the conference tournaments, you just have to push through it. Everyone’s tired. And like she said, getting rehab, getting treatment, doing everything you can to get your body ready for the game,” Codio said. “But you know that you’re not going to be a hundred percent. So just having that mental, you know, to push through.”
