Big East tournament roundup: UConn keeps rolling to semifinals

Serah Williams went for 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds as No. 1 UConn laid an 84-39 beatdown on eighth-seeded Georgetown in the Huskies’ first game of the Big East women’s tournament on Saturday in Uncasville, Conn.

It was UConn’s 48th straight victory and its 37th straight win in a conference tournament setting. The Huskies (32-0) built a 47-18 lead by halftime, then continued to clamp down in the third quarter and limit the Hoyas to a mere four points in the period. They racked up 42 points off 26 Hoyas turnovers.

KK Arnold scored 12 points in just 19 minutes of action, Sarah Strong added 11 points and six rebounds and Azzi Fudd had 10 points for UConn.

The defending national champions will face fifth-seeded Creighton in the semifinals. Georgetown (14-17) lost nine of its last 11 games to end the season. Laila Jewett paced the Hoyas with nine points.

Creighton 57, Marquette 44

Kennedy Townsend racked up 17 points, Ava Zediker scored 15 and the fifth-seeded Bluejays defeated the fourth-seeded Golden Eagles.

Creighton (16-14) ended the first half on a 10-0 run to take the lead for good and added an 11-0 spree in the third quarter to go ahead 40-24. Grace Bofelli added 12 points, and she and Zediker each had six rebounds.

Skylar Forbes had 16 points and Halle Vice put up 12 and 11 rebounds, but Marquette (18-12) was outshot 41.4% to 29.3%.

Villanova 73, Providence 65

Jasmine Bascoe went for a career-high 31 points to help the second-seeded Wildcats advance past the seventh-seeded Friars.

Bascoe hit 4 of 8 from 3-point range and added four rebounds and three assists for Villanova (24-6), which fell behind by two in the first minute of the third quarter before ending the quarter on a 20-7 surge. Bascoe contributed 13 points in that frame. Kennedy Henry posted a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double and Denae Carter scored 10 points.

Providence (15-18) cut a 69-51 deficit in half with a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter, but Henry made a key jumper with 2:35 left for the Wildcats to hold firm. Sabou Gueye and Orlagh Gormley scored 19 points apiece and Teneisia Brown had 15 for the Friars.

–Field Level Media