PHILADELPHIA, PA. 12/2/2018 – For the Saint Joseph’s Hawks and the Villanova Wildcats a Big Five game is good to way to generate excitement in the early going. And for Katie and Kelly Jekot, it would be the first time the sisters would play against each other in a collegiate game. But this game was about a fiercely played, rivalry game between the Hawks and the Wildcats.
The game was decided over the last six and a half minutes when Villanova broke a 35-all tie holding Saint Joe’s scoreless to earn a 47 – 35 win at the Hagan Arena. The game was much closer than the final score indicated.
The game turned after Saint Joe’s tied the game at 35 on a three-pointer by Nailah Delinois. It stayed within a possession until Mary Gedaka got a steal and layup with two and a half minutes left. Then Jannah Tucker hit a dagger three from the corner with 1:02 on the clock that increased the lead to 43 – 35.
“We played defense and we had a couple of experienced players that made shots when we needed them to,” said Villanova Coach Harry Perretta. “Jannah Tucker’s three basically won the game. On the last possessions we got the kick for threes.”
The player matchup turned out to be two guards carrying the offense for each team. Adrianna Hahn led Villanova with a game-high 17 points. On the other side guard Alyssa Monaghan scored 16 points for Saint Joe’s. They were the only players who scored in double figures.
Wildcats made 37% from the floor compared to 27.7% for the Hawks. Villanova connected on 5 more three-point baskets to get needed points.
In the Big Five the Wildcats get to 2 – 0 and are 5 – 2 overall. They got out of the Hagan Arena earning a win that would be hard to get. Mary Gedaka scored 9 points and had 5 rebounds.
“It’s their house and two years ago it was a very close game,” said Hahn. “We played well. We missed a lot of layups, but they played tough. They played their all.”
Saint Joseph’s falls to 2 – 5, and are 0 – 3 in the city series. They could not get the needed baskets late as the Nova defense had taller players at the top trying to disrupt the three-point attempts. Katie Mayock contributed 9 points. Kelly Jekot pulled down 8 rebounds, a game-high.
“Alyssa is our go-to and they did a nice job on her,” said Saint Joseph’s Coach Cindy Griffin. “She wanted the ball in her hands, and she wanted this game very badly. She gave us everything that she could. We need other players to step up. We need to push the ball downhill but keep passing it backwards. That has to change for us to win these types of games.”
The Cats travel to meet George Washington on Thursday before hosting Temple in the city series. The Hawks host Auburn of the SEC the same night.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
Said it three years ago…two years ago…last year…Nova W need a new coach. Thanks to Harry for a tremendous career, but Nova W should be competing in the northern part of Top 20 more often than not…