Villanova Outscored By a Dozen in the Final Stanza in 73 – 68 Loss to Princeton
VILLANOVA, PA 11/12/2025 –
A game is forty minutes long. For the first thirty minutes the Villanova Wildcats were in control shooting above fifty percent and leading by seven over the Princeton Tigers. Again, a game is forty minutes in duration. In that last ten minutes the Wildcats made just one of ten shots, and the Tigers got hot to take a 73 – 68 win back to Old Nassau.
Critical Fourth Quarter
Wildcats guard Jasmine Bascoe drained a jumper nearly a minute and a half into the quarter. It would the the only basket Nova scored. The rest of the offense would be supplied by Bascoe and forward Danae Carter from the foul line.
“They turned it up for sure. I think there was a lot of standing around instead of the movement that we needed,” Villanova Coach Denise Dillon said about the fourth quarter offense. “And it showed in us not getting those looks. I felt we lost focus and shut off a little bit and weren’t able to close it out.”
Princeton kept chipping away and finally tied the game at 63 on a three-pointer by Madison St. Rose with just over five minutes to play. The Tigers would take the lead on a jumper by guard Skye Belker. The Wildcats would tie the game, then take a lead behind two free throws by Bascoe. In the last 1:45 Villanova had a chance to take control behind a blocked shot, then a steal both by Wildcats freshman guard Kennedy Henry. But did not. With just under a minute to play Belker nailed a three-pointer for a 70 – 68 lead. That is all Princeton would need.
Performance by Henry
Henry filled the stat sheet for the Wildcats. She would play a team-high 34 minutes scoring 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting, a three, and two free throws. The freshman would add 5 rebounds, 4 assists, a blocked shot and a collegiate-best 5 steals. She also turned the ball over 5 times. Most of the production from Henry came in the first three quarters.
“I think Kennedy (Henry) has a bright future,” said Dillon about the contributions of Henry. “She’s averaging the most minutes on the team early in her career. She has areas where she impacts both ends of the floor. It’s just contributing in so many areas. I think it’s probably, just maybe, too many minutes. She gets a little gassed down the stretch and lost a little bit of that bounce that she had.”
What the Numbers Say
Bascoe scored a team-high 16 points and Carter added 12 points. Bryn McCurry and Kelsey Joens took down 6 rebounds each. Villanova shot only 5 of 21 from the three-point line as not player made more than one three. For the game Nova 24 of 55 (43.6%).
Guard Fadima Tall scored a career-high 21 points for the Tigers and pulled down 9 rebounds. She made 6 of 10 shots including a three-point basket, and was a perfect 8 of 8 from the line setting her best in free throws made. And set a standard with 5 steals. Princeton saw St. Rose score 17 points and Belker add 13 points, 9 in the fourth quarter. Forward Olivia Hutcherson tied her career-best pulling down 9 rebounds.
The Tigers went 5 of 19 from beyond the arc and 24 of 58 from the floor (41.4%).
Of the ten players who made a basket from distance, none would be good on more than one.
Up Next
Princeton improves to 2 – 0 and prepare for a game against #9 Maryland in College Park.
Villanova evens its record at 2 – 2. The team will travel to James Madison for their next contest.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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