And then there was one.  St Louis stayed alive in the WNIT last night.  St Joe's and Duquense  both lost on Thursday night.

WBIT:

Villanova (H, 21-12) 67, St Joseph's (28-6) 57.  Tayla Brugler led the Hawks with 20 points although she had no rebounds.  Mackenzie Smithe was 13/7.  Laura Ziegler had 6 points with 1 - 14 FG but 9 rebounds and 5 assists.  FR Gabby Casey scored 11 off the bench.  The remaining 4 teams in the tournament are from Power  conferences: Illinois, Washington State, Penn State, besides Villanova.

WNIT

Purdue (H, 15-18) 71, Duquense (21-13) 50.  Dukes remained consistently inconsistent for their season.  Jerni Kiaku scored 19 off the bench.  Megan McConnell led the starter with 12 points (4-12 FG) and 10 rebounds.  The other 4 starters were a combined 5 - 22.  

St Louis (19-18, that's what their record is listed as now) 82, Purdue Fort Wayne (H, 23-13) 78,  Peyton Kennedy remained hot with 31 points and 9 rebounds.  Kyla McMakin scored 17.  Tierra Simon as 12/11.  Julia Martinez only had 4 points off the bench (and 2 missed FTs in the last minute) but had 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals.  Kennedy Calhoun added 6 steals.

Billikens travel to Wisconsin (15-16) for the quarterfinals (the Great Eight)  Besides the Badgers and Boilermakers, Minnesota is still alive.  As is Vermont.

Last edited by WMC (3/30/2024 10:13 am)

St Louis advances to the WNIT final to play Minnesota on Saturday., behind a strong second half.

St Louis (21-8) 57, Vermont (25-12) 54.  Billikens struggled offensively in the first half, especially in the second quarter when they went scoreless until 2 late field goals.  Catamounts led 24 - 17 at the half.  St Louis scored 24 in the 3rd quarter and shot 16 - 24 for the second half.  St Louis switched defenses often in the second half using a press and a zone effectviely.

Peyton Kennedy led St Louis with 23 points, 10-13 FG, and 3-6 from beyond the arc.  Brooklyn Gray scored 13 while Kennedy Calhoun had 8.  Kyla McMakin was scoreless in the first half but had 6 points in the second half.  Julia Martinez was scoreless in the first half and finished a fairly typical 2 - 7 FG.  But she had 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.  Had 3 nice passes that led to layups in the second half.  

In two seasons under Rebecca Tillett, St Louis is 10 - 2 in postseason play, having won the A10 tourney last year, losing in the NCAA, going 2 - 1 in the A10 this year.  They've won 10 of 11 the only loss to Rhode Island in the A10 semis.  Billikens are 5-0 in the WNIT, four games on the road.  This is their 3rd season with 20 wins and second with 2 wins over Power 5 teams, Missouri early in the season and Wisconsin in their last game.  I know it's only the WNIT, but it's still nice to have an A10 team still playing.

Minnesota, 17 -15, beat host Troy, 19-12, by 74-67.  Who gets to host the final?

In the WBIT championship game, Illinois beat Villanova 71 - 57.  I believe the Illini are coached by Dayton's last coach, Shaun Green.  It's possible that a Big 10 team could win all 3 tournaments.