Villanova women go ice-cold late against St. John’s in Big East opener

Villanova couldn’t buy a bucket in the final seven minutes of its 51-46 loss to St. John’s, going 0-for-9 from the field in that span.

The Wildcats (6-5, 0-1) opened Big East play against the Red Storm (6-6, 1-0) at Madison Square Garden, as the final leg of the Holiday Festival tripleheader. Though the teams traded leads for most of the game, Villanova went ice cold when it mattered, pushing its losing streak to three straight.

St. John’s entered Saturday with statistically the third-best defense in the Big East, holding opponents to an average of 55.5 points. True to form, the Red Storm held Villanova to its lowest point total of the season with 46.

Villanova couldn’t get much going from beyond the arc, finishing 4-for-22. St. John’s wasn’t much better hitting just 5 of 20 from deep. The Wildcats had four steals and eight blocks. It was a game that was well within reach, given 14 total lead changes.

St. John’s won the rebounding battle by a wide margin, 43-29, including 30 defensive rebounds for the Red Storm.

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Villanova’s offense has primarily run through junior guard Lucy Olsen this season, who was given the tall task of trying to fill Maddy Siegrist’s shoes after she moved on to the WNBA’s Dallas Wings.

Olsen, the third-leading scorer in the NCAA with 24.9 points per game, had a quiet game Saturday by her standards with nine points. The Spring-Ford grad finished the game 2-for-15 from the field and 1-of-5 from deep.

However, the Wildcats continued to prove that Olsen isn’t the only one who can score. Senior guard Bella Runyan stepped up to lead Villanova with 16 points, tying her career high. Runyan finished her night going 6-for-11 and grabbed four rebounds.

Kaitlyn Orihel had 12 points for Villanova, as the only other player to hit double-digits. While the Wildcats trailed early, Orihel went on her own 6-0 run to end the first half and put Villanova in front, 22-19, heading into the locker room.

Unique Drake had 16 points to lead St. John’s, while Jillian Archer had 14 boards.

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The Wildcats held on to a tenuous lead with just over seven minutes to go. Olsen made a deep three, and the Wildcats’ fortunes started to look up as their best player started to get hot. However, it would ultimately prove to be the only field goal any Villanova player would make all quarter.

A blown layup by Villanova turned into a St. John’s three-pointer at the other end to put the Red Storm back in front. And a key block by Archer forced a turnover with 30 seconds remaining and kept the momentum with St. John’s. The only offense at all came from the free-throw line, where the Wildcats shot and made 6 of 6 in the quarter.

Villanova had a 9.1 shooting percentage in the fourth quarter, while the Red Storm shot 46.2%.

Villanova has one final non-conference matchup remaining to turn the tide before Big East matchups fully kick into gear. The Wildcats visit La Salle on Thursday (noon, ESPN+) for their final Big 5 game of the year.