Sabou Gueye poured in 10 of her career-high 31 points in the fourth quarter to ensure No. 7 seed Providence defeated No. 10 seed DePaul 69-55 in the first round of the Big East women’s basketball tournament on Friday in Uncasville, Conn.
Gueye dominated by shooting 15 of 26 from the floor while never reaching the foul line. She added seven rebounds, three assists and two steals to the cause as Providence (15-17) advanced to face second-seeded Villanova in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Gueye scored the last nine points of an 11-0 run in the second quarter, capped with her only 3-pointer, to put the Friars ahead for good. DePaul trailed by as many as 22 points before drawing within 14 late. Gueye sealed the deal with a pair of fastbreak layups.
Teneisia Brown put up 14 points and 14 rebounds and Orlagh Gormley added 13 points, seven assists and five boards while shooting 3-for-3 from the arc for Providence. DePaul (8-24) received 13 points from Kate Novik and 10 from Michelle Ojo.
Georgetown 62, Butler 58
Laila Jewett scored 19 points and hit four free throws in the final 15 seconds to help the eighth-seeded Hoyas stave off the ninth-seeded Bulldogs.
Georgetown (14-16) used an 8-0 run in the third quarter to take the lead for good, though it never led by more than six points. The Hoyas, who got 10 points and seven rebounds from Brianna Scott and 10 points and six boards from Chet Nweke, will face undefeated No. 1 UConn in the quarters.
Anna Wypych scored 18 points and Mallory Miller had 15 for Butler (12-19), which gave up 20 turnovers that the Hoyas turned into 21 points.
St. John’s 53, Xavier 48
Brooke Moore scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the sixth-seeded Red Storm survive an upset bid from the 11th-seeded Musketeers.
Sa’Mya Wyatt added 16 points and 12 boards for St. John’s (22-10), which outscored Xavier 18-7 in the fourth quarter. The Red Storm made 7 of 15 fourth-quarter shots (46.7%) while holding the Musketeers to 3-of-17 shooting (17.6%) over the final 10 minutes. St. John’s will face third-seeded Seton Hall on Saturday night.
Savannah White had a double-double for Xavier (11-19) with a team-high 11 points and 12 boards, and MacKenzie Givens and Petra Oborilova each tallied 10.
–Field Level Media
