This weekend 10 teams arrived in Chicago for the Big East Tournament. For four days, spectators got to watch some super high-quality women’s basketball. Members from the WNBA Belly Up team were in attendance for three of the four days.
Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals for the Big East Tournament were underway on Saturday with the number one DePaul vs the number eight Providence. The Blue Devil’s took the game 97-59. Junior guard Deja Church put up 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for DePaul.
Seton Hall took on Butler next. Seton Hall dominated the entire game, shooting 50 percent on the night. The Pirates knocked down 16 from the arc. Six of those came from senior guard Alexis Lewis. Oumou Toure gave her Bulldogs 22 points and 7 boards but they were not enough and the Pirates won 83-57.
Marquette played Villanova, winning 72-59. Selena Lott led Marquette with 9 rebounds and 17 points. The last game of the day was St. John’s vs Creighton. Creighton came out heavy in the first quarter, scoring 20 while holding SJU to just 5. Freshman guard Leilani Correa put SJU on her back and scored 27 points and 11 rebounds. Despite being down 15 in the first quarter, SJU rallied a win. Winning 70-54.
Semifinals
DePaul took on Seton Hall. On paper, this was the most evenly matched game. DePaul took a slight lead then the teams went bucket for bucket. Lexi Held had a big game for DePaul. Each of her 22 points came at a critical time for her team. Desiree Elmore did not back down and put up 26 and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Pirates. DePaul won 80-83 in a nail bitter finish.
St. John’s and Marquette battled for the last spot in the finals. Marquette, lead by Big East Coach of the Year Megan Duffy, played their style basketball and controlled the game. The Golden eagles took the game 78-55.
Finals
DePaul met Marquette in the finals. The first quarter was a battle that Marquette won. Lexi Held and Chante Stonewall would combine for 25 points to put the Blue Demons up by 12 at the half. Lauren Van Kleunen and Selena Lott gave Marquette 48, but they fell to DePaul 88-74.
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