Villanova women KO Creighton

UNCASVILLE, CONN. Maddy Siegrist scored 37 points and grabbed 11 rebounds — her 16th doubledouble this season — to help No. 11 Villanova beat Creighton 63-61 Sunday in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament.

The No. 2 seed Wildcats play top-seeded UConn for the Big East title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The ninth-ranked Huskies are the only team to beat Villanova since the middle of December.

Siegrest, who scored at least 30 points for the 14th time this season, had 11 in the fourth quarter. The Blue Jays made it a one-possession game on three occasions in the final period but, each time, Siegrist answered, twice scoring inside before grabbing an airballed 3-point point shot, drawing a foul and hitting two free throws to make it 63-59 with 26 seconds

to play.

Lauren Jensen scored 22 points, Emma Ronsiek had 15 points, five assists and two steals for Creighton (22-8). Molly Mogensen added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

The Blue Jays had their four-game win streak

snapped and lost for just the second time in the last 12 games.

Morgan Maly’s putback of an Ronsiek miss at the buzzer in overtime gave Creighton a 75-74 win over Seton Hall in the tournament’s quarterfinals.

Siegrist made 14 of 21

from the field, hit 8 of 9 from the free-throw line and finished with four assists an no turnovers. Christina Dalce added nine points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats.

Villanova (28-5) has won five games in a row and 19

of its last 21.

Up next

Creighton awaits an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament

Villanova plays UConn for the Big East title Monday. The Huskies are 41-7 all-time against the Wildcats.

JESSICA HILL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist, right, celebrates during the first half of the Wildcats’ 63-61victory over Creighton in the Big East semifinals Sunday night. Second-seeded Villanova takes on top-seed UConn Monday night for the title.