Villanova suffers heartbreaking loss to Seton Hall on a last-second buzzer beater | Villanova vs. Seton Hall Recap
Written by David Szczepanski on January 2, 2025
VILLANOVA, PA–Villanova scored just seven points in the first quarter, and its poor start led to a disappointing beginning to 2025 for the Wildcats. The Wildcats dropped their fourth game in the last six contests.
Seton Hall defeated Villanova, 56-55, in a gritty defensive battle at the Finneran Pavilion on New Year’s Day. Faith Masonius, who played in all 33 games last season for Maryland, scored a team-high 17 points. Masonius secured the one-point victory for the Pirates with a last-second layup on the left side of the basket in front of an anxious crowd.
Villanova suffered its first conference loss of the season against Seton Hall on New Year’s Day at the Finneran Pavilion.
Villanova’s head coach, Denise Dillon, discussed Masonius’ game-winning shot for Seton Hall.
“An experienced player,” Dillon said. “Faith, she knows she had to get the shot off. I think I was a little bit more disappointed that she was able to get the ball that close to the basket. Just those situations. Getting our players off the foul line. We weren’t back in the right position in order to get the stop.”
Jada Eads accumulated 11 points and five rebounds. The Pirates converted 39% of their field goal attempts. Seton Hall was six-for-21 (28.6%) from behind the arc. Seton Hall dominated the rebounding battle, 40-27.
Bronagh Power-Cassidy, a graduate transfer from Holy Cross, had one of her best games as a Wildcat with 17 points, including three threes. Jasmine Bascoe, a freshman from Milton, Ontario, scored 16 points with seven rebounds and five assists. Denae Carter accumulated 11 points and eight rebounds but missed two key free throws late in the game, allowing Seton Hall to win with any field goal.
Villanova was without Lara Edmanson, who missed her second consecutive game with an injury. Coach Dillon spoke about Edmanson’s injury in her postgame press conference.
“Still day-to day,” Dillon said. “Just figuring out where she stands. I think it’s still going to be a little bit.”
Seton Hall’s third-leading scorer, Savannah Catalon, also did not play in Wednesday’s contest.
Villanova made 41% of its field goal attempts. However, the Wildcats converted just four of their 19 three-point attempts for a 21% success rate.
Both teams combined for 34 turnovers. Seton Hall and Villanova did not play their best basketball to begin 2025. However, the Pirates sprinted to a fast start at the Finn and made some key stops late to return to New Jersey with a Big East victory.
Key Takeaways
Maddie Webber Struggled
Maddie Webber was held scoreless in 30 minutes of game action on Wednesday evening. Webber finished the game with just one rebound and two assists. She committed five turnovers. Webber averaged 14 points per contest in her previous five games.
Seton Hall’s defense, which allowed only 56 points per game entering Wednesday, had a fantastic game plan to attack Villanova’s offense. The Pirates limited Webber and Bascoe, especially in the first half. Power-Cassidy stepped up for Villanova, but Webber struggled to score.
Coach Dillon discussed Villanova’s depth scoring and the Wildcats’ potential for success if the offense plays well consistently.
“I think we have some balanced scoring,” Dillon said. “If we can get them all clicking at the same time, it could be dangerous.”
Villanova’s Inconsistent Three-Point Offense
Villanova was just four-for-19 from behind the arc against Seton Hall. Power-Cassidy knocked down three of the Wildcats’ four made threes. Maddie Burke, a graduate student from Doylestown, PA, had the other three and finished the game with four points.
The Wildcats’ three-point shooting has been extremely inconsistent this season. Villanova has converted 50% of its three-point attempts in some games, like against St. John’s on December 21st, but the Wildcats have also made less than 30% of their threes in many losses this season. Villanova’s offense had no answers for Seton Hall’s defense, especially in the first half.
The Wildcats’ Strong Second Half + Power-Cassidy’s 17-Point Performance
Despite the struggles in the first half, Villanova shook off some rust from the long layoff and had solid play in the final twenty minutes. The Wildcats outscored the Pirates, 31-29, in the second half. Villanova also won the fourth-quarter battle, 18-14.
Villanova had numerous chances to win the game late, including after a Seton Hall offensive foul and missed free throws from Carter. Villanova’s offense battled back in the second half, but the Wildcats could not fully overcome the slow start. However, the Wildcats played much better basketball offensively in the second half than in some of their recent losses.
The Wildcats had trouble against the full-court press and inbounding the basketball late in the fourth quarter. These late-game issues have appeared numerous times this season for Villanova.
Bronagh Power-Cassidy was the biggest positive for Villanova. Her 17-point performance tied her season-high against Wake Forest in the season opener on November 10th. On most nights where Bascoe and Webber score at high levels, the Wildcats could use a boost from Power-Cassidy.
Coach Dillon talked about Power-Cassidy’s strong performance and competitiveness against Seton Hall.
“You could see it in Bronagh, just that competitiveness. Recognizing how aggressively they were guarding Jas [Jasmine Bascoe] and Maddie Webber was having a tough night. That’s what you like to see from the experienced players that you have. It was nice. Her feeling confident and aggressive in what needed to happen.”
The Road Ahead + WXVU’s Coverage
With the loss to Seton Hall, Villanova fell to 7-7 overall in its 2024-25 campaign. The Wildcats are 1-1 in conference play. They will look to get back into the win column on Sunday against UConn at 1:30 p.m. WXVU’s live coverage starts at 1 p.m. with the pregame show.
