The 2nd round of the 2011 Big East Tournament was intriguing with some great close games. That’s as far as the intrigue went as all higher seeds won. As the quarter finals start, all top 8 seeds remain. Here is a recap of the 2nd round games:
(8)Georgetown 61 vs. (9)Syracuse 60: This was a knock down drag out fight. Sugar Rodgers had 18 points shooting 5-12 from the floor. It took her a while to get going as Syracuse implemented a triangle and 2 zone on Rodgers and McNutt to slow their production. While efficient in the first half in the 2nd half Georgetown went to the man offense against the zone and started hitting shots they were missing. Syracuse’s deliberate offensive game plan came back to bite them as when they needed points they couldn’t produce them quickly enough. Georgetown advances to play top seeded Connecticut.
(5)Marquette 65 vs. (12)Pittsburgh 61: Game 2 proved to a battle of wills as Pittsburgh. Marquette’s top player Angel Robinson was saddled with 4 fouls for most of the 2nd half but that didn’t matter as MU had Paige Fiedorowicz 14 points and Tatiyiana McMorris 13 points to buffer any pain. Marquette was able to come back after being down as many as 7. Pittsburgh had a chance to tie it win the game with 40 seconds left but threw the ball away. Marquette advances to play #4 Rutgers in the quarterfinals on Sunday
(7) St. Johns 59 vs. (10) West Virginia 51: West Virginia came in needing a win to cement a place in the NCAA tournament after finishing the regular season 8-8 in conference play. The Mountaineers led for most of the game but like has been the theme this season could not score enough points to win. A high RPI should be enough to cement them in the tournament in a tough league. St. Johns reward for out-toughing WVU? A match up with second seeded Depaul.
(5)Louisville 69 vs. (14) Villanova 47: Villanova was able to pull the seed upset over Providence in OT on Friday but there would be no such magic against the Cardinals. The Wildcats were 7-29 from 3 and couldn’t produce enough points for the win. Louisville had a huge performance from Monica Reid with 12 points, 13 rebounds and Shoni Schimmel with 13 points, 2 rebounds. Next up for Louisville is a match up with 3rd seeded Notre Dame in the quarterfinals.