Final Stats

DURHAM, N.C. ââ'¬" The Villanova Wildcats traveled to Durham, N.C., on Wednesday evening where they lost to the No. 17 Duke Blue Devils by a score of 68-50. With the loss, Villanova falls to 4-6 on the season, while Duke improves to 11-1 on the season.

Duke led 8-7 midway through the first quarter when the Blue Devils finished the quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 19-7 advantage. Lexie Brown led the Duke run with five points, including a 15-foot jumper and a three-ball.

Villanova trailed 23-10 with 6:54 remaining in the second quarter when the Wildcats used a 12-5 spurt to slice the Duke lead to 28-22 at the 4:02 mark. The 12 points included a three and foul line jumper by senior Samantha Wilkes, a jump shot and lay-up by freshman Kelly Jekot and a triple by sophomore Adrianna Hahn.

The Wildcats had two chances to make it a four point game, but both shots were off target. A 12-foot jump shot by Duke's Rebecca Greenwell started a 6-0 run that propelled the Blue Devils to a 34-22 halftime lead.

After Oderah Chidom scored on Duke's first possession of the third quarter to increase her team's lead to 36-22, Villanova junior guard Alex Louin nailed a three-ball from the right wing to make it an 11-point game. Following a defensive stop, Hahn connected on a deep three to pull Villanova within eight at 36-28. The Wildcats played outstanding defense for the next five possessions, but the Wildcats went 0-for-5 from long distance during the stretch.

A jumper by Kendall Cooper with 17 seconds to play in the third quarter increased the Duke advantage to 47-31. On the final possession of the quarter, Hahn drained a three-ball from 25 feet to make it a 47-34 game.

Villanova trailed 55-42 with 5:56 left in the game when Hahn connected on her sixth three of the game and the Wildcats trailed 55-45. After Duke went back up 12 on the next trip down the court on a jump shot by Erin Mathias, Louin made it a 57-48 game when she made a three from the corner.

The nine point deficit was as close as the Wildcats would get and Duke would register the 68-50 win.

In the loss, Hahn led the way with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including a 6-of-13 effort from three-point range. Louin also registered double figures with 11 points. Wilkes added seven points, six rebounds and three assists, while Jekot had six points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Brown and Greenwell paced the Blue Devils with 18 points. Greenwell also pulled-down a game-high nine rebounds.

For the game, Villanova shot 31.1 percent from the field (19-of-61), 24.4 percent from three-point range (10-of-41) and 100.0 percent from the foul line (2-of-2), while Duke was 28-of-52 from the floor (53.8%), 4-of-6 from long distance (66.7%) and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe (72.7%). Duke owned a 36-31 advantage on the backboards.

Villanova returns to action on Dec. 28 when the Wildcats open up Big East play against Marquette. Tip-off at The Pavilion is set for noon.

NOTES : Villanova falls to 132-104 all-time versus ACC opponentsââ'¬Â¦The Wildcats are now 0-2 all-time versus Dukeââ'¬Â¦Alex Louin has now scored in double figures in seven of the 10 games this seasonââ'¬Â¦Villanova leads the country in fewest turnovers per game at 9.6 per contest