Box Score Feb. 19, 2017 Final Stats
VILLANOVA, Pa. -
For the second straight game, the Villanova Wildcats went to overtime where they tallied a 61-58 win over the visiting Butler Bulldogs. With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 16-11 overall and 11-5 in Big East play, while Butler falls to 5-22 on the season and 2-14 in conference action.
After a lay-up by Wildcat freshman Mary Gedaka gave Villanova a 49-42 lead with 5:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, Butler answered with back-to-back threes by Shae Brey and Sydney Buck to make it a one point game at 49-48 with 4:25 on the clock.
Wildcat sophomore forward Jannah Tucker misfired on a three on Villanova's next possession and the Bulldogs had the ball with a chance to take the lead. Villanova turned in an outstanding defensive effort and forced a Butler turnover. The Wildcats took advantage of the Butler miscue and took a 52-48 lead on a three from the corner by freshman guard Kelly Jekot.
On Butler's next trip down the court, Bulldog center Tori Schickel was fouled on a drive to the hoop. Schickel missed both free throws, but Butler guard Alexis Bailey was able to come up with the offensive rebound. Butler then sliced the Wildcat lead to 52-51 on a three-ball by Sydney Buck. On the ensuing inbounds play, Villanova sophomore guard Adrianna Hahn turned the ball over and Schickel converted a lay-up to put the Bulldogs up 53-52 at the 2:49 mark.
Following a scoreless stretch of 1:19, Villanova grabbed the lead at 54-53 with 1:30 to play on a driving left handed lay-up by Gedaka. Butler would tie the game at 54-54 just 21 seconds later when Brey went one-of-two from the free throw stripe.
After each team failed to score on their next possessions, Villanova had the ball with 12 seconds on the clock. The Wildcats isolated Gedaka who started a drive to the basket and passed to a wide open Louin in the corner. Louin's three was off target and the Wildcats were heading to overtime for the second straight game.
Butler struck first in the extra session on a jumper by Schickel. Villanova then responded with four straight point to take a 58-56 advantage with 2:43 on the clock. The four Wildcat points included two free throws by Jekot and a lay-up by junior guard Alex Louin.
Villanova had a chance to take a two possession lead, but Gedaka was forced into a turnover. Butler made the Wildcats pay for the miscue when Bailey was fouled on a drive and connected on both free throws to even the game at 58-58 with 1:55 remaining.
The Wildcats would take the lead for the good when Louin was fouled with 34 seconds on the clock. Both Louin free throws gave Villanova a 60-58 lead. On Butler's next offensive possession, Brey missed a 15-foot jumper and Louin was fouled on the rebound with 8.7 seconds to play. Louin was only able to make one of two and it was a one possession game at 61-58.
Butler used its final timeout to advance the ball to the front court where Taylor Buford missed a three-point field goal attempt. Jekot grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled with 3.6 seconds remaining. After Jekot missed both free throws, Buford got off a 35-foot shot at the buzzer that was off target.
Tucker led the Wildcats in the win with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, including four three-point field goals. Louin tallied her second straight double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Jekot and Gedaka had nine points each.
Butler was paced by Schickel with game-highs of 21 points and 16 rebounds. Buford added 10 points for the Bulldogs.
For the game, Villanova was 22-of-61 from the field (36.1%), 9-of-30 from three-point range (30.0%) and 8-of-14 from the foul line (57.1%), while the Bulldogs were 23-of-58 from the floor (39.7%), 6-of-24 from long distance (25.0%) and 6-of-10 from the foul line (60.0%). Butler owned a 44-33 advantage on the backboards. The Wildcats were charged with just seven turnovers.
Villanova returns to action on Friday, Feb. 24, with a game at DePaul. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. eastern time.
NOTES:Villanova now leads the all-time series over Butler by an 8-1 countââ'¬Â¦The Wildcats improve to 3-0 in overtime games this year, including 2-0 versus Butlerââ'¬Â¦Alex Louin has three double-doubles on the season after today's performanceââ'¬Â¦The Wildcats committed just 12 turnovers in 95 minutes of action in two games this weekendââ'¬Â¦Today was the 19th double figure scoring game of the year for Alex Louinââ'¬Â¦In the last seven games Alex Louin has 62 rebounds for an average of 8.8 during that stretchââ'¬Â¦Today was the second time in program history that the Wildcats have played back to back overtime gamesââ'¬Â¦In two games this weekend, Alex Louin played 91 of a possible 95 minutes, while Jannah Tucker played 86 minutesââ'¬Â¦Villanova honored seniors Karlie Crispin, Jordan Dillard and Samantha Wilkes prior to the game in a Senior Day ceremony.
