Final Stats | Quotes

VILLANOVA, PA. ââ'¬" In women's basketball action on Wednesday, Jan. 17, the Villanova Wildcats lost to the Penn Quakers by a score of 79-77 in a Big 5 battle at the Jake Nevin Field House. With the loss, Villanova falls to 14-4 overall and 3-1 in Big 5 play, while the Quakers improve to 9-5 overall and 2-1 in City Series action.

The Wildcats will now share the Big 5 title with either Temple or Penn who play next Wednesday at Temple. The winner of that game will also finish with a 3-1 Big 5 record.

Villanova trailed 68-60 with 4:23 remaining, when the Wildcats scored eight straight points to tie the game at 68-68. Senior Alex Louin scored the first five points on free throws and junior Jannah Tucker tallied the game-tying basket on a three from the corner.

Penn answered the Wildcat run with five consecutive points to take a 73-68 advantage at the 1:16 mark. The Quaker points came on an Ashley Russell lay-up and a three-ball by Lauren Whitlatch.

Following the Whitlatch three, Villanova sliced the Penn lead to 73-71 when junior guard Adrianna Hahn connected on a deep triple from straight away. Penn pushed the game back to a two possession affair at 75-71 when Michelle Nwokedi scored on a lay-up with 46 seconds on the clock.

On Villanova's next trip down the court, Tucker buried another three and Villanova trailed 75-74 with 28 seconds remaining. The Quakers raced the ball up the court and Whitlatch connected on a baseline jumper to put Penn up 77-74 with 18 seconds to go.

The Wildcats ran an offensive set to perfection on the next possession and tied the game at 77-77 when Louin drained a deep three with 5.2 seconds to go. Penn immediately called a timeout and advanced the ball to the front court. The Quakers inbounded the ball to senior guard Anna Ross who banked in a tough, contested, running jumper to give Penn the win.

In the loss, sophomore forward Mary Gedaka registered her third career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. She was 6-of-9 from the field and 7-of-9 from the foul line. Louin finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Tucker had 17 points and connected on a career-high five three-point field goals. Jekot added 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Penn was paced by Eleah Parker with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Nwokedi had 17 points and eight caroms.

For the game, Villanova was 25-of-56 from the field (44.6%), 12-of-31 from three-point range (38.7%) and 15-of-18 from the foul line (83.3%), while Penn shot 46.3 percent from the floor (31-of-67), 26.1 percent from behind the arc (6-of-23) and 91.7 percent from the charity stripe (11-of-12). Villanova owned a 36-34 advantage on the backboards.

Villanova returns to action on Friday, Jan. 19, when the DePaul Blue Demons visit Jake Nevin Field House for a Big East contest. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

NOTES: Villanova falls to 115-39 all-time in Philadelphia Big 5 playââ'¬Â¦The Wildcats drop to 24-5 in their last 29 Big 5 gamesââ'¬Â¦With the loss, Villanova is now 62-10 all-time versus Ivy League competitionââ'¬Â¦Villanova finishes the non conference portion of its schedule with a 10-1 markââ'¬Â¦Kelly Jekot and Mary Gedaka have combined to score 97 points in the last three games combined (Gedaka ââ'¬" 50 points; Jekot ââ'¬" 47 points)ââ'¬Â¦Mary Gedaka's double-double was the fourth by a Wildcat this season.