Final Stats

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. - The Villanova Wildcats traveled to Indianapolis, Ind., on Sunday afternoon where they tallied a 69-67 win over the Butler Bulldogs. With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 17-5 overall and 7-4 in Big East play, while Butler falls to 13-10 overall and 5-6 in league action.

Wildcat junior guard Adrianna Hahn drained a deep three to give Villanova a 56-55 lead with 6:03 remaining in regulation. Following the Hahn triple, neither team was able to score for the next 2:26, until Butler center Tori Schickel gave the Bulldogs the lead at 57-56 on a jump hook in the lane.

Villanova regained the lead at 58-57 on the game's next possession when sophomore forward Mary Gedaka scored on an offensive rebound put back. The lead was short lived, as Butler evened the score at 58-58 with 2:47 on the clock when Iman Lathan made one of two from the foul line.

The Wildcats ran their next offensive set to perfection and took the lead for good at 61-58 when junior forward Jannah Tucker buried a three from the right corner at the 2:28 mark. After Schickel made it a one point game on a 10-foot jumper at 61-60, Villanova pushed the lead to 64-60 with 1:39 to go when sophomore guard Kelly Jekot connected on her fourth three of the game.

Trailing 64-60 With 33 seconds remaining, Butler forced a Wildcat turnover and got a wide open look at a three, but Bulldog sophomore guard Kristen Spolyar's triple was off target. Following the miss, Butler fouled Hahn who made two at the line to increase the Villanova advantage to 66-60 with 22 seconds on the clock.

After a lay-up by Spolyar pulled Butler within one possession at 67-64, Hahn was fouled with seven seconds to go. Hahn calmly sank both free throws to give Villanova a 69-64 lead. Following a long three by Butler's Whitney Jennings that made it a 69-67 game with 1.8 seconds on the clock, Villanova called timeout to advance the ball to the frontcourt. Despite turning it over trying to in bounds the ball, Butler was unable to get off a shot.

Villanova led 23-18 with 6:40 to play in the second quarter when the Wildcats went on a 15-4 run to open up a 38-22 lead at the 3:25 mark. The Wildcats used six three-point field goals to account for the 18 points with Tucker and Bridget Herlihy connecting on two threes each.

Butler responded with a 9-0 run to cut the Villanova lead to 38-31. The Wildcats closed out the second quarter scoring when Hahn drained a three a few seconds before the buzzer to send Villanova to halftime with a 41-31 lead.

In the second quarter, the Wildcats did not attempt a two field goal. Villanova finished the second stanza going 8-of-11 from three-point range.

Villanova was led in the win by Hahn and Jekot who had 14 points each. Tucker finished with 11 points and five rebounds, while Gedaka had 10 points and five caroms. Louin chipped in with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Butler was paced by Jennings who had a game-high 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including a 7-of-9 effort from three-point range. Shickel finished with 19 points and six rebounds.

For the game, Villanova was 21-of-51 from the field (41.2%), 14-of-36 from three-point territory (38.9%) and 13-of-16 from the foul line (81.3%), while the Bulldogs shot 44.4 percent from the floor (24-of-54), 50.0 percent from long distance (9-of-18) and 90.9 percent from the charity stripe (10-of-11). Villanova owned a 33-26 advantage on the backboards.

Villanova returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 3, when the Georgetown Hoyas visit Jake Nevin Field House. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.

NOTES: Villanova now leads the all-time series with Butler by a 9-2 marginââ'¬Â¦Over the last five games, Alex Louin is 29-of-47 from the field for 61.7 percentââ'¬Â¦The Wildcats improve to 10-2 in road games this seasonââ'¬Â¦Mary Gedaka has scored in double figures in six of the last seven gamesââ'¬Â¦Jannah Tucker is 16-of-32 from three-point range (50.0%) in her last five games...Villanova will now play five of its last seven regular season games at home.