PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Villanova Wildcats traveled to Providence on Sunday afternoon where they lost to the host Friars by a score of 67-61. With the setback, Villanova falls to 10-4 overall and 2-2 in Big East play, while Providence improves to 9-7 overall and 1-3 in conference action.
Villanova played the majority of the game without starting forward Jannah Tucker and starting guard Grace Stant. Tucker missed the game due to illness, while Stant suffered an injury just seven minutes into the contest.
With the game tied at 50-50 with 5:35 to play, Wildcat sophomore guard Cameron Onken connected on a three from the wing to give Villanova a 53-50 advantage. Following the Onken triple, Providence freshman forward Mary Baskerville scored on back-to-back lay-ups to put the Friars up one at 54-53 at the 4:17 mark.
After a lay-up by Providence senior guard Maddie Jolin increased the Friar lead to 56-53, Villanova senior guard Adrianna Hahn drained a three to even the game at 56-56 with 3:09 on the clock.
Providence took the lead for the good when senior guard Jovana Nogic made a pair of free throws to give the Friars a 58-56 advantage with 2:50 to go. The Friars got a defensive stop on the game's next possession and increased the lead to 60-56 when Nogic sank two more foul shots.
Villanova made it a one possession game with 2:04 remaining on a driving lay-up by Hahn. Providence then went back up four at 62-58 with 1:47 to go when Kaela Webb scored on a lay-up. Nogic would make four more fouls shots over the last 39 seconds to seal the win.
Hahn led Villanova in the loss with 19 points, while junior guard Kelly Jekot had 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks. Redshirt freshman guard Emily Esposito tallied nine points on three triples, while junior forward Mary Gedaka tallied eight points, seven rebounds and a career-high six assists.
Providence was paced by Nogic who had a game-high 23 points, including a perfect 11-of-11 effort from the foul line. Jolin added 18 points for the Friars.
For the game, Villanova was 23-of-59 from the field (39.0%), 13-of-35 from three (37.1%) and 2-of-5 from the foul line (40.0%), while Providence shot 52.3 percent from the floor (23-of-44), 62.5 percent from behind the arc (5-of-8) and 76.2 percent from the charity stripe (16-of-21). Providence owned a 36-26 advantage on the backboards.
Villanova returns to action on Friday, Jan. 11, when the Wildcats play host to No. 20 Marquette on Education Day. Tip-off at the Finneran Pavilion is set for 11:30 a.m.
NOTES: Today was the 74th all-time meeting between Villanova and Providence which ranks as the opponent that the Wildcats have played the most…Villanova falls to 4-2 on the road this season…The Wildcat bench has scored 37 points in the last two games combined...Mary Gedaka has tallied 16 assists in the last three games…Adrianna Hahn went over the 1,300 career scoring mark in today's game and now has 1,313 career points…Villanova now has eight games this year where they made double digit three-point field goals.
