VILLANOVA, Pa.—Senior forwards Mary Gedaka and Bridget Herlihy were a dominant duo in Friday night women's basketball action and led Villanova (15-11, 9-6 BIG EAST) to a 61-47 victory over Marquette (20-7, 11-5) at Finneran Pavilion.  The pair combined to score all 14 of the Wildcats points in a stifling second quarter which put Villanova in control to stay. 
 
Gedaka scored a game-high 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting and Herlihy added a season-high 18 points as the Wildcats avenged a 57-52 loss to the Golden Eagles earlier this season.  Villanova held Marquette to its lowest scoring output of the season and to 21 points below the Golden Eagles season average of 68.2 points per contest.  It was only the fourth time in 25 all-time meetings between the teams that the Wildcats held Marquette below 50 points. 
 
Stifling defense in the second quarter set the tone for the rest of the game.  Villanova outscored the Golden Eagles by a 14-5 count in the period and pulled away from a 13-13 tie after one quarter of play to take a 27-18 lead at halftime.  Marquette came up empty at the offensive end on 10 consecutive possessions in the second period, going 0-for-3 from the field with seven turnovers as the Wildcats seized all of the game's momentum. 
 
There were two ties and three lead changes in the first 10 minutes of play, but Gedaka hit a layup in the closing minute of the opening period to tie the score at 13-13 and then drilled a three-pointer with 9:17 to play in the second quarter which put Villanova ahead to stay with a 16-13 advantage.  By the time Herlihy drove to the basket for a layup with 1:54 to play before halftime the Wildcats scoring run had stretched to 16-3 and put Villanova in front by a 27-16 margin.  The lead eventually grew to as many as 24 points (48-24) with 3:04 left in the third period.
 
Herlihy and junior guard Cameron Onken each made three of the team's 10 three-pointers on the night and the Wildcats finished 10-of-27 (.370) from long range.  By comparison the Golden Eagles were just 1-of-12 (.083) from long distance and Villanova owned a 30-3 edge in scoring from three-point range.  Herlihy and redshirt freshman forward Madison Siegrist each had five rebounds. 
 
The second quarter marked the 16^th time in the five-year history of the four-quarter era that the Wildcats held an opponent to five or fewer points in a period.  Marquette had two field goals and nine turnovers in the period, with its turnovers outnumbering field goals attempted (9-7) for the quarter.  The fewest points Villanova has allowed in any period this season was four points in the fourth quarter against Drexel on December 4.
 
Gedaka reached the 20-point plateau for the 11^th time this season and the eighth time in BIG EAST action.  She has now scored at least 20 points on 22 occasions in her career, including 19 times against conference foes (18 regular season, one BIG EAST Tournament).
 
Tonight's win guarantees the Wildcats a winning record in the regular season with three games remaining prior to the BIG EAST Championships next month.  Villanova returns home for its final scheduled home game of the season when it takes on DePaul at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.