CHICAGO, Ill. – In the first round of the 2020 BIG EAST Tournament on Friday afternoon, the Villanova Wildcats registered a 64-56 overtime win against the Xavier Musketeers. With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 18-12 on the season.
 
With the win, Villanova now advances to the quarterfinal round on Saturday and will take on the No. 2 seed Marquette Golden Eagles. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. eastern time and can be seen live on FS2.
 
The score was tied at 40-40 with 5:06 remaining in regulation, when senior forward Bridget Herlihy scored on back-to-back lay-ups to give Villanova a 44-40  advantage. Xavier went scoreless for 3:15, before Ayanna Townsend made two free throws to make it a 44-42 game with 3:33 to play.
 
Villanova was clinging to a 44-42 lead when Wildcat senior forward Mary Gedaka was fouled shooting a three at the 2:06 mark. Gedaka went to the line and made two of three to increase her team's lead to 46-42. On Xavier's next possession, Musketeer forward A'riana Gray was fouled where she sank both free throws and Villanova led 46-44 with 1:53 on the clock.
 
After both teams failed to score on their next possession, Wildcat junior guard Raven James drained a three for straightaway to give Villanova a 49-44 advantage with 51 seconds left. Villanova looked to have the game in control after Bridget Herlihy grabbed a loose ball with 32 seconds remaining, but Herlihy had the ball stolen by Musketeer guard Aaliyah Dunham. Xavier took advantage of the steal and cut the Wildcat advantage to 49-46 with 13 seconds left on a lay-up by Townsend.
 
The Wildcats took a timeout and advanced the ball to the front court where they inbounded the ball to redshirt freshman Maddy Siegrist who was fouled with nine seconds on the clock. Siegrist missed both free throws and Xavier took a timeout to advance the ball. With the clock winding down, Dunham took a desperation three from the right wing that hit nothing but net as time expired to send the game to overtime tied at 49-49.
 
Villanova ran off the first seven points of the extra session to take control with a 56-49 lead at the 2:19 mark. The seven points, included two three-balls by James and a free throw by Herlihy. After Morgan Sharps drained a three to make it a 56-52 game, Gedaka was fouled on a drive to the basket. The senior split a pair at the line and Villanova held a 57-52 lead with 1:39 remaining. Following a Xavier turnover, Herlihy converted a driving lay-up and Villanova led 59-52 with 58 seconds on the clock.
 
The Wildcats went 5-of-6 from the foul line in the final 28 seconds of overtime to seal the win.
 
In the victory, James poured in a career-high 20 points on a 6-of-7 effort from three-point range. The six threes also represent a career-best performance. Gedaka finished with a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Herlihy had 13 points. Siegrist finished with nine points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
 
Xavier was paced by Gray who had 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Townsend also registered a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Dunham was the third Xavier player in double figures with 11 points.
 
For the game, Villanova was 22-of-65 from the field (33.8%), 8-of-33 from three-point range (24.2%) and 12-of-21 from the foul line (57.1%), while the Musketeers shot 27.5 percent from the floor (19-of-69), 14.3 percent from long distance (2-of-14) and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe (16-of-24). Xavier owned a slight 52-50 advantage on the backboards.
 
NOTES: Villanova is now 33-33 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament…The Wildcats lead the all-time series over Xavier by a 14-1 count…Mary Gedaka has seven double-doubles this season and 14 for her career…Mary Gedaka has scored double figures in 15 straight games and now has 28 double figure scoring games this year and 81 for her career…Villanova is now 11-2 when Bridget Herlihy scores double figures and have won 11 straight when she reaches double digits…Mary Gedaka moved past Jackie Adamshick and into eighth place on Villanova's career rebounding list with 708 caroms.