VILLANOVA, Pa.—All five players who scored for Villanova (9-2, 4-2 BIG EAST) reached double figures as the Wildcats tallied an 81-78 overtime win against St. John's (4-9, 1-7 BIG EAST) at Finneran Pavilion on Monday evening. Villanova never trailed in the contest despite needing the extra five minutes to secure the final outcome. Sophomore forward Maddy Siegrist scored a team-high 24 points and was one of three Wildcats with double-doubles on the night.
 
The freshman duo of forward Lior Garzon and guard Bella Runyan combined for 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting to help spark Villanova in its first game in 19 days. Garzon tallied 16 points, including a pair of go-ahead three-pointers in overtime, and Runyan chipped in 15 points. A triple by Garzon with 2:34 left in the extra period gave the Wildcats the lead for good after the Red Storm overcame what had once been an 18-point deficit. Senior forwards Brianna Herlihy (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Sarah Mortensen (12 points, 11 rebounds) each had double-doubles.
 
Villanova had its largest lead of the second half – 17 points – when a Mortensen bucket with 8:32 remaining in regulation made the score 60-43. St. John's scored seven unanswered points to trim the margin to 60-50 with 7:03 left, but after the teams traded baskets for the next three minutes the Wildcats still led by 11 (65-54) after a Runyan three-pointer with exactly four minutes on the clock.
 
That was when the Red Storm comeback bid gained steam however, and Villanova was outscored 11-0 over the final 3:10 of regulation to force overtime. St. John's forced eight of the Wildcats 19 turnovers in the final 8:52 of the fourth quarter to help turn the tide, and all of the points in the run to end regulation came off of Villanova miscues. Unique Drake made a basket for the Red Storm with 1:36 left and converted a three-point play with 59 seconds remaining to pull St. John's to within 65-63, the first time the margin had been within one possession since there was 2:13 left in the opening quarter.
 
After the Red Storm three-point play the Wildcats missed shots with 33 seconds left and eight seconds remaining, the latter of which was rebounded by St. John's who tied the game at 65-all on a Kadaja Bailey driving layup with 3.2 seconds to go. Villanova called its final timeout and advanced the ball, but a potential game-winning jumper as time expired sent the game to overtime. It is the third time in the last four meetings between the Wildcats and the Red Storm that the game went to overtime; Villanova has won all three of those meetings and 11 of the last 15 in the series overall.
 
Garzon kicked off overtime with a quick three-pointer to put the Wildcats ahead 68-65, but St. John's later tied the game for the final time at 70-70 on a Leilani Correa basket with 2:53 to play. Garzon answered with another three-pointer just 19 seconds later for a 73-70 lead, while a Siegrist steal and fast-break driving layup with 1:58 left stretched the margin to 75-70. The Red Storm got within three points on four separate occasions in the final 1:05, but never closer than that as Villanova hung on for the hard-fought victory.
 
Correa paced St. John's with a game-high 29 points, Drake had 21 on 8-of-10 shooting and Bailey added 19 points and 14 rebounds.
 
Senior guard Raven James dished out a game-high eight assists and Herlihy added six helpers for the Wildcats, who recorded an assist on 23 of their 28 field goals. Villanova also enjoyed a 45-35 rebounding edge, including 18 offensive caroms. Mortensen pulled down seven of her 11 rebounds on the offensive end.
 
It will now be a quick turnaround for the Wildcats, who return to their home court on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to take on Marquette.
 
NOTES: Siegrist has recorded eight 20-point games this season and 23 in her Villanova career … She has tallied seven double-doubles this season and 18 wearing a Wildcats uniform … Mortensen has scored in double figures seven times in the nine games she has played this season … Herlihy has reached double figures in scoring in nine of the team's 11 games … Villanova is 5-1 at home on the season.