Philadelphia, Pa.- The Villanova Wildcats tallied their first Big 5 win of the season on the road at Saint Joseph's by a final of 55-39. This was the Wildcats first win of the season improving them to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in Big 5 play.

Villanova got on the board first, but a 6-0 St. Joseph's run forced the 'Cats to battle back late in the opening frame. Brooke Mullin got Villanova within a point, but the group went without a bucket in the remaining 1:34, trailing 11-8 by the end of the first.

It took until the 7:31 mark of the second quarter for Villanova to take back the lead, 16-14, with Lior Garzon converting a three-point play after being fouled by Kaliah Henderson. Lucy Olsen connected on a three-pointer with 12 seconds left in the first half to cement a 27-24 lead at the break.

Villanova shot 10-of-23 in the first half while holding St. Joseph's to a 7-of-26 clip from the field. Garzon led all players with 10 points in the opening 20 minutes, going 3-of-5 from the field and 4-of-5 from the line. Brianna Herlihy tacked on seven points with six rebounds in the frame, five of those coming on defense.

The Wildcats enjoyed a 17-4 scoring run during a large portion of the third to create separation. Free throws proved to be crucial for the unit in the third, making 9-of-11 for an 81-percent clip. Neither team could connect on a long-distance look with Villanova leading field goal shooting clips 50-percent to a 29.4-percent effort by the Hawks.

A 6-0 run pushed Villanova further ahead to open the fourth. Garzon capped her career-high outing with a three-pointer that forced the Hawks into a timeout at the 3:34 mark, the last bucket the 'Cats would score in the game. The Hawks would go on to make three free throws to make the final 55-39. 

Garzon finished with 26 points on the day, shooting 8-15 from the floor and 9-10 from the free throw line. Herlihy finished with a game high 12 rebounds, tying her career high, which she has done four times now. 
Saint Joseph's was paced by Mackenzie Smith who finished with eight points and Julia Nystrom and Olivia Mullins who both had six.

For the game, Villanova shot 40.4 percent from the field (19-47), 18.2% from the three-point range (2-11), and 71.4% from the foul line.  While Saint Joseph's was 25.0% from the field (13-52), 3-11 from the three-point line (27.3), and 10-12 from the foul line (83.3%).

Villanova will continue Big 5 play on Monday night when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Penn Quakers. Tipoff is set for 7:00 P.M. at The Palestra.

Notes: Villanova has now won six straight over Saint Joseph's…The Wildcats are 34-6 in their last 40 Big 5 contests…Villanova improves to 123-40 (.754) all-time in Big 5 play…The Wildcats have made at least one three-point field goal in 551 straight games