VILLANOVA, PA. – Playing their first game in two weeks, the Villanova Wildcats made 16 first half three-point field goals and scored 67 first half points en route to a 98-74 win over the visiting Butler Bulldogs. With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 12-3 overall and 7-3 in BIG EAST play, while Butler falls to 1-15 overall and 1-14 in league play.
Leading 15-7 midway through the opening quarter, the Wildcats connected on three-straight three-point field goals and added a conventional three-point play to open-up a 24-7 lead. The three triples came from senior forward Sarah Mortensen, freshman Lior Garzon and sophomore Maddy Siegrist. The Wildcats would go 12-of-19 from the field (63.2%) and 7-of-13 from three (53.8%) in the game's first 10 minutes to lead 32-19 after one.
The second quarter was an offensive explosion for Villanova. The Wildcats led 37-21 when they went on a 17-3 run to take a commanding 54-24 advantage at the 4:15 mark. Villanova was 6-of-7 from the field and four-of-four from long distance during the spurt. Sophomore guard Brooke Mullin led the way with two three-point field goals, while Siegrist added a three-ball and driving lay-up. The other five points in the run included a three by junior guard Sam Carangi and a lay-up by senior forward Brianna Herlihy.
Villanova made nine second quarter three-pointers and tallied 35 second quarter points to take a 67-26 lead into intermission. Siegrist led the way in the opening half with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including a 5-of-10 effort from long range.
The first half highlights included: shooting 66.7 percent from the field (24-of-36), going 16-of-26 from three-point range (61.5%), assisting on 22 of 24 field goals, eight different players getting in the scoring column and setting a school record for points in a half with 67.
In the win, Siegrist led the way with 24 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Garzon had 17 points. Mortensen tallied 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including a 3-of-4 effort from three and Herlihy finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Butler was paced by Okako Adika who had 19 points and Upe Atosu with 15 points.
For the game, Villanova was 33-of-62 from the field (53.2%), 17-of-36 from three-point range (47.2%) and 15-of-20 from the foul line (75.0%), while Butler shot 39.7 percent from the floor (23-of-58), 32.1 percent from long distance (9-of-28) and 82.6 percent from the charity stripe (19-of-23). The Wildcats owned a 40-28 advantage on the backboards.
Villanova returns to action on Friday, Feb. 19 with a road game at Marquette. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m., eastern time.
NOTES: Villanova now leads the all-time series with Butler by an 11-6 margin…The Wildcats have now five of its last six…Tonight was the fifth time this year that the Wildcats connected on double digit three-point field goals. The 17 triples represent a season-high for threes…Tonight was the 10th 20-point game of the season for Maddy Siegrist and the 25th of her career…Sarah Mortensen has now reached double figures 10 of the 13 games this season…Tonight was the 13th double figure scoring game of the year for Brianna Herlihy…Villanova had an assist on 28 of its 33 made field goals.
