VILLANOVA, PA. – The Villanova Wildcats closed out the home portion of the 2021-22 schedule in fine fashion on Sunday afternoon with a 73-64 win over the visiting DePaul Blue Demons. With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 18-7 overall and 12-4 in BIG EAST play, while DePaul falls to 21-8 overall and 13-5 in league action.
 
With the score tied 40-40 with 7:30 to play in the third quarter, the Wildcats went on a 10-1 run to take a 50-41 advantage. Freshman Kaitlyn Orihel started the spurt by scoring five straight points on a three and a driving lay-up. Rookie Lucy Olsen made it seven straight Wildcat points on a short jumper in the lane. Following two free throws by DePaul's Annesah Morrow, Wildcat junior forward Maddy Siegrist buried a three from the left wing.
 
DePaul scored the final five points of the third quarter to slice the Villanova advantage to 55-50 after three. Morrow made three free throws and Kierra Collier connected on a jump shot in the paint to account for the five Blue Demon points.
 
The Blue Demons scored first in the fourth quarter to make it a 55-52 game when Morrow converted a driving lay-up. Villanova then pushed the lead back to 57-52 when Siegrist scored on a lay-up. Following a defensive stop, sophomore Bella Runyan connected on a three-ball and Villanova had a 60-52 lead with 7:37 on the clock.
 
After a Deja Church basket pulled DePaul within five at 63-58 with 4:03 remaining, neither team scored for the next 1:37. Olsen ended the scoreless stretch with a 10-foot jumper to make it a 65-58 game at the 2:26 mark. DePaul answered on its next possession when Morrow scored on an uncontested lay-up and the Wildcat lead was down to five at 65-60.
 
Villanova put the game away on its next two possessions when Olsen scored on a driving lay-up and Siegrist sank two free throws. The Siegrist foul shots gave Villanova a 69-60 lead with 50 seconds remaining.
 
In the win, Siegrist led all scorers with 25 points. She was 9-of-14 from the field, 1-of-3 from three-point range and 6-of-7 from the foul line. Olsen finished with 17 points, while sophomore Lior Garzon added 12 points.
 
DePaul was paced by Morrow who had 23 points and 15 rebounds and Darrione Rogers who had 18 points. Church finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.
 
For the game, Villanova was 30-of-56 from the field (53.6%), 5-of-15 from three (33.3%) and 8-of-11 from the foul line (72.7%), while DePaul shot 38.7 percent from the floor (24-of-62), 20.0 percent from long distance (5-of-25) and 78.6 percent from the charity stripe (11-of-14). DePaul owned a 36-30 advantage on the backboards.
 
Villanova returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 22, when the Wildcats travel to Washington, D.C., to take on the Georgetown Hoyas. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
 
NOTES: Villanova honored Brianna Herlihy and Kenzie Gardler in a pregame Senior Day ceremony…The Wildcats have won 15 of its last 17 games…Villanova has now won 11 consecutive home games to improve to 11-2 at the Finneran Pavilion…In six career games versus DePaul, Maddy Siegrist has scored 165 points for an average of 27.5 points per game…Maddy Siegrist moved past Lisa Angelotti and into fifth on Villanova's all-time scoring list with 1,631 career points…Maddy Siegrist has 14, 20-point games this season and 45 for her career…Brianna Herlihy tied her career-high in assists with seven with all seven coming in the first quarter.