PHILADELPHIA – Villanova led by as many as 10 points on Saturday night at but could not overcome a second half comeback by the Hawks, falling 73-67 at Hagan Arena.
Despite the loss, Villanova (6-3) junior guard
Lucy Olsen posted an impressive day with 32 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field to lead all scorers, 4-for-9 from long distance to match a career-high for made three-pointers. Her outing set a venue record for opponent scoring by a opponent and matched the overall scoring record for Saint Joseph's (9-1) home arena. She paced a Villanova side that shot 39-percent on 26-of-67 from the field. Olsen was joined in double-figures by
Christina Dalce and
Maddie Webber who scored 15 and 10, respectively.
Olsen drained the first three for either side to give Villanova an 11-6 lead before both teams fell into three-minute scoring droughts. Webber ended the slump with a jumper. A three from Saint Joseph's Gabby Casey cut Villanova's lead to two, but Olsen banked an answer in the final seconds of the frame with a dead-on three from the top of the arch, putting the 'Cats ahead 18-13 heading into the second.
Both sides struggled to make baskets in the second quarter, going a combined 11-of-34 in the period. Webber connected on the lone three of the period for Villanova, pushing the group to its largest lead of the game at 33-23 with 5:55 left in the half. The Hawks took hold a 5-0 run to finish the half, making it a 33-28 Villanova advantage at the break.
Olsen posted 18 points in the first half on 6-11 shooting from the field, while going a perfect 2-of-2 from three and 4-of-4 on free throws.
Brynn McCurry had shattered her previous season-high on the boards by the break, logging seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes before going on to finish with eight.
Momentum stayed on the side of the Blue and White early in the third thanks to Dalce and Olsen, scoring the first nine points of the half for the 'Cats. Saint Joseph's grabbed a 10-1 later in the frame that was capped by a pair of free throws from Tayla Brugler cutting Nova's lead to one, 45-44, and forcing Villanova into a timeout with 2:32 to play in the frame. Mackenzie Smith tied the game with a three-pointer to not the contest at 47 before exchanging answers with Olsen. The Hawks took their first lead of the game with a Laura Ziegler jumper in the final five seconds for a 51-49 contest heading into the fourth.
Dalce and McCurry both connected on tying buckets early in the stanza while Webber made a three nearly halfway through the stanza to get within one at 57-56. Saint Joseph's started distancing itself with timely buckets to build an eight-point lead with just under a minute to play. Olsen's record-setting three and a Dalce free throw made it a 71-65 Hawks' lead with 19 seconds remaining, but Chloe Welch put the game away in the final 15 ticks of the clock from the charity stripe.
Mackenzie Smith lead Saint Joseph's with 21 points while Ziegler posted a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The Wildcats face a quick turnaround as they host Princeton on Monday night. Tip-off from Finneran Pavilion is set for 7 p.m.
NOTES – This is the first time that Villanova has lost in the series since 2014, now trailing in the overall series 235-30 since the 1970-71 season … Olsen has scored 30+ points in three of the last four games. She now has 12 20+-point outings in her career … Dalce posted the eighth double-double of her career.
