INDIANAPOLIS- In women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon, the No. 19 Villanova Wildcats traveled to Indianapolis where they tallied a 78-58 win over the Butler Bulldogs. With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 20-4 overall and 11-2 in BIG EAST play, while Butler falls to 7-16 on the year and 2-12 in league action.
Villanova closed the first quarter on a 10-4 run to increase its lead to 24-16 after one. Senior forward Maddy Siegrist led the spurt scoring eight of her team's 10 points. Freshman forward Megan Olbrys added the other basket on a driving lay-up.
Shooting was the difference in the first quarter, as Villanova was 9-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-6 from three-point range, while Butler was 7-of-16 and 2-of-7.
The Wildcats led 29-18 early in the second quarter, when they used a 16-2 run to take a commanding 45-20 advantage with 3:18 remaining in the period. Siegrist and sophomore center Christina Dalce had four points each in the spurt. The run was finished off on back-to-back three-balls by junior guards Maddie Burke and Bella Runyan.
Villanova would shoot 62.5 percent from the field in the second quarter (10-of-16) and out score the Bulldogs by a 25-10 margin to lead 49-26 at halftime.
The Wildcats were sensational on the offensive end of the floor in the opening half shooting a blistering 67.8 percent from the field (19-of-28), including a 7-of-13 effort from three-point range (53.8%). Siegrist led the way in the first half with 16 points.
Butler used a 9-2 run late in the third quarter to slice Villanova's 24 point lead to 62-45 at the 2:38 mark. Villanova quickly regained momentum and scored the final six points of the period to lead 68-45 after three. The six Wildcats points included back-to-back lay-ups by Siegrist and a short jumper by Dalce.
Villanova would lead by as many as 29 in the fourth quarter and cruise to the win.
In the win, Siegrist finished with 31 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field. Sophomore guard Lucy Olsen had 18 points and five assists, while Dalce added her second straight double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Butler was paced by Sydney Jaynes with 16 points. She was the lone Bulldog in double figures.
For the game, Villanova was 31-of-58 from the field (53.4%), 8-of-20 from three-point range (40.0%) and 8-of-9 from the foul line (88.9%), while Butler shot 37.0 percent from the floor (20-of-54), 29.2 percent from behind the arc (7-of-24) and 91.7 percent from the foul line (11-of-12). Villanova was charged with just nine turnovers.
Villanova returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 8, when the Wildcats travel to Washington, D.C., to take on the Georgetown Hoyas. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
NOTES: Villanova has won five in a row over Butler and lead the all-time series by a 14-6 count…The Wildcats now have 22 seasons of 20 wins or more, including the last two years in a row…Villanova improves to 10-1 on the road this season…The Wildcats have won 11 of the last 12…Today was the 10th game this year of 30 points or more for Maddy Siegrist…Siegrist has scored 20 points or more in all 24 games this year…Lucy Olsen has 16 double figure scoring games this year… Villanova had just nine turnovers in today's game. The Wildcats have committed a total of 26 turnovers in the last three games for an average of 8.6 during the stretch.
