VILLANOVA, PA. – The No. 11 ranked Connecticut Huskies came to the Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday night and tallied an 81-60 win over the Villanova Wildcats. With the victory, the Huskies improve to 18-4 overall and 10-0 in BIG EAST play, while the Wildcats fall to 13-8 on the year and 6-4 in league action.
Following an Aaliyah Edwards 15-foot jumper that gave Connecticut a 33-27 lead with 3:29 left in the second quarter, the Wildcats used a 10-3 run to close the period and send the teams to halftime with the Huskies holding a 37-36 lead.
Junior guard Lucy Olsen led the Wildcat spurt scoring six of the 10 points, while freshman Maddie Webber added the other four. Olsen hit three mid-range jumpers for her six points, while Webber had a lay-up and two free throws.
Villanova was 13-of-32 from the field, 4-of-13 from three and 6-of-6 from the foul line in the opening half, while Connecticut was 14-of-28 from the field, 2-of-8 from downtown and 7-of-8 from the line.
After KK Arnold buried a three-ball to give the Huskies a 42-39 lead early in the third quarter, Connecticut went scoreless for the next 3:35. Villanova took advantage of the scoreless stretch and took the lead at 43-42 with 6:35 to play when junior guard Zanai Jones connected on a pull-up jump shot.
Connecticut finished the third quarter on a 17-6 run over the final 5:12 to take a 59-49 advantage. Edwards fueled the Husky spurt with eight of the 17 points. Senior guard Nika Muhl drained a three-ball to round out the third quarter scoring and give her team the double-digit lead.
Trailing 61-49 early in the fourth quarter, Wildcat junior center Christina Dalce scored three straight points on a lay-up and a free throw to pull Villanova within nine at 61-52. After Dalce split a pair at the line, Connecticut went back up double digits at 63-52 on the game's next possession when Edwards converted a driving lay-up.
The Huskies scored six of the game's next eight points to open-up a 69-54 lead at the 5:20 mark. Connecticut would control play the rest of the quarter and lead by as many as 21.
In the loss, Olsen led the way with 15 points, while Jones finished with 14 points and four assists. Webber was the third Wildcat in double figures with 11 points.
Connecticut was paced by Edwards with a game-high 22 points and Paige Bueckers who tallied 21 points and five assists. Arnold netted 13 points, while Muhl had 12 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.
For the game, Villanova was 23-of-62 from the field (37.1%), 6-of-21 from three (28.6% and 8-of-9 from the foul line (88.9%), while Connecticut shot 60.7 percent from the floor (34-of-56), 31.3 percent from long distance (5-of-16) and 80.0 percent from the charity stripe (8-of-10). The Huskies owned a 34-28 advantage on the backboards.
Villanova returns to action on Saturday afternoon when the Seton Hall Pirates come to town. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
NOTES: Villanova falls to 1-2 versus Top 25 teams this year…The Wildcats drop to 7-3 at home this season…Maddie Webber has reached double figures in three straight games and 10 times on the year…Zanai Jones has scored 43 points in her last three games…UConn leads the all-time series over Villanova by a 41-19 count.
