VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova withstood a fourth quarter surge from Columbia on Saturday afternoon for a 68-67 win in front of a loud crowd inside the Finneran Pavilion.
Villanova (2-1) led by as many as 13 points in a contest where it led for over 33 minutes, but Columbia (3-1) used a 6-0 run down the stretch to tie the game at 67-all with 12 seconds remaining. A heldball and a foul sent
Denae Carter to the line to close up shop, hitting one of her two attempts to give the 'Cats a one-point lead. Columbia went to inbound the ball at the other end of the court, but a foul was whistled on the Villanova, giving Columbia another chance to either take the lead or force overtime. Riley Weiss went to the line and missed both of her chances with Carter grabbing the final rebound to seal the deal.
Maddie Burke powered Villanova with the first double-double of her career, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Those points mark the most she has scored in her Villanova career with 15 coming from long distance on 5-of-7 shooting beyond the arc.
Jasmine Bascoe and Carter also ended in double-figure scoring with 15 and 11, respectively. As a whole, the Wildcats shot a season-best 51.9-percent from the field on 27-of-shooting.
The 'Cats created space early, jumping out to a 6-0 run early with a layup and free throw each. Columbia took its first lead of the game on a four-point play from Weiss, getting fouled on a three-point attempt and making the free throw to push the Lions to an 8-0 scoring run with just over two minutes to play in the quarter. Burke hit a turnaround jumper and a three in the final minute for her first points of the season to cut into Columbia's lead for a 17-15 game at the end of the first.
Burke kept the hot hand going to start the second, quickly moving into double figures with three consecutive connections from long distance to give the Wildcats a 24-21 lead by the 8:10 mark. Threes from
Maddie Webber and yet another from Burke bookended a 10-3 Villanova run down the stretch, leading the 'Cats to a 45-38 lead at the break.
Villanova shot 60-perfect in the first 20 minutes and was 6-of-9 from long distance. Burke led with a 6-of-7 showing, nailing five of her six attempts from behind the arc.
The Wildcats started the second half with back-to-back layups from Webber and Bascoe to extend its lead to 11 before Columbia drained a three from Susie Rafiu. Carter accounted for all six of Villanova's points on a 6-2 stretch to the midpoint of the third to make it a 55-43 Blue and White advantage. The largest lead of the game for the 'Cats came on a fast break layup by Bascoe with 3:36 to play. Cecelia Collins hit a pair of layups in the final minute and a half to cut Villanova's lead to 61-53 heading into the fourth.
Villanova fell into a five-and-a-half-minute scoring drought late in the fourth that allowed the Lions to take a 6-0 run. Rafiu capped that streak with a jumper to make it a four-point Wildcat lead, 65-61, with under two minutes to play. Carter ended the run with a timely push to the basket off a feed from Bascoe for a six-point lead with over a minute to play. Columbia answered with another 6-0 run down the stretch with an exclamation point layup from Rafiu to tie the game with 12 seconds left. That run was ended by Carter yet again, nailing the crucial free throw to give the 'Cats the win despite being outscored in the stanza 14-7.
Rafiu paced the Lions with 16 points and five rebounds, hitting seven of her 13 attempts. The Lions shot 42.9-percent from the field in their first loss of the season.
Villanova is back at home on Wednesday, Nov. 20 for a Philly Big Five matchup against Penn. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Finneran Pavilion.
