INDIANAPOLIS – The Villanova Wildcats punched their ticket to the WBIT championship game with a 58-53 win over the Penn State Lady Lions in a game played on Monday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

With the victory, Villanova will take on Illinois on Wednesday night. The game is set for 7 p.m., and can be seen live on ESPN2.

The first half was a tightly contested defensive battle with neither team able to open-up more than a four-point lead. Defensively, Villanova held Penn State to just 26.7 percent shooting from the floor (8-of-30). Villanova connected on 10-of-28 (35.7%) from the field in the opening half, including a 3-of-12 effort from three-point range.

Following a jumper by Lady Lion guard Shay Ciezki that cut the Villanova advantage to 23-22 with 5:08 remaining until halftime, the last five points of the half came from the free throw line. Junior guard Lucy Olsen made two free throws and senior Bella Runyan went one-of-two from the stripe for Villanova. Penn State's Ashley Owusu connected on two free throws with 47 seconds on the clock to finish the first half scoring. Owusu's foul shots sent the game to halftime with Villanova leading 26-24.

Villanova had balanced scoring in the game's first 20 minutes with the junior tandem of Olsen and Kaitlyn Orihel scoring seven points each and Runyan adding six points.

A three-point field goal by Olsen gave Villanova a 37-30 lead midway through the third quarter, before neither team was able to score for the next three minutes. Wildcat senior Maddie Burke ended the scoreless stretch with a 15-foot jumper that put Villanova ahead 39-30 with 2:49 to play in the third period.

After Penn State senior guard Makenna Marisa drained a three-ball to slice the Villanova lead to 39-33, the Wildcats scored the final four points of the quarter to lead 43-33 after three. The four Villanova points included a lay-up by junior center Christina Dalce and a lay-up by sophomore forward Megan Olbrys.

Villanova led 45-38 with 5:58 to play, when Penn State scored five straight points to make it a 45-43 game. With the momentum on the Lady Lions side and the Wildcats having gone 5:21 without scoring, Olsen came up with a timely bucket when she drained a triple from the right corner. The trifecta gave Villanova a 48-43 advantage at the 4:04 mark.

Two Runyan free throws with 3:11 remaining gave Villanova a comfortable 51-43 lead. Penn State would not go away, however, and the Lady Lions ran off six straight points to slice the lead to 51-49 with 1:05 to play. Following a Villanova turnover, Penn State had a chance to tie the game, but Ashley Owusu's jumper was off target. On the defensive rebound, Dalce was fouled and was sent to the line to shoot two.

Dalce calmly made both foul shots and Villanova led 53-49 with 56 seconds to go. After Penn State's Leilani Kapinus split a pair at the line to make it a 53-50 game, Olsen made three-of-four from the foul line down the stretch to seal the victory.

In the win, Olsen led all scorers with 21 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks. Orihel finished with 13 points, five rebounds and three blocks, while Runyan added 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. Dalce chipped in with six points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Penn State was paced by Kapinus with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Owusu had 11 points.

For the game, Villanova was 20-of-52 from the field (38.5%), 5-of-18 from three-point range (27.8%) and 13-of-19 from the foul line (68.4%), while Penn State shot 29.1 percent from the floor (16-of-55), 36.4 percent from long distance (4-of-11) and 94.4 percent from the charity stripe (17-of-18).  The Lady Lions owned a 40-32 advantage on the backboards.

NOTES: Villanova improves to 42-30 all-time in postseason play…Villanova is now 8-3 all-time in games played at Hinkle Fieldhouse…Today was the fifth time this year that Lucy Olsen has played all 40 minutes…Villanova was credited with an assist on 16 of its 20 made field goals in today's victory…The Wildcats had 11 blocks in today's win with Christina Dalce, Lucy Olsen and Kaitlyn Orihel recording three blocks each.