VILLANOVA, PA. 1/2/2018 – It was 21 degrees outside when the 21st ranked Villanova Wildcats took the floor inside the chilly Jake Nevin Field House. The Wildcats made just over 21% of their three pointers in the first half. Is there a consistency factor here? Who knows? What really mattered was that the Butler Bulldogs won their first Big East game of the season defeating Villanova 76 – 53. The Cats drop to 11 – 2 on the year and are 1 – 2 in conference.
Butler made 52.8% of their field goal attempts and did a good job getting the ball inside, then moving it outside when the Nova defense got low. Center Tori Schickel led the Bulldogs with 26 points making 10 of 11 attempts. She added 7 rebounds and a game-high 6 assists. Guards Whitney Jennings and Kristen Spolyar hit 6 of 13 from deep scoring 16 and 13.
“We couldn’t guard them at all,” said Villanova Coach Harry Perretta. “When we doubled-down, the big kid made the right pass, and other kids made the shots. They just played a great game. They took advantage of every mistake we made.”
Alex Louin led Villanova with 16 points and 10 rebounds registering her second double-double of this campaign. Jannah Tucker scored 10 points. For the game the Wildcats hit 38.9% (21 – 54) from the floor and 4 of 27 (14.8%) from beyond the arc.
Early in the third quarter Nova held a 35 – 33 lead. Butler went on a 21 – 4 run over the next 6 minutes to put the game away.
Villanova takes the floor again on Friday hosting Xavier. The Cats embark on a three-game road trip after that game heading to Georgetown, Seton Hall, and St. John’s. Nova is home again on January 17 for a Big Five game against Penn.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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