VILLANOVA, PA. 1/18/2020 – The Villanova Wildcats faced a conference game just a few days after an emotional win over Penn to share the Big Five championship. How would they team react? Quite well apparently as the Wildcats had four players score in double-figures in a 74 – 53 win over the Georgetown Hoyas.
“I thought it was really good for these kids to bounce back like that,” said Villanova Coach Harry Perretta. “I was worried that we would be fatigued. To be honest, I am fatigued. I thought they played a great game. They gutted it out, moved without the ball, and made shots. When you make shots, you feel better.”
It was the second largest offensive output for Villanova who got 17 points from senior forward Bridget Herlihy and 13 from Cameron Onken. This was important for the Wildcats who get most of their offense from Maddy Siegrist and Mary Gedaka to have others contribute. Siegrist had 15 points and 12 rebounds, her 8th double-double of the season, and Gedaka added 17 points. The distribution of offense that was key for Nova.
“It is always good to have multiple people on the floor who can score to make it hard on the other teams defense,” said Herlihy. “A lot of people on our team have been stepping up. Mary and Maddy are our highest scorers, but it is great to have other people stepping up and getting their points too. It makes it easier on them.”
Villanova took a 40 – 31 lead into halftime, then took control starting the third quarter scoring the first 10 points of the period while holding Georgetown to under 10 points.
“I thought our defense in the third quarter was much better,” Perretta said. “They only got eight points in the third quarter. In the first half we scored the ball, but they also got thirty-one. We need to remind ourselves to play good defense.”
Raven James handed out a team-high 6 assists in addition to scoring 9 points for Nova. Overall the hosts made 27 of 59 form the floor (45.8%) and hit 11 of 25 form three-point land (44%). The defense held the visitors to 31.6% shooting (18 of 57). Villanova won the rebounding battle 41 – 32.
The Wildcats improve to 11 – 7 for the season and look to build off this win. The team goes on the road to DePaul and Marquette next weekend. All three teams are in the top four in the Big East.
“This is great for our season record and for our confidence going forward,” Herlihy said. “It’s a good win, a fun win and makes it easier for us to play up to our potential with these wins behind us.”
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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