Villanova fell to Providence in overtime on Wednesday night, 82-76, after letting up on offense and defense in the second half.
The loss puts Villanova at 12–7 overall and 5–3 in conference as it remains in third place in the Big East.
Freshman guard Maddie Webber led scoring with a season-high 20 points while junior guard Lucy Olsen followed closely behind with 18 points and five assists. Junior guard Zanai Jones also had a season high of 13 points while senior guard Bella Runyan finished the night with 12 points.
The Wildcats started the game hot on the offensive end, going on an 11-2 run within the first three minutes of the game. Jones led this attack throughout the first quarter, going 4-of-5 for field goals after starting the game with a three-pointer.
Despite the wealth of scoring for the Wildcats, the Friars began to add to the scoreboard due to early foul trouble for the ‘Cats. Villanova struggled on the defensive end with rebounding and contesting shots and drives in the paint. This issue continued throughout the second half with more than half of the Friars points coming from free throws due to the ‘Cats defense. By the end of the first ten minutes Villanova led, 24-13. Half of Providence’s points in the quarter came from made foul shots.
Although the ‘Cats were able to keep a double-digit lead against the Friars for most of the first half, their struggles on defense became struggles on offense with the Friars’ denial of second chance opportunities.
The ‘Cats’ situation improved by the end of the second quarter, thanks to Olsen’s offensive skills and junior forward Christina Dalce’s impressive performance on the boards. Dalce finished the game with 13 rebounds and four blocks. The game reached halftime with the ‘Cats in the lead, 41-26.
Similar frustrations for Villanova reappeared in the second half, as it conceded an early bucket and committed four turnovers within the first three minutes. The ‘Cats struggled with the introduction of a full court press from Providence. By the time the Friars cut the lead to single digits, Villanova head coach Denise Dillon called a time out. \
Jones got into early foul trouble, which hurt the Wildcats’ offensive efforts.
The Friars dominated throughout the third quarter, out-scoring the ‘Cats 24-7. With leading scorer Olsen on the bench, Providence eventually took the lead.
Webber’s three-pointer at the end of the third quarter kept the Friars’ lead to just two.
At the start of the final quarter, Runyan scored two three-pointers. Yet, Villanova was still unable to figure out how to stop Providence’s senior guard Grace Efosa and junior guard/forward Marta Morales Romero, who finished with 55 points combined.
Similar to Runyan, Webber continued to provide on offense with a three-pointer and jump shot, forcing the Friars to call a timeout with seven minutes left to play.
By the last minute of the game, with the ‘Cats were ahead by a basket, Olsen fouled out of the game. Providence, which was in the bonus, was awarded two free throw shots.
Morales Romero was later able to find a basket to put the Friars up by two.
After a missed jumper by Webber, Providence called a timeout with its two-point lead. However, coming out of the timeout, Villanova made a defensive stop. It forced a five second violation on Providence. With the ball back and ten seconds left, Runyan weaved around three defenders and scored a layup to tie the game, 69-69, sending the game into overtime.
Going into the five-minute overtime, foul trouble began to catch up with the Wildcats. With Olsen already fouled out, and key defender Runyan fouling out, the Friars were able to gain the lead and keep it until the final buzzer.
For its next game, Villanova will travel to Chicago to face DePaul on Sunday, Jan. 28. Tipoff against the Blue Devils is set for 2 P.M. and can be viewed on Fox Sports 1.
