Adrianna Hahn scored a game-high 33 points as the Villanova Women’s basketball team defeated Xavier in double overtime 76-71 Friday night in the Pavilion. The game included eight ties and lead changes going back and forth from the beginning of the fourth quarter to the end of the second overtime. After the game, Head Coach Harry Perretta said he believes that luck played a part in his team’s win.

“To be honest with you, it was one of those games where we were lucky in spurts,”Perretta said. “We missed four layups that would have put us down one, (but) instead we get a kick-out three to tie it. Next time, we were down two on our panic-two play and Alex Louin gets to the hoop because they (Xavier) did not want to foul, to get the game into double overtime. Then Adriana takes over in double overtime”.  

And take over she did. The sophomore point guard from Wilmington, Delaware made a three-pointer at the top of the key with 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter to force the game into overtime and scored the final 11 points in double overtime to secure Villanova’s 15th win of the season. Her head coach complimented her performance after the game.  

“She’s been playing phenomenal,” Perretta said. “She’s shooting the ball phenomenal.  We got to get offense from our other players (though)”.  

While no other player on Villanova’s team had as many points as Hahn, sophomore center Megan Quinn recorded a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Louin finished with a double-double as well, totaling 11 rebounds and scoring 18 points, including the game-tying layup with two seconds left to force the game into double overtime.   

While it looked to be a blowout in the first half, the Wildcats squandered a 17-point lead as Xavier slowly clawed their way back into the game. Xavier outscored Villanova in the paint, by a scoring margin of 38-12. Guards Marquia Turner and Kindell Fincher scored 14 points each, and Raeshaun Gaffney had a double-double as well, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds. While these three guards from Xavier attacked the paint tonight, it was something that Perretta had to accept.  

“We were trying to tell them to take the ball away from the post,” Perretta said. “But we are going to get beat inside. We don’t have they physical strength that they (Xavier) have inside”.  

Although this statistic may be a head scratcher, the Wildcats made up for it with their play behind the arc. The Wildcats made 15 threes, 10 more than Xavier, including seven of them from Hahn. The way this season has played out for Villanova so far, it is safe to say that (as Karlie Krispin alluded to earlier this year) that these Wildcats live and die by the three-ball.  

Overall, Perretta was satisfied that his team continued to play to the final whistle.

“I just thought we just kept playing,” Perretta said. “We didn’t shoot the ball real well in the second half; we missed a couple wide open threes. We got some breaks along the way and it worked out (for us).  We won a very close game. I don’t get too excited about that it makes a season, it was just a great win.  It’s great for the team, (and) for their confidence”.  

Villanova looks to carry its momentum into Sunday’s game against Butler on Senior Day. Tip-off is at 1pm on the Big East Digital Network.