Fourth-Quarter Rally Falls Short As Women's Hoops Falls To Villanova, 51-49

VILLANOVA, PA. – A furious fourth-quarter rally fell short as the Friars dropped their BIG EAST Conference opener to Villanova, 51-49, on Dec. 29 at Finneran Pavilion. The Friars dropped to 9-4 (0-1 BIG EAST) on the season, while the Wildcats improved to 6-5 (1-0 BIG EAST).

FIRST QUARTER:
• Friars scored back-to-back buckets to start the game as Chanell Williams (Bronx, N.Y.) hit a turnaround jumper in the paint and Kaela Webb (Pontiac, Mich.) hit jumper from the right elbow off the window.
• Villanova answered with a 7-0 run and extended its run to 14-2 with 3:19 on the clock, forcing a Providence timeout (14-6).
• The Friars went 4:53 without a field goal, until Mary Baskerville (Enfield, Conn.) hit a jumper in the paint with 1:01 remaining on the clock.
• Providence shot 31-percent from the field in the first quarter (4-13).

SECOND QUARTER:
• Villanova led by as many as 16 in the frame (31-15) with 5:51 on the clock.
• Providence cut the deficit to 11 (31-20) using a 5-0 run out of the media timeout.
• The Wildcats maintained an 11-point edge going into the locker room at halftime (33-22).
• The Friars committed nine turnovers in the first half compared to three miscues by the Wildcats.
• Villanova held an 8-2 advantage in points off of turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
• Olivia Orlando (Georgetown, Mass.) led the Friars with six on 3-3 shooting from the field in the first half.
• Webb and freshman Hevynne Bristow (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in five points apiece, while Baskerville hauled in five boards.

THIRD QUARTER:
• The Friars cut the Wildcat's lead to single digits (33-26) with a 4-0 spurt to start the third.
• The Wildcats finished the frame with an 8-3 scoring advantage to take a 12-point lead into the final 10 minutes (41-29).

FOURTH QUARTER:
• Providence rallied in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Wildcats, 20-10.
• Madison Siegrist hit a three-pointer for Villanova with 3:27 remaining in regulation put the Wildcats ahead, 49-39.
• The Friars went on a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 51-49 with 42-seconds left on the clock.
• Webb hit two three-point buckets during the spurt.
• Villanova turned the ball over with 12-seconds remaining on the clock as Orlando was credited with a steal.
• The Friars brought the ball down the court and the Wildcats fouled Webb with 3.9-seconds left.
• Providence inbounded the ball in front of their bench to Williams, but she was defended well and unable to get a shot off before time expired.

NOTES / HIGHLIGHTS:
• Webb was the lone Friar to reach double figures in the game with 13 points.
• Bristow tallied a career-high nine points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes of action off the bench.
• Baskerville paced Providence on the boards (eight) and added six points.
• Williams finished the night with seven points, three rebounds and a team-best three assists.
• The Friars have dropped five-straight BIG EAST openers.
• Siegrist and Mary Gedaka each scored 18 points for Villanova.
• Gedaka added 10 rebounds for a double-double.

WHAT'S NEXT:
• The Friars return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 31 against BIG EAST foe Georgetown. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. at McDonough Arena in Washington, D.C. The game will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN).

- GO FRIARS! -

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Team Stats

Kaela Webb

Hevynne Bristow

Chanell Williams

Mary Baskerville

Players Mentioned

Mary Baskerville

Hevynne Bristow

Olivia Orlando

Kaela Webb

Chanell Williams