INDIANAPOLIS – The Villanova Wildcats recorded a 65-54 victory over Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday night to improve their overall record to 11-5. The Bulldogs dropped to 8-8 on the year.
 
It was a wild start to the game on Saturday night as the Wildcats raced out to a 10-0 lead. Villanova hit 3-pointers on their first two possessions and used a full court press to cause three BU turnovers. The 10-point lead held over the first 10 minutes (18-8), but the Bulldogs would use an 11-0 run in the second quarter to get back within one at 20-19.
 
Butler limited Villanova to just two points over the first six minutes of the second frame. They outscored the Wildcats 17-13 in the second but would trail Nova 31-25 at halftime. Sydney Jaynes led all players with nine points at the break while Maddie Webber came off the bench to lead Villanova with eight.
 
Villanova put together another 10-0 run against Butler in the third quarter to extend their advantage to 15 points. Webber had nine points in the third and Lucy Olsen added six. BU outscored Nova by four in the fourth and cut the deficit to just nine with three minutes left in the game but the comeback effort would fall short.
 
Inside the Box Score
- Caroline Strande posted a double-double with a team-high 12 points and 10 rebounds
- Strande is the first Bulldog this year to record a double-double
- With 12 points, Strande passed 500 career points on Saturday night
- Sydney Jaynes came up with 11 points
- Rachel Kent added nine points and a team-high three assists
- Villanova took nearly 20 more shots than Butler (68-49)
- Maddie Webber led all players with 18 points
- Webber added four assists and five rebounds to her stat line
- Lucy Olsen had 15 points, six assists and three steals
- Christian Dalce had 13 rebounds and four blocked shots
- Nova hit twice as many 3-pointers as Butler (8-4)
 
Up Next
The Bulldogs will play at St. John's on Wednesday night. The 7 PM tip at Carnesecca Arena will stream on FloHoops.com.