INDIANAPOLIS – Madison Siegrist led Villanova to a 90-53 win over Butler on Sunday afternoon inside Hinkle Fieldhouse. The standout sophomore scored a game-high 26 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against the Bulldogs.
Butler's offense was highlighted by Jaia Alexander and Okako Adika. Each played ended the contest with 14 points and Adika also led the way with five rebounds. Micah Scheetz scored 10 points for BU and Emilia Sexton came off the bench to score eight.
Ball movement was the key to success for the Wildcats. First-year head coach Denise Dillon watched her team record 28 assists on 33 made field goals. Brianna Herlihy led the way with seven assists. Her well-rounded effort also gave Villanova 11 points and seven rebounds.
Nova was excellent from behind the arc on Sunday hitting 14 of their 33 3-point attempts. Lior Garzon had the hot hand from distance. She came off the bench to hit five 3-pointers helping her reach 19 points.
The opening stages of the game were dominated by the Wildcats. Nova hit eight of their first 10 shots to open up a 30-11 lead after the first quarter. Butler's defense would pick up in the second quarter as they limited their opponent to just 15 points over that 10-minute stretch. The fourth quarter was also even with Villanova outscoring BU by just two points.
Butler will have next week off and return to action on Monday, Feb. 8 with a game at Xavier.
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