Villanova women outlast Butler as Maddy Siegrist scores 36

Since their 67-46 loss to Creighton in December, the Villanova women have not lost a conference matchup.

The Wildcats rode a four-game winning streak as they entered Sunday’s contest against Butler, and they carried that momentum all the way to a 68-58 win over the Bulldogs.

Maddy Siegrist led Villanova (14-3, 5-1 Big East) with 36 points and 13 rebounds, her fifth double-double in the last six games. The senior also added a season-high four assists.

Junior Maddie Burke chipped in 13 points while sophomore Christina Dalce finished with seven points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Dalce leads the conference in blocks with 34 this season.

Kendal Wingler led Butler (6-8, 1-6) with 16 points and added three rebounds. Trinity White and Rachel McLimore added 10 and nine points, respectively.

The Wildcats started the game strong, leading by 15-7 at the end of the first quarter behind 10 points from Siegrist. Villanova maintained a consistent lead throughout the remainder of the game, and while the Bulldogs kept it close, they never got closer than five points after the first period.

Butler attempted to implement the strategy used with success by Creighton and Iowa, sending two defenders at Siegrist, but the Bulldogs still struggled to slow the nation’s leading scorer.

The Wildcats offense was flowing smoothly through Siegrist, with some help from Burke, but their defense set the tone. Villanova forced 16 Butler turnovers, turning them into 17 points.

» READ MORE: What should Villanova’s Justin Moore do? We asked NBA scouts.

Villanova finished with 16 assists on 28 field goals, something that has been a strength for the Wildcats this season. They also won the battle on the boards, 33-30, another key to the team’s success thus far.

With 5 minutes, 27 seconds to play in the fourth quarter and ‘Nova leading by 10, junior Bella Runyan sparked a 7-2 Wildcats run that kept the threatening Bulldogs at bay. The run was capped by Burke drilling a triple on the wing off a skip pass from Runyan. That extended the Wildcats’ lead to 68-53 with just under three minutes left.

Villanova hits the road to take on DePaul (10-6, 3-2 Big East) on Wednesday (8 p.m., FloSports). The matchup will be highlighted by Siegrist and DePaul’s Annesah Morrow, who rank first and second in scoring in the Big East.