Kaitlyn Orihel’s career-high 20 point effort fuels Villanova rout of Georgetown

Villanova star senior Maddy Siegrist recorded yet another 20-point double-double on Wednesday night, but the story of the game was sophomore Kaitlyn Orihel scoring a career-high 20 points. The pair of 20-point performances led the No. 15 ranked Wildcats to an 82-53 rout of Georgetown on the road.

Siegrist’s 27 points and 12 rebounds marked her 12th double-double of the season and the 49th of her career.

Orihel finished 8-of-9 from the field, including 4-5 from three. Fellow sophomore Lucy Olsen added 10 points, seven assists and four rebounds while junior Maddie Burke chipped in eight points, six rebounds, and two steals.

Freshman Kennedy Fauntleroy led Georgetown (12-12, 5-10 Big East) with 11 points and eight rebounds. Fauntleroy has been one of the Big East’s standout rookies this season, earning Freshman of the Week five times so far.

Villanova (21-4, 12-2) looked flat to start the game, missing seven of its first eight shots. With the game tied, 7-7, the Wildcats began to settle in, closing the quarter on a 17-0 run to take a 24-7 lead into the second quarter.

The dominance continued for the remaining 30 minutes with the Wildcats’ lead ballooned to as many as 30 in the second half.

The key to Villanova’s success was its motion offense. Continuous movement with cuts, ball rotation, and screens wore down the Hoyas and allowed Villanova to get consistent clean looks at the basket. The Wildcats recorded 22 assists on 31 field goals made.

The Wildcats dominated Georgetown inside, winning the boards, 47-35, with 12 of those rebounds coming on the offensive end for eight second-chance points.

Sophomore Christina Dalce and Siegrist have led the Wildcats inside attack all season, and Wednesday was no different. Villanova recorded 32 of its 82 points in the paint while holding the Hoyas to 24 points inside.

Dalce who also recorded four blocks, leads the Big East and ranks 18th nationally at 2.3 blocks per contest.

Villanova returns home to face Seton Hall (15-9, 8-6 Big East) on Saturday (1 p.m., FloSports). This will be the first meeting between the teams this season.