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VILLANOVA, Pa. – Butler committed 31 turnovers against Villanova on Sunday afternoon and the Wildcats turned those miscues into 27 points as VU secured the 73-65 victory at Finneran Pavilion. Mallory Miller poured in a career-high 25 points in the contest. With the loss, Butler slides to 8-11 overall and 2-7 in BIG EAST action while Villanova improves to 15-4 and 7-3 in conference action.
BULLDOG HIGHLIGHTS
Mallory Miller was spectacular in the first half for Butler, scoring 16 points while shooting 100-percent (6-6) from the floor. Miller finished the game with a career-high 25 points on an efficient 9-for-11 shooting performance from the floor. The South Dakota native added five rebounds, five assists and one block.
Kennedy Langham rounded out the Bulldogs in double figures chipping in 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the floor.
Saniya Jackson, Caroline Dotsey, and Miller led BU on the glass pulling down five rebounds apiece.
Butler shot 26-for-43 (60.5%) from the floor and shot 4-for-7 (57.1%) from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs forced 13 Villanova turnovers, marking the 19th time in the last 21 games that BU has forced its opponent to commit double digit turnovers.
Butler outrebounded Villanova 31-24.
VILLANOVA HIGHLIGHTS
Jasmine Bascoe led Villanova with 22 points on an efficient 9-for-18 shooting performance from the floor.
Denae Carter (15) and Ryanne Allen (10) rounded out the Wildcats in double figures.
Brynn McCurry led VU on the glass pulling down five rebounds.
Bascoe paced the VU offense with five assists in the contest.
Villanova shot 27-for-62 (43.5%) from the floor and shot 4-for-19 (21.1%) from beyond the arc.
The Wildcats forced 31 Butler turnovers and turned those miscues into 27 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Butler opened the game on a 13-4 run fueled by four points from Mallory Miller. Villanova stormed back with a 6-0 run of its own, cutting the Bulldog lead to three with just over two minutes left in the first frame. Villanova closed the quarter on a 6-1 run as the Wildcats finished the frame with the 16-14 advantage.
Villanova started the second frame hot, staging a 9-4 run to open the quarter. Butler took its first timeout at the 5:35 mark of the second frame as the Wildcat stood at seven. The VU lead grew to as many as nine but the Bulldogs responded with a 8-2 run cutting the deficit to three with just under three minutes left in the second. The Bulldogs finished the quarter on a 7-0 run, making seven of their last eight shots, as BU took the 33-31 lead into the break.
VU started the third quarter on a 7-0 run with the help of three Butler turnovers. The Villanova defense was relentless in the third, forcing eight Butler turnovers. The Wildcats took the 53-48 advantage into the final quarter of action.
Both sides traded buckets to open the fourth as the Wildcat lead held firm at nine with six minutes left in the contest. Despite holding Villanova scoreless for over two minutes in the last three minutes of the game, Butler was unable to mount a comeback, dropping the contest 73-65 at the final whistle.
UP NEXT
Butler will return to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a two-game homestand starting on Wednesday, Jan. 21. The Bulldogs will face DePaul before welcoming Marquette to Hinkle on Sunday, Jan. 25. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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