Villanova spoiled Marquette women’s basketball’s National Marquette Day party.
Led by junior guard Lucy Olsen’s 19 points, which came from 8-of-9 shooting from the field, the Wildcats (15-8, 8-4 Big East) beat the Golden Eagles (18-6, 7-6 Big East) 55-52 in a thriller at the Al McGuire Center.
Marquette got the ball with 37.4 seconds on the clock down one after a Villanova shot clock violation. But the Golden Eagles could not score, as senior forward Liza Karlen got an offensive rebound and turned the ball over, trying to keep the possession alive.
After intentionally fouling on the Wildcats’ next possession, first-year guard Maddie Webber sank two free throws, which sealed the victory for Villanova after Karlen could not connect on a 3-pointer as time expired.