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Villanova, PA — The Villanova Wildcats (18-5 overall, 8-4 Big East) were able to fend off the Georgetown Hoyas (10-12, 5-7 Big East), pulling off a close 68-67 win in a pivotal Big East Conference matchup Saturday afternoon at the Jake Nevin Field House.
Villanova head coach Harry Perretta, who coached in his 1,200th career game today, was relieved that his Wildcats squad toughed it out.
“They’re good. I find it a miracle that we beat them twice," Perretta commented. "They kill us in the glass and force us into turnovers, but they managed to make enough baskets for us to win.”
The Wildcats were ahead by five points with 7.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Georgetown guard Mikayla Venson drained a 3-pointer to close the gap. With minimal time, the Hoyas were forced to foul Villanova's Alex Louin. Louin made one of two free throws to give the Wildcats a slim lead.
Hoyas 5-foot-5 junior Dionna White scored a layup with less than a second on clock, but the damage had already been done.
Villanova's Mary Gedaka posted 17 points and nine rebounds, with 10 points in the fourth quarter alone. Gedaka was assisted by senior Alex Louin (14pts, 9 rebounds) and sophomore Kelly Jekot (13 pts), who combined for 27 points.
Perretta noted that they needed Gedaka to be their difference maker on Saturday.
“We needed to find a mismatch player. We can’t score against them straight up. They are just too good on defense,” Perretta said.
White posted 21 points and five rebounds for the Hoyas, and was assisted by double-digit scoring teammates Mikayla Venson (23 pts) and Cythia Petke (12 pts, 14 rebounds). Venson posted 14 points in the fourth.
Villanova has seven games left in regular season games and five of them will be at home. Coming up, Villanova will face off against St. John’s and Seton Hall, while Georgetown also returns home to play Seton Hall and St. John’s.