VILLANOVA, PA -- Katie Smrcka-Duffy tallied 16 points, but it wasn't enough as the Georgetown women fell to Villanova, 61-51 on Wednesday, Jan. 10.

The Villanova women's basketball team combined excellent free throw shooting down the stretch with solid performances from Trish Juhline, Brandi Barnes, and Courtney Mix to win their sixth consecutive game. The Wildcats defeated Big East rival Georgetown by the score of 61-51. With the victory, Villanova improves to 11-3 overall and 3-1 in the Big East, while Georgetown falls to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in Big East conference play.

Holding a six-point advantage at the half, 24-18, Villanova saw their lead cut to two quickly. Georgetown started the half by outscoring Villanova 10-6, decreasing the Wildcat lead to 30-28. The Wildcats responded quickly by putting together a dominating 16-2 run over the next eight minutes. Juhline drilled two three-pointers and freshman Courtney Mix hit a lay-up and two free throws to spark the run.

With 6:28 remaining, the Wildcats held a commanding 46-32 lead. Superb free throw shooting down the stretch closed out Georgetown as they could only come within eight points from that point on. Junior Mimi Riley, junior Stephanie Baker, and Mix were nearly perfect from the line as time wound down. Mix hit on six of seven free throws, while Riley drilled four of four and Baker drained two of two.

In all, three Wildcats scored in double digits, including Juhline, who led all players with 21 points. Juhline shot eight of 15 from the field and four of nine from three-point range. Senior center Brandi Barnes continued her front court dominance posting 15 points on seven of 11 shooting. Over the last six games Barnes has scored 103 points for an average of 17.2 points per contest.

Mix, one of five from the field and eight of nine from the free throw line, was the third Villanova player to score in double digits by netting 11 points. The freshman closed out her outstanding evening by grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Mix's 11 points and 11 rebounds were her first career double double. Joining Mix on the glass were Riley and Barnes, who hauled in seven and five rebounds, respectively.

For Georgetown, Katie Smrcka-Duffy led the way tallying 16 points, seven of 18 from the field. Zsuzsanna Horvath joined Smrcka-Duffy on offense; draining six of 14 shots to record 15 points on the night. Horvath and Rebekkah Brunson led the defensive effort, grabbing eight boards a piece.

Villanova shot 38.8 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from three-point range and 89.5 from the charity stripe. Georgetown hit on 32.3 percent of their shots from the field, 14.3 percent of their attempts from deep, and were a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line.

Georgetown will be in action next on Saturday, January 13 at 3 p.m. They will host Seton Hall at McDonough Arena.