Villanova tops No. 22 Syracuse women 77-75, 3 OTs

Devon Kane, who hit a game-tying layup at the end of regulation, added 10 points for Villanova (19-6, 8-7) in just the second three-overtime game in Big East regular-season history.

The first was a triple-overtime thriller that saw Georgetown beat Miami on Feb. 9, 1993.

Villanova jumped ahead 58-53 in the first overtime but went scoreless over the final 3 minutes as Syracuse (22-6, 10-5) rallied to force another extra frame. Carmen Tyson-Thomas missed a layup with one second left that could have won it for the Orange.

"We've been gutting it out lately, but we haven't been making the shots when we need to. The other team seems to make every shot when they need to," said Villanova coach Harry Perretta. "In this game, too, they made every shot they needed to make in the first overtime to get a tie. Lucky for us, they missed that last shot."

The Wildcats snapped their cold streak in the final extra frame, opening with an 8-2 run to pull away for good.

"We were just meant to win today. I don't know why, but we were." said Perretta.

Both teams shot 36 percent, with Syracuse making 30 of 82 shots and Villanova 28 of 77, but the Wildcats knocked down 11 3-pointers compared to just five for the Orange.

Kayla Alexander and Tyson-Thomas each scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Syracuse in the losing effort.