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EAST STROUDSBURG – Junior guard Imani Brown and senior forward Allison Howard registered 15 points apiece as East Stroudsburg University fell 78-52 to Villanova in a home exhibition contest on Wednesday evening.

Koehler Fieldhouse was filled to the rafters as ESU had the rare opportunity to host a Division I opponent. The Warriors were outscored 24-6 in the opening quarter, but reduced that margin to 54-46 over a competitive final 30 minutes of play.

Jannah Tucker led the Wildcats with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, and five steals. Bridget Herlinhy added 15 points, while Adrianna Hahn and Grace Stant had 11 apiece for the visitors.

Brown had three of ESU's eight 3-pointers in the contest, and she also led the team with seven rebounds and four assists. Howard finished 5-for-9 from the floor and recorded each of the home side's two blocks.

The Warriors committed seven turnovers in the first quarter to help Villanova jump out to its early advantage, but ESU had only five additional giveaways over the final three quarters.

Trailing 40-20 at halftime, the Warriors were outscored by a slim 21-20 margin in the third quarter. ESU ended the frame on a 7-1 run, capped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from senior guard Madison Tamburini.

Tamburini chipped in eight points and three rebounds off the bench for the Warriors, going 2-for-4 from long distance. ESU was 36.4 percent (8-for-22) from 3-point range for the game compared to 32.4 percent (12-for-37) for the Wildcats.

Villanova, which has won 20+ games in each of the past four seasons and reached the second round of the WNIT last March, had an 18-8 edge in assists and a 16-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. Mary Gedaka had six of those offensive boards, and she totaled a game-high 10 rebounds overall.

The Warriors have one more exhibition game against a Division I opponent before beginning their regular season schedule, as ESU travels to Lehigh for a 7 p.m. contest on Friday, November 11. Regular season play begins on Tuesday, November 15 at 6 p.m. against Holy Family at Koehler Fieldhouse.