March 1, 2008

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. - In a back-and-forth game featuring 19 lead changes, Villanova (15-13, 5-10 Big East) was defeated 71-64 by Marquette (16-12, 8-7 Big East) on Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at the Pavilion. The Wildcats made a late rally and nearly overcame a 10-point deficit in the final two minutes but were unable to complete the comeback.

Sophomore Maria Getty (Centerville, Ohio) made two free throws with 35 seconds left and classmate Tia Grant (Lido Beach, N.Y.) made a pair of her own four seconds later. Each set of foul shots trimmed the Golden Eagles lead to just three points, but Marquette used its own strong foul shooting to secure the outcome. The Golden Eagles made all six free throws they attempted in the final 34 seconds.

Earlier in the second half, Marquette scored 10 straight points in less than two minutes to go ahead 53-44 with 9:14 left, and its lead stayed between seven and 10 points over the next eight minutes. Villanova eventually would score on five straight possessions just to make the comeback attempt possible. Senior Stacie Witman (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) made a three-pointer with 1:52 to play and Grant and Getty each made layups before also hitting their free throws.

Witman led the Wildcats with 19 points and four assists and junior Lisa Karcic (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) scored 12 points and had a game-high eight rebounds. Junior Laura Kurz (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) added 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

The teams traded leads 13 times in the first half alone and were never separated by more than one possession in the opening period. Fittingly, a three-pointer by junior Siobhan O'Connor (West Chester, Pa.) at the buzzer to end the half knotted the score 28-28 going into the intermission.

Villanova made three of its first four field goals to start the second half and led 34-30 in the opening two minutes of the period, only to then go scoreless for more than four minutes while the Golden Eagles scored 11 unanswered points to lead 41-34 with 14:13 to play. The Wildcats promptly scored eight in a row and went back in front 42-41 with 12:20 remaining.

A layup by Paige Fiedorowicz with 11:07 left started the 10-0 Marquette run and gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good. Krystal Ellis scored a game-high 23 points to lead Marquette and Angel Robinson contributed 10 points. Jocelyn Mellen chipped in nine points and a team-leading seven rebounds, while going 7-of-10 from the foul line to account for all but two of her points.

Despite the loss, Villanova has a chance to clinch a spot in the BIG EAST Championship this evening. A loss by University of South Florida in its home game against Pittsburgh would eliminate the Bulls from postseason contention. The Wildcats are able to finish between 10th and 13th in the final regular season standings. Villanova visits Louisville on Monday at 7 p.m. in its final regular season game.

NOTES: The top 12 teams advance to the postseason conference tournament ... Witman and senior forward Claire Hannenberg (Wellesley, Mass.) played in their final regular season home games this afternoon ... Both were honored prior to the beginning of the game.