Villanova University

March 4, 2006

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HARTFORD, Conn. - Nine unanswered points to open the second half gave Villanova (19-9) an insurmountable lead, and the Wildcats went on to a 68-46 victory over Marquette (18-10) in the first round of the Big East Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Hartford Civic Center. With the win, Villanova advances to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament for the 12th straight season, and will meet top-seed Rutgers (24-3) on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

Senior forward Liad Suez-Karni (Even-Yehuda, Israel) hit a three-pointer to open the second half and the Wildcats added three straight baskets on a jumper by junior forward Jackie Adamshick (Allentown, Pa.) and consecutive layups by senior guard Jenna Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) to establish a 37-20 lead with 16:54 left in the game.

Villanova would lead by no fewer than 11 points the rest of the way, and stretched the lead as high as 30 points to eliminate the Golden Eagles from their first appearance in the Big East Tournament. Suez-Karni finished with 22 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals to lead the team. A day after being named a first team All-Big East performer, Suez-Karni drained six three-pointers and finished 7-of-13 overall from the field. Viani had 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, 3-of-7 three-pointers and 3-of-4 free throws.

Krystal Ellis scored 29 points to lead Marquette and Danielle Kamm contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds, but tenacious defense the entire afternoon by the Wildcats stifled the Golden Eagles offensively.

Senior guard Betsy McManus (Pearl River, N.Y.) had a team-high five steals to help Villanova reach its team total of 11, and senior center Kate Dessart Mager (Media, Pa.) came away with two swipes to go along with four points. Marquette was limited to 15 field goals and 28 percent shooting for the game.

The Wildcats led 11-6 midway through the first half before going on a 13-4 run that increased the lead to 24-10 with just 4:07 remaining before the break. Suez-Karni hit two three-pointers during the run and senior guard Courtney Roantree (Philadelphia, Pa.) also made a triple. Villanova led 28-20 at halftime before opening the second period with their 9-0 run.

The top-seeded Scarlet Knights went undefeated (16-0) during the Big East regular season. That included a 62-56 win over the Wildcats at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Villanova led that game by as many as nine points in the first half and had a one-point halftime advantage before Rutgers came back.

NOTES: Villanova has been victorious in its first game (regardless of round) of the Big East Tournament 11 times in its last 12 tries ... Suez-Karni reached the 20-point plateau for the ninth time this season and 20th time in her career ... The Wildcats made 12 three-pointers in today's game, accounting for more than half of the team's total field goals (23) ... Villanova was 12-of-31 (38.7%) from long range and 23-of-52 (44.2%) from the field overall ... The Wildcats also committed just seven turnovers ... They entered the postseason leading the entire nation in fewest turnovers per game ... The 22-point margin of victory matches the second-highest in the team's 47-game history in the Big East Tournament ... The team's largest margin of victory was 28, 81-53 over Georgetown in 1985 ... Viani scored 18 points against Marquette this afternoon after scoring just eight in her previous three Big East Tournament games.