Villanova University

Nov. 14, 2008

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VILLANOVA, Pa. - A furious rally in the closing minutes of regulation forced overtime but Villanova (0-1, 0-1 Big Five) did not make a field goal in overtime and fell to La Salle (1-0, 1-0 Big Five) by a final of 67-62 in the season and Big Five opener for both teams on Friday afternoon at The Pavilion.

The Wildcats went 0-for-8 from the field in overtime but still pulled to within 63-62 on free throws by senior Lisa Karcic (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) with 1:16 to play. The Explorers answered those foul shots with a layup from Margaret Elderton with 50 seconds to play and then extended the lead to five points on free throws by Jamie Walsh after a missed three-pointer by Villanova.

In regulation, junior Maria Getty (Centerville, Ohio) made a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left to draw the Wildcats even with their visitors for the first time since the 5:51 mark of the first half. Her foul shots tied the score at 60-60 and the Explorers missed a layup with four seconds remaining in regulation before the game went to the extra period.

Villanova trailed 60-56 after a layup by Jamie Walsh with 59 seconds to play but senior Laura Kurz (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) made two free throws with 46 seconds left to narrow the margin to 60-58. On the next La Salle possession, Getty stole the ball with 27 seconds remaining and was immediately fouled by Danielle Mickiewicz and made both ends of a 1-and-1 to tie the game.

Getty and Kurz combined to score the last 15 points of regulation to rally the Wildcats in a game they led for a total of just 24 seconds, 20-19, late in the first half. The Explorers led 56-49 with 3:37 left in regulation before Villanova's late push provided a reprieve. The Wildcats shot 33 percent (20-61) from the field and turned the ball over 16 times. The team's defensive pressure and a strong rebounding effort kept Villanova in the game though, and La Salle had 18 turnovers of its own.

Kurz had a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds and Getty finished with 15 points to lead the Wildcats, who set a school single-game record by attempting 44 three-pointers in the game. Villanova finished 11-of-44 (25%) from behind the arc and 9-of-17 (53%) from inside three-point range. The team also owned a 41-34 rebounding edge over its visitors.

A three-pointer by Getty with 5:51 left in the first half gave the Wildcats their only lead of the game but Ashley Gale answered with a triple of her own 24 seconds later to put La Salle back on top. Walsh led all scorers with 19 points and Elderton and Ashley Gale each scored 14 points for the Explorers, who shot 52 percent in the second period to protect their lead until the waning moments of regulation.

This afternoon's game was the only home game Villanova will play in the first several weeks of the season. The Wildcats next play at Fairfield at 7 p.m. on Monday night and will not have another home game until December 7 against Lehigh.

NOTES: The Wildcats kicked off the 40th season of women's basketball at Villanova with today's game ... The program is 636-384 all-time (.624) ... Villanova is now 24-16 (.600) in season openers and lost for just the fourth time in 14 games when their season opener is played at home ... The Wildcats are 6-5 when they open the season against a Philadelphia Big Five opponent ... Villanova had won five of its last seven openers ... La Salle is just 9-29 all-time against the Wildcats but has won two of the last three meetings, including two straight wins at the Pavilion since 2006-07 after not winning in the building since 1988 ... Villanova is 84-32 (.724) all-time in Big Five play and the 84 victories are second most all-time to the 85 victories by Saint Joseph's ... Seven different players made at least one three-pointer for the Wildcats ... Redshirt freshman Sarah Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) made her collegiate debut with eight points in 16 minutes of play ... She shot 3-of-7 from the field, 2-of-6 from three-point range and added a rebound and a steal to her stat line ... Karcic finished with eight points, nine rebounds and four assists for Villanova.