Nov. 18, 2005

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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Senior guard Betsy McManus (Pearl River, N.Y.) took over the game in the final two minutes and scored the Wildcats last six points, helping Villanova (1-0) to a 64-60 victory over Marist (0-2) in the season opener on Friday night at the McCann Center.

The Wildcats trailed 58-57 with 1:48 remaining after a basket by the Red Foxes, but McManus stepped up and led the way to the narrow victory. She drained a 15-foot jumper that gave Villanova the lead for good at 59-58, and then hit four straight free throws following successive defensive stops that sealed the outcome.

Earlier in the second half, it took a big run by the Wildcats to overcome a deficit that was as many as 11 in the decisive final period. A three-pointer by sophomore forward Stacie Witman (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) with 8:57 remaining handed Villanova a 44-43 advantage, marking their first lead of the second half.

Marist had taken a 29-20 lead into halftime as the Wildcats shot just 29.6 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. The pace of the game quickened in a frantic ending to the contest. Senior forward Liad Suez-Karni (Even-Yehuda, Israel) connected on a three-pointer with 4:20 left to open the Villanova lead to 52-48, but Fifi Camara converted a three-point play for the Red Foxes moments later to get back to within 52-51.

Suez added another three-pointer with 3:43 left to extend the lead back to 55-51, but Meg Dahlman answered with another conventional three-point play for Marist to make it 55-54. Suez scored two more of her game-high 18 points with 2:09 left for a 57-56 lead before Camara hit a baseline jumper with 1:48 left that gave the Red Foxes their final advantage.

Suez led all scorers with 18 points and matched a game-high with seven rebounds. She was 7-of-10 from the field on the evening and made 2-of-4 three-pointers and both of her free throw attempts. McManus wound up with 13 points and two assists, connecting on 3-of-6 three-pointers and her four free throw attempts in the closing minutes. Witman added eight points and redshirt freshman Lisa Karcic (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) had seven in her collegiate debut.

Dahlman led Marist with 17 points and Camara added 12 for the Red Foxes.

Villanova will now travel to Penn State on Sunday for a 2 p.m. showdown with the Nittany Lions. The Wildcats have won the last three meetings in the series, including a 73-65 victory at Villanova last season.

NOTES: Villanova owned a 31-28 rebounding advantage and committed just nine turnovers in the game ... The Wildcats finished with 23-of-53 (43.4 percent) shooting from the field, 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) accuracy from three-point range and 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) from the free throw line ... Marist connected on 22-of-46 (47.8 percent) shot overall, including 3-of-10 (30.0 percent) from behind the three-point arc and 13-of-20 (65.0 percent) from the charity stripe.