Nov. 25, 2000

Box Score

Villanova, PA - On Saturday November 25, in the championship game of the FIU Thanksgiving Tournament, Villanova defeated Georgia State 70-46, in Miami, Florida. With the victory, Villanova improves to 3-1 overall, while Georgia State falls to 2-1. Villanova has now won three straight games.

Villanova led 28-18 at halftime. With 7:08 remaining in regulation the Wildcats held a 12 point advantage, 49-37. Villanova was not finished, exploding on a 14-5 run, that extended their lead to 63-42. The Wildcats then cruised to their third consecutive regular season tournament championship.

Leading the way for Villanova was senior center, Brandi Barnes, who played sensationally in the middle. Barnes recorded 22 points on 10 of 13 shooting from the field. She also tallied seven rebounds and three assists. Joining Barnes offensively was sophomore Trish Juhline who shot 6 of 11 from three-point range. Juhline scored 20 points on the evening while also grabbing seven rebounds and handing out four assists.

Quarterbacking the Villanova offense was point guard, Mimi Riley. In Villanova's two games in the tournament Riley was perfect with her ball handling, allowing zero turnovers. Against Georgia State, Riley posted six points, three rebounds, and eight assists.

For the second straight game, sophomore Nicole Druckenmiller played phenomenally. She was two for three from three-point range, tallying six points. Druckenmiller also hauled in eight rebounds.

In only the fourth game of her collegiate career, Courtney Mix continued to dominate the boards by collecting six rebounds, bringing her tournament total to 14. Mix also scored four points and tallied three steals. Also recording four points was forward Stephanie Baker. Before fouling out, Baker also pulled down three rebounds.

Rounding out the scoring for Villanova was sophomore, Katie Davis, freshman, Brandi Harris, and red shirt freshman, Jeanine Johnson. Davis tallied three points and grabbed four rebounds. Harris recorded three points, while Johnson added two.

Leading the way for Georgia State was Leslie McElrath who scored 13 points.

Villanova shot 45 percent (25-56) from the field while Georgia State shot 32.7 percent (16-49). The Wildcats were almost as good from three-point range where they connected on 10 three pointers on 25 attempts. Georgia State was two for seven from long distance.

Earning All-Tournament honors were Juhline and Riley. Juhline garnered the tournament's MVP award by averaging 14 points in the two games. She scored 24 of her 28 points from behind the three-point arc. Overall for the tournament, Riley scored 16 points, hauled in nine rebounds, handed out 14 assists, and allowed zero turnovers.

The Wildcats will be in action next at home on Tuesday, November 28th, against Big-Five rival, La Salle at 8 PM.