Nov. 25, 2005

Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I. - Junior forward Jackie Adamshick (Allentown, Pa.) scored a game-high 24 points and added 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season, leading Villanova (3-0) to a 60-49 victory over Mississippi (3-1) in the first round of the Rhode Island Invitational on Saturday afternoon at the Ryan Center. The Wildcats now move on to Saturday's championship game and will face the host Rams at 2:00 p.m.

Villanova led by five points at halftime and maintained at least a one-possession lead for the final 17 minutes of the game. A 10-4 spurt early in the second period restored what had once been a double-digit lead, and the Wildcats led 43-33 with 10:59 remaining. The margin would grow to as many as 13 points with 5:10 remaining, and the Lady Rebels never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Unlike its first two games, in which Villanova fell behind by double digits in the first half, the Wildcats came out firing at the start of the game. Adamshick scored nine points to help Villanova open the game on a 16-4 run in the first seven minutes, and wound up shooting 56 percent (14-of-25) in the opening period. Adamshick wound up with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting for the first 20 minutes.

The Wildcats led 20-9 midway through the opening period but Ole Miss went on a 14-4 run over six minutes to close to within one point, 24-23, with 4:05 left in the half. However, Villanova outscored the Lady Rebels 8-4 in the closing minutes of the half and led 32-27 at the intermission.

Strong defense by the Wildcats became the story over the final 20 minutes, as a potent Mississippi team was limited to just seven field goals and 28 percent shooting (7-of-25) in the second half. The Lady Rebels connected on just 31.1 percent (19-of-61) of their shots for the afternoon and gave up a 44-33 rebounding edge to Villanova.

Adamshick finished the afternoon with a 10-of-17 shooting performance, including 4-of-7 accuracy from three-point range. She was joined in double figures by senior forward Liad Suez-Karni (Even-Yehuda, Israel), who put up 18 points and a career-high tying eight assists. Suez-Karni was 6-of-13 from the field and made 5-of-6 free throws in 35 minutes, and the Wildcats assisted on 15 of 22 buckets for the game. Senior forward Kate Dessart Mager (Media, Pa.) played 27 minutes off the bench and scored six points while matching Adamshick with 10 rebounds.

Armintie Price had 14 points, 11 rebounds and three steals to lead Ole Miss off the bench. She was the lone Lady Rebel to score in double figures. Mississippi received scoring contributions from nine different players on the afternoon.

The championship game will be played on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. from the Ryan Center. Rhode Island registered its first victory of the season in Friday's opening game, defeating local rival Brown 75-71. The Bears and Mississippi will square off in the tournament's consolation game Saturday at Noon.

NOTES: Mississippi entered the game with a 3-0 record and had averaged 84.0 points per game on the season, including a 110-63 victory over Rice in its season opener ... The Lady Rebels also averaged 47.3 rebounds and a +5.3 rebound margin in their first three games ... The +11 rebound margin for Villanova on Friday was its largest since a +12 margin (35-23) against Fairfield last season ... The 44 rebounds for the Wildcats were more than in any game last season ... The Wildcats 3-0 start is their best since the 2002-03 season, when the team started 6-0 ... That year was also the last time Villanova won a tournament title, as they defeated Ohio State and Colorado to win the Coors Classic in Boulder, Colo. ... The Wildcats wound up with a record of 28-6 that season and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in program history ... The team record for best start to a season is 18-0 during the 1979-80 season ... That team finished with a 20-5 record ... Villanova has won at least its first three games 11 times in the 37-year history of the program, but just three times since the 1986-87 season (2001-02, 2002-03 and 2005-06) ... In the 11 years in which the Wildcats have won at least their first three games, they have gone on to a composite .773 winning percentage (197-58), compared with .589 (393-274) when they have at least one loss in the first three games ... The team's all-time winning percentage is .641 (593-332).