Dec. 4, 1999

Box Score

On Saturday, Dec. 4, in Big Five action at The Apollo in Philadelphia, Pa., the Villanova University women's basketball team held on to defeat Temple University, 72-68. With the win, the Wildcats improve to 4-2 overall on the season and 1-1 in Big Five play, while the Owls fall to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in Big Five contests.

In the first half, junior guard Lauren Pellicane hit five three-pointers to lead Villanova to a 35-25 halftime lead.

Temple rallied to begin the second half of play, going on a 17-8 run to cut the deficit to 43-42 with 12:31 remaining. Clinging to a 57-56 advantage at the 5:43 mark, the Wildcats went on an 8-1 run led by three points each by senior forward Jenea Skeeters and freshman Trish Juhline, to open up a 65-57 lead. Down the stretch, Villanova made six-of-eight free throws to hold on for a 72-68 victory.

The Wildcats shot 26-of-50 for the game for 52 percent, while Temple shot 27-of-52 for 52 percent shooting. Villanova was outstanding from the three-point stripe as well, hitting on six-of-13 attempts. The Wildcats out-rebounded the Owls 30-24 in the game.

Leading Villanova to victory was Skeeters who tied a career-high with 29 points. She hit 11-of-13 from the field and added three rebounds and three assists. Pellicane scored 16 points on five-for-nine shooting and five-of-seven from three-point territory. Juhline had an outstanding game as well, registering nine points, a team-high seven rebounds and five assists.

Rounding out the Wildcat scoring were freshmen Katie Davis and Nicole Druckenmiller with six points apiece, and Brandi Barnes, Stephanie Baker and Megan Stewart with two points each.

For Temple in the loss, Lisa Jakubowicz had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Stacey Smalls tallied 10 points.

Villanova will open up the Big East season on Wednesday, Dec. 8, traveling to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to face the Boston College Eagles.