Dec. 8, 1999

Box Score

In the Big East Conference opener for the Villanova University women's basketball team on Wednesday, Dec. 8, in Chestnut Hill, Mass., the Wildcats fell to Boston College, 65-55, despite a career-high five three-pointers by freshman Trish Juhline. With the loss, the `Cats drop to 4-3 overall on the season and 0-1 in Big East play. The Eagles of B.C. improve to 6-3 overall and 1-0 in conference action with the win.

Villanova saw itself behind 27-20 at intermission, but a quick start in the second half gave the Wildcats a 45-38 lead with 11:58 remaining. Boston College went on a 12-0 run over the next several minutes to regain the lead, 50-45, at the 7:52 mark.

The `Cats rallied again to trim the Eagles' advantage to 52-51 on Juhline's fifth three-pointer of the game with 4:54 left in intermission. A 7-1 Boston College spurt gave the Eagles a 59-52 lead with 1:20 remaining, and they hit six-of-six from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.

In the loss, Villanova was led by Juhline's 15 points and five three-pointers. She also added three rebounds and two steals in 38 minutes of action. Scoring in double figures as well for the Wildcats were freshman forward Nicole Druckenmiller and senior forward Jenea Skeeters. Druckenmiller hit five-for-seven overall from the field and three-for-five from the three-point stripe to toal 13 points. Skeeters registered 12 points on five-for-12 shooting.

Rounding out the Wildcat scoring was junior guard Lauren Pellicane with six points, junior center Brandi Barnes with five points and a team-high eight rebounds and junior guard Mimi Riley with four points. Riley, who was playing in her first game of the season after returning from a foot injury, added four rebounds in 17 minutes.

For Boston College, sophomore Becky Gottstein had a double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds, while Cal Bouchard added 14 points. The Eagles shot 50 percent for the game (24-of-48) to the Wildcats 38 percent (21-for-55).

Villanova will get back into action on Saturday, Dec. 11, against St. Joseph's at 7:00 p.m. at the Pavilion on the campus of Villanova University.