Villanova University

Dec. 31, 2008

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. - In a display of nearly perfect execution from the free throw line, Villanova (8-5) made 13-of-14 foul shots in the final 2:25 and defeated Monmouth (5-7) by a 61-49 final on Wednesday afternoon at The Pavilion. The Wildcats received balanced scoring and used a strong inside game in winning their eighth game of the season to close out the calendar year.

Leading 46-43 after a basket by the Hawks with 4:32 left, Villanova closed the game on a 15-6 run despite making just one field goal down the stretch. A layup by senior forward Lisa Karcic (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) made the score 48-43 with 3:08 to play and from there the Wildcats took care of business at the charity stripe to thwart Monmouth's hopes of a comeback.

During the middle of the second half, the visiting Hawks went scoreless for over five minutes and Villanova built its lead to 41-31 with 9:42 remaining on a jumper by senior forward Laura Kurz (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.). The Wildcats missed consecutive chances to extend the lead, however, and back-to-back three-pointer by Marisa Jimenez pulled Monmouth back to within four points, 41-37, with 6:25 remaining.

Monmouth eventually pulled to within one possession when Alexis Scott's jumper made the score 46-43 but then went 2-of-9 from the field and missed two free throws in the closing minutes while Villanova sealed the win. Senior guard Siobhan O'Connor (West Chester, Pa.) made all six of her foul shots and junior guard Maria Getty (Centerville, Ohio) converted all four of her attempts during the home stretch.

Kurz finished with a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the Wildcats in scoring for the eighth time in the last nine games and the ninth time this season. Karcic had 14 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting to match a season-high scoring effort and Getty established a career-high with five of the 12 steals tallied by Villanova.

The Wildcats trailed just once in the game, by a single point in the opening minutes, and turned up their defense in the second half. After both teams had nine turnovers in the first 20 minutes, Villanova forced another nine while committing just three miscues of its own in the decisive second period. Meanwhile, though their usual three-point shooting was off (the Wildcats finished 2-of-17 from behind the arc, 0-of-7 in the second half), Villanova made 19-of-33 (58%) shots inside and saw its bench outscore the Monmouth reserves by a 29-10 tally.

Jennifer Bender led three Hawks in double figures with 13 points and Scott finished totaled 12 points and eight rebounds. LaKia Barber chipped in 11 points for Monmouth, which also owned a 38-31 advantage on the glass.

Villanova is now set to begin BIG EAST Conference regular season play this Saturday when it visits Cincinnati for a 2 p.m. game at Fifth Third Arena. The contest is the BIG EAST Game of the Week and can be seen online at www.bigeast.tv and at ESPN360.com. A list of local television carriers for the game will be announced later this week.

NOTES: As a team, Villanova is shooting 83.0 percent (39-47) at the foul line in the final two minutes of games ... O'Connor is a perfect 15-of-15 in the last two minutes and Getty is 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) ... For the season O'Connor leads the team with 84.6 percent accuracy at the line (33-of-39) and as a squad the Wildcats are at 75.3 percent (128-of-170) ... Former Villanova star Stephanie Vanderslice (now Stephanie Gaitley) is in her first season as head coach of the Hawks ... She was a senior on the Villanova team that reached the AIAW Final Four in 1981-82.