April 23, 2008

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - At the annual Philadelphia Big Five women's basketball banquet held on Wednesday evening, four Villanova Wildcats were honored for their efforts during the 2007-08 season. Senior forward Stacie Witman and junior forward Laura Kurz were first team All-Big Five selections, while junior forward Lisa Karcic garnered a spot on the second team. Junior guard Siobhan O'Connor earned a spot on the All-Academic Team for their third consecutive year.

In her first season in a Villanova uniform, Kurz led the Wildcats in scoring (14.9 ppg.), rebounding (6.4 rpg.), shooting percentage (49.5%) and three-point shooting percentage (43.8%). Kurz was also a second team All-Big East selection. Witman finished her senior campaign by averaging 14.1 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per contest and 2.6 assists per game which ranked her second on the team in all three categories. She also finished second on the team in three-point field goals made with 67.

Despite missing three games due to a knee injury suffered in the first round of the Big East Tournament, Karcic led the Wildcats in three-point field goals made with 77. Karcic also averaged 12.2 points per game (third on team) and 4.9 rebounds per contest (third on team) to go with a team-best 43 steals, a team-high 33 blocks and 81 assists (third on team). O'Connor, who is currently enrolled in the Villanova Business School, was one of just nine Villanova student-athletes to earn a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2007 fall semester. On the court, O'Connor played in 32 of 33 games and averaged 4.9 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per contest to go with 65 assists. She also connected on 35-of-88 from three-point range for 39.8 percent.