Dec. 5, 2007

Box Score

VILLANOVA, PA - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team dropped its Big 5 clash at Villanova, 71-47, Wednesday evening at the Pavilion.

Villanova (7-1, 3-0 Big 5) took control of the contest from the opening tip, scoring the first four points of the game, and led 17-13 with 12:20 left in the first half.

Over the next 7:31, the Wildcats' offense dominated, as Villanova put together a 17-2 run, opening up a 15-point gap, 34-19, on a layup by Laura Kurz at the 3:49 mark.

Saint Joseph's (5-3, 1-1 Big 5) cut the deficit to 40-26 with 50 seconds remaining in the half on a layup by freshman center Sarah Acker, but Villanova scored six straight points to close out the half, including one of its nine first-half three pointers at the buzzer to take a 40-26 lead into the lockerroom.

The Hawks shot 46.2 percent from the field (12-of-26) over the opening 20 minutes, but Wildcats hit on 66.7 percent of their shots (18-of-27), including 9-of-15 from behind the arc.

In the second half, Saint Joseph's twice cut the deficit to 18, but it was as close as it would get, as Villanova extended its lead to as many as 28, 71-43, before the Hawks scored the final four points.

Individually, the Hawks were led by sophomore guard Amy Gillespie's career-high 13 points, while Acker added 12 points.

Laura Kruz paced Villanova with 22 points, while Lisa Karcic and Maria Getty added 19 and 14 points, respectively.

Saint Joseph's returns to action this weekend as SJU travels to the University of Iowa's Hawkeye Challenge, Saturday and Sunday, December 8-9. The Hawks will open play Saturday at 5:30 p.m. versus No. 21/22 Wyoming.