Wildcats Shooting Overmatches Penn in 85-51 Victory :: Villanova opens Big Five play by shooting 55 percent

Dec. 4, 2005

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Senior forward Liad Suez-Karni (Even-Yehuda, Israel) hit four three-pointers in a span of two minutes early in the game and the tone was set as Villanova (5-1, 1-0 Big Five) shot 55 percent and defeated Penn (1-5) 85-51 at the Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.

The Wildcats shot a blistering 61 percent over the final 20 minutes and pulled away after the Quakers closed to within 43-36 with 15:53 remaining. Villanova never let Penn get closer, igniting a 23-5 run over seven minutes to take a 66-41 lead with 8:27 to play. The Quakers had just one field goal in the final seven minutes and the Wildcats saw their lead extend to as many as 37 points.

Suez-Karni wound up with 20 points and shot 6-of-10 from behind the three-point arc. Senior guard Jenna Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) added 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and senior center Kate Dessart Mager (Media, Pa.) tallied 13 points on 4-of-6 accuracy.

Villanova put on an exhibition of outstanding ball movement, distributing a season-high 26 assists on their 29 baskets and committing a mere eight turnovers. Junior forward Jackie Adamshick (Allentown, Pa.) led the way with a career-high six assists, while Suez, Viani and senior guard Betsy McManus (Pearl River, N.Y.) each had four helpers. McManus also contributed nine points, two rebounds, one block and three steals in 29 minutes.

Ashley Gray came off the bench to shoot 5-of-10 from the floor and lead Penn with team-highs of 11 points and five rebounds. Monica Naltner added 10 points and three rebounds for the Quakers, who shot 36.2 percent (17-of-47) for the game.

Villanova raced out of the gates with a 15-5 run that featured four three-pointers by Suez-Karni before the game reached the first timeout. Adamshick hit a jumper with 2:47 left in the half, and she and Suez-Karni then hit back-to-back three-pointers to end the half on an 8-2 run to forge a 38-22 halftime advantage.

Penn opened the second half with aggressive shooting and launched a 14-5 run to get with seven points in the early minutes of the period. However, the Quakers made just five field goals in the final 16 minutes of the game as the Wildcats pulled away. Villanova drained a season-high 12 three-pointers and shot 60 percent (12-of-20) from behind the three-point arc. That included 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) three-pointers in the opening half.

The Wildcats have two games remaining in their four-game homestand. The next game is an early Big East showdown with Connecticut, which is ranked in the top 10 of both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today national polls. The game with the Huskies is set for 8 p.m. on Thursday at The Pavilion. The game will be televised live by CN8.

NOTES: The Philadelphia Big Five is celebrating its 25th anniversary of women's basketball this season ... A halftime ceremony honored the top 25 players in women's city series history, while a reception in honor of the anniversary was held following the game ... Villanova improved to 78-26 (.750) all-time in Big Five play since 1979 ... The Wildcats have won 10 Big Five titles (six outright, four shared) in Harry Perretta's tenure as head coach ... Villanova is now 31-2 all-time against Penn ... The Wildcats are also 20-1 in their last 21 games against in-state opponents ... Suez reached double figures for the sixth time in as many games this season and the 29th time in 37 outings since the beginning of the 2004-05 campaign.