Dec. 30, 2006

Box Score |  Notes

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Junior Stacie Witman (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) scored 15 of her career-high 23 points in the first half and Villanova (6-7) overpowered Manhattan (4-8) with a 62-46 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Pavilion. The Wildcats drained 11 three-pointers and led by as many as 24 points while leading for the entire game.

Playing in only her second game since missing 10 games with a stress fracture, Witman was 5-for-5 from the field in the opening period, including a pair of three-pointers. She added two more shots from long range in the second half and wound up hitting on 8-of-11 from the floor to finish with 23 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes.

Villanova led 43-32 midway through the second half before putting the game away by holding the Lady Jaspers scoreless for more than five minutes during a 13-0 Wildcat run. Senior Jackie Adamshick (Allentown, Pa.) scored five points during the run and sophomore Briana Weiss (Piedmont, Calif.) capped the spurt with a three-pointer with 5:45 remaining that established Villanova's largest lead of the game, 56-32.

Manhattan rebounded from 27 percent shooting in the first half to shoot 56 percent over the final 20 minutes. The Wildcats, however, pulled down 11 of their season-high 17 offensive rebounds in the period and limited the Lady Jaspers to only 18 field goal attempts in the half by controlling possession of the ball.

During a stretch early in the second half, Villanova grabbed six straight offensive rebounds before sophomore Lisa Karcic (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) drilled a three-pointer. Manhattan had control of the ball for just 30 seconds in a period of nearly four minutes and the Wildcats recovered from missing their first nine shots of the second half to go 12-of-21 (57%) from the field the rest of the way.

Adamshick joined Witman in double figures with 13 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes. Villanova showcased its trademark style of playing team basketball, dishing out assists on 18 of 23 field goals. Karcic and sophomore Siobhan O'Connor (West Chester, Pa.) had five assists each, while redshirt freshman Maria Getty (Centerville, Ohio) added four helpers. Karcic finished with nine points, seven boards, the five assists, two blocks and three steals in 30 minutes of action.

Gabrielle Cottrell and Michelle Pacheco led the Lady Jaspers with 11 points apiece.

Villanova returns to action on the road against city rival Saint Joseph's on Wednesday at 6 p.m.