March 27, 2008

Box Score

BOULDER, Colo. - A game-ending 16-1 run by Colorado (18-14) in the final 3:17 erased a large deficit and Villanova (17-16) saw its season come to an end in a 64-58 loss in the third round of the WNIT on Thursday night at the Coors Events/Conference Center. The Wildcats led 57-48 with less than five minutes to play before the Buffaloes frantically rallied to win a game they had trailed for almost 39 minutes.

Villanova seemed to be in control of the game throughout and a jumper by sophomore Mara Getty (Centerville, Ohio) with 6:01 to play made the score 55-44 and matched the Wildcats largest lead of the game. Getty scored 12 of her 15 points in the second half, including the only five points Villanova scored in the last seven minutes.

Colorado shot just 33 percent for the game but made 4-of-5 from the field and 6-of-7 at the foul line during the game-ending run. Brittney Spears scored eight straight points in a span of just over a minute, including back-to-back three-pointers to start the run, and pulled the Buffaloes to within 57-56 with exactly two minutes remaining.

Getty made the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity with 1:32 to play for a 58-56 advantage but moments later Jackie McFarland made a layup and was fouled. Her basket tied the game and then she completed the three-point play with a free throw that gave Colorado its first lead of the night, 59-58 with 1:20 to play.

Junior Laura Kurz (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) missed a jumper with 1:05 remaining at the other end and the Buffaloes secured their lead with five free throws in the final 38 seconds. Spears wound up scoring 11 of her 13 points during the big run to end the contest.

Senior Stacie Witman (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) scored 20 points to lead the Wildcats in what turned out to be her final collegiate contest. She and Getty both had six rebounds and Kurz finished with nine points and eight boards for Villanova.

Witman scored 13 of her points in the first 7:23 of the contest, including three early three-pointers that broke the Wildcats out to a 9-0 lead with 15:46 left in the first half. Villanova made 7-of-13 three-pointers in the first half and a triple by sophomore Tia Grant (Lido Beach, N.Y.) with 4:54 left in the period gave the Wildcats a 33-22 advantage.

Villanova led 35-28 at halftime and the advantage did not dip below six points until the decisive run by Colorado in the closing minutes. The Wildcats went from shooting 60.9 percent in the first 20 minutes to hitting on just 29.6 percent accuracy in the second half.

McFarland finished with game highs of 32 points and 12 rebounds for the Buffaloes, who took advantage of Villanova foul trouble to make 22-of-25 free throws. McFarland finished 15-of-16 from the line and 8-of-15 from the field. She and Spears combined for 45 of the 64 Colorado points. The 32 points scored by McFarland marked the highest individual total by a Villanova opponent all season.

The 2007-08 campaign ended strong for the Wildcats, who made their eighth postseason appearance in the last nine years. Villanova rebounded from an 8-21 campaign last year to more than double its win total this season. The 17-16 final record this year marked a +7.0-game turnaround from last season.

The Wildcats set NCAA single-season records this year for three-pointers made and attempted. Villanova connected on a record 326 three-pointers in 33 games and outscored its opponents by a whopping 978-372 margin from long distance. The Wildcats were 326-of-858 (.380) from beyond the arc this season and their 9.9 made three-pointers per game are also currently an NCAA single-season record.

During the year, Villanova won the tournament title at the Odwalla Thanksgiving Classic in San Francisco, posted 12 non-conference victories and won a pair of postseason games in the WNIT. The 12 non-league wins includes victories over teams from nine different conferences.

Individually, Kurz led the team with 14.9 points per game in her first season of eligibility for the Wildcats after transferring from Duke and sitting out the 2006-07 campaign. Witman contributed 14.1 points per game and finished her Villanova career with 911 career points.