Laura Sweeney had a game-high 15 points against Saint Joseph's.
Dec. 9, 2009
Redshirt freshman forward Laura Sweeney (Marlboro, N.J.) and junior center Heather Scanlon (Drexel Hill, Pa.) provided all the offense during a decisive 22-4 run in the second half and Villanova (5-2, 2-0 Big Five) returned home for the first time in three weeks with a 56-42 win over Saint Joseph's (3-6, 0-1 Big Five) on Wednesday evening at the Pavilion.
Sweeney and Scanlon scored all 22 points for the Wildcats during the big run, which culminated with a layup by Sweeney that put Villanova ahead, 50-33, with 3:55 remaining. The Hawks were held to just two field goals in a nearly 10-minute span during the run.
Earlier in the period, a layup by freshman guard Jesse Carey (Chalfont, Pa.) and two free throws by junior center Shannon Elliott (Wilmington, Del.) gave the Wildcats a 28-20 lead in the first minute after halftime. Saint Joseph's turned the ball over on its first two possessions of the half and Villanova's eight-point lead matched the largest of the game for either team at that point.
From there, however, the Wildcats went scoreless for more than six minutes and the Hawks scored nine unanswered points to take a 29-28 lead on a jumper by Mariame Djouara with 13:10 left. Villanova had an immediate answer, however, as Scanlon made a layup 13 seconds later to give the Wildcats the lead for good. When she hit a three-pointer on the next trip down the court for Villanova, the game-changing run was on.
Sweeney finished with a game-high 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field in just 14 minutes of action. It was the fifth straight game in double figures for the Wildcats leading scorer on the season. Scanlon chipped in 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds and Elliott tallied a career-high with nine points.
There were five ties and seven lead changes during a back and forth first half, which ended with Villanova leading 24-20 at the break. Both teams shot below 40 percent in the period, during which Elliott scored seven of her nine points.
After the break, the Wildcats shot 53 percent (10-of-19) in the second half and went inside effectively, going 8-of-12 on two-point shots in the period. For the game, Villanova was 16-of-28 (57%) inside the three-point arc and 3-of-14 (14%) from long range.
Saint Joseph's, meanwhile, shot just 29 percent (15-of-41) for the game, including making 7-of-26 (27%) form the field in the second half. Djouara, Amy Gillespie and Brittany Ford all scored 10 points for the Hawks.
Senior guard Kyle Dougherty (Sayre, Pa.) added eight points, five rebounds and three assists for the Wildcats, who registered an assist on 12 of their 19 baskets in the game and came away with seven steals. Senior guard Maria Getty (Centerville, Ohio) finished with seven points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
