February 20, 1999

Villanova, Pa.--- Hosting Syracuse University on Saturday, Feb. 20, in the season's last home game for the Villanova University women's basketball team and the final home game for seniors Jenn Sliwa, Shanette Lee, and Shannon Ferretti, the Wildcats defeated the visiting Orangewomen, 68-52. With the victory, Villanova improves to 13-12 overall and 9-8 in Big East Conference play, while Syracuse falls to 10-15 overall and 6-11 in conference action.

Breaking an 18-18 tie with a jump shot by junior forward Jenea Skeeters at the 6:35 mark, the Wildcats began a 10-2 run which spanned 1:40, to take a 28-20 lead. The run was sparked by five points from Skeeters and a three-pointer by sophomore guard Lauren Pellicane. Hitting on 13-of-29 field goal attempts for 44.8 percent and three-of-six from the three-point stripe, Villanova took a 35-24 lead into intermission. The Cats were led by 12 first half points by Skeeters and eight points and six rebounds from sophomore center Brandi Barnes.

With three-pointers on consecutive possessions by Sliwa, Villanova opened up its largest lead of the game, 46-29, at the 15:15 mark of the second half. Outscoring the Wildcats 15-7 in the next 9:16 behind seven points from forward Paula Moore, Syracuse rallied to cut the Wildcat lead to 53-44 with 5:59 remaining. With two more three-pointers by Sliwa down the stretch, Villanova put the game away cruising to a 68-51 victory.

Skeeters scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Wildcats, while Sliwa and Pellicane each had 14 points. Red hot from the three-point arc, Sliwa and Pellicane combined to hit on eight-of-17 from long distance. Scoring in double figures as well for the Wildcats was Barnes, who recorded 10 points and seven rebounds. Joining Sliwa in their final home contests, Lee posted three points, six rebounds and five assists, while Ferretti tallied two rebounds. Coming off the bench, freshman forward Stephanie Baker pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, to go along with five points.

For Syracuse in the loss, Moore scored 13 points and had a game-high 12 rebounds, while Beth Record came off the bench to score 13 points in 17 minutes of action. At center for the Orangewomen, Leigh Aziz had eight points and 11 rebounds.

The Wildcats will wrap up the regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 23, traveling to Georgetown to face the Hoyas at 7:00 p.m.