November 21, 1998

Villanova, Pa.--- Advancing to the PNC Wildcat Classic Championship with a Friday night victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore, the Villanova University women's basketball team took Pepperdine University to overtime only to fall to the Waves 72-67. The Wildcats (2-1) lost despite a career-high 25 points from senior forward Jenn Sliwa.

Villanova fell behind early 21-12 in the first half, but used a 10-3 run at the end of the first half to close the gap to 24-22 at halftime. The Wildcat run was sparked by Sliwa, who scored five points during the stretch. Sliwa led Villanova with nine points at the half, while redshirt sophomore Lauren Pellicane posted eight. Leading the Waves to a two-point halftime lead was Dee Braxton who had six points in the opening stanza.

The game went back and forth in the second half, before the Wildcats took a three-point lead, 61-58, on sophomore guard's driving layup with 1:34 remaining in regulation. Holding a 63-59 lead with just over 46 seconds remaining, Braxton hit on a layup for Pepperdine (3-0) to narrow the gap to two. After a Villanova timeout with 24 seconds remaining, the Wave's Rasheeda Clark hit a running jumpshot with 8.3 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

In overtime, the game stayed close until Kate Crane hit two consecutive jumpers to give Pepperdine a 69-65 lead. Despite two free throws by sophomore guard Mimi Riley which cut the Wave lead to 69-67, Pepperdine got three points by Clark in the final 22 seconds to hold on for a 72-67 victory.

Clark, who scored a team-high 21 points in the victory, was named the tournament's most valuable player. Crane, who posted 13 points and added 11 rebounds, was named to the Wildcat Classic All-Tournament Team. For the Wildcats, Sliwa was named to the All-Tournament team as was center Brandi Barnes, who scored 10 points and pulled down nine rebounds on the night.

In the Wildcat Classic Consolation, James Madison busted out early rolling to a 54-16 halftime lead over Maryland-Eastern Shore, behind 52.8 percent shooting by the Dukes in the first half. The second half saw much of the same by the Dukes, who went on to cruise to a 91-54 victory.

Guard Becky Wallenberg scored 12 points and dished out seven assists for James Madison (2-1) and was named to the Wildcat Classic All-Tournament team for her efforts. For the Lady Hawks (1-3), Kristi Sheldon received All-Tournament honors, scoring a game-high 20 points in the loss.

The 1998 PNC Wildcat Classic

Championship - Pepperdine 72, Villanova 67

Consolation - James Madison 92, Maryland-Eastern Shore 54

First Round Results

Villanova 54, Maryland-Eastern Shore 45

Pepperdine 78, James Madison 60

Wildcat Classic All-Tournament Team

MVP - Rasheeda Clark, Pepperdine

Kate Crane, Pepperdine

Jenn Sliwa, Villanova

Brandi Barnes, Villanova

Becky Wallenberg, James Madison

Kristi Sheldon, Maryland-Eastern Shore