May 30, 2004

ITALY - On Saturday, May 29th, the Villanova women's basketball team won big in the first game of its summer Italy tour, defeating Xelion Banca Ivrea, 101-52, in the Piedmont Region of Italy. Wildcat senior Jennifer Hilgenberg led six Villanova players in double figures, scoring 20 points on eight-of-11 shooting from the field.

The Wildcats put the game away early, shooting 13-of-19 from the floor including five-of-nine from three-point range to take a 31-8 lead after the first quarter. Villanova cruised from there, going on to the 49-point victory.

Hilgenberg shot eight-of-11 from the field and three-of-four from the three-point line for a game-high 20 points. Other players in double figures included Courtney Roantree, Kate Dessart-Mager, Staci Whitman, Jackie Adamshick and Jenna Viani. Roantree scored 15 points, shooting five-of-seven from the field and four-of-six from three-point range. Dessart Mager scored 15 points (7-of-8 FG) and pulled down seven rebounds. Whitman, in her first collegiate action, scored 11 points on five-of-12 from the floor. Adamshick had 13 points and added a team-high 11 rebounds. And Viani tallied 10 points and six rebounds.

Winding down the scoring from the `Cats were Betsy McManus with three points to go along with four assists, Liad Suez who had two points to go with 10 rebounds and four assists, Jana Rediger who posted eight points (plus four boards and two blocks), and Fran Lamb who recorded two points.

Villanova shot 40-of-73 from the field as a team on Saturday, as well as 11-of-28 from three-point range and eight-of-11 from the foul line. The Wildcats also pulled down 48 rebounds.

The `Cats will get back into action on Sunday, May 30, traveling to Biassono, Italy, to take on the Biassono Basketball Club. Villanova is currently staying in Como, Italy, but will travel to Venice on Monday.

1st-2nd-3rd-4th: TotalVU, 31-22-24-24: 101XBI, 8-15-13-16: 52