It was a climactic start to the season as the women’s basketball team slipped past Sacred Heart, 50-49, in the final minutes of the game to become victorious in their season opener on Monday night at the Pitt Center.

It was senior guard Maria Getty and redshirt freshman forward Megan Pearson who came up big in the final minutes with clutch three pointers to give the ‘Cats the lead. The game was neck and neck the entire time with six ties and eight lead changes.

With 6:12 remaining in the game Villanova was down by one until Getty hit a three pointer to give the Wildcats the lead that would carry them to victory.

It was Pearson who was able to cushion the lead for the ‘Cats with 4:15 left on the clock to make the score 50-45. Sacred Heart almost caught up after sinking four free throws before the clock ran down, but ‘Nova had enough to walk away with a win in its season opener.

At halftime the Wildcats were down by one, but the team came out of the locker room enthused and ready to dominate the court. They had an 11-0 run early in the second half, and with 14:16 left, they were able to turn their deficit to a 39-33 advantage for Villanova.

Redshirt freshman forward Laura Sweeney helped the ‘Cats earn the season-opening win in her collegiate debut sinking 11 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and swiping four steals in just the 19 minutes she played.

Senior guard Tia Grant added 10 points to the score and was responsible for all of ‘Nova’s free throws, making four out of five when she was at the line.

Looking at the statistics, Villanova hit 10 out of 31 3-pointers and impressively outscored Sacred Heart in 3-pointers, 30-9. The Wildcats had 12 turnovers for the game, but forced their opponent to commit 19. Both went a long way to giving Villanova the win.

Getty totaled nine points and three steals. Pearson earned herself eight points for the night, four rebounds and two steals.

Junior forward Amanda Swiezynski had the most assists for the game with seven to add to the five points and three steals in the 38 minutes she played.

If Monday night’s game is a preview of how the season is going to play out, the team is going to be a tough one to tackle. The team takes the court again on the road on Sunday against UMass.