The women’s basketball team came away with a close win when it faced St. John’s in a Big East showdown on the road in New York City. Villanova won by a score of 69-66, with junior forward Lisa Karcic leading the way with 27 points.

Karcic’s 27 points included a career-high seven 3-pointers. Karcic also pulled down six rebounds and dished out three assists in the game, while fellow forward senior captain Stacie Whitman scored 21 points and ended the game with a game-high eight rebounds. Junior Laura Kurz added seven in the win. Karcic, Kurz and Whitman have combined to make an outstanding trio this season, scoring the majority of the team’s points.

Prior to this game, Villanova had a week off to prepare. After some tough losses to nationally ranked teams, Villanova needed the rest and time to re-group.

“It was a nice break from the tougher part of the schedule,” Karcic said.  “We knew even if we played our best it would have been difficult to beat some of the top teams in the Big East. With that being said, a week’s rest helped us put those games behind us and prepare for St. John’s.  We knew St. John’s was a team we could beat if all of us came ready to play.”

Villanova maintained the lead through most of the contest. The game was close in the first half, with Villanova leading by just three at the start of intermission. But Villanova came out ready to win the game and never lost its lead in the second half.

Villanova had the lead with just over eight minutes left, but then the Red Storm answered with a five-point spree to tie the game 55-55. The game was tied again 58-58, but Karcic started draining 3s to give the Wildcats the edge. In the final minutes of the game, she scored nine points to secure the game for Villanova.

Junior Siobhan O’Connor scored five points for the team with sophomores Maria Getty and Tia Grant scoring three and four points, respectively. Freshman Amanda Swiezynski also added a basket.

“This win will definitely help us take on our upcoming opponents,” Karcic said.  “We go into these games with much more confidence and eagerness to hopefully earn us a spot in the Big East Tournament.”

Villanova takes on Providence and Cincinnati at home in this next week. In the game against Cincinnati next weekend, the ‘Cats will wear pink during warm-up to support the fight against Breast Cancer