Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Villanova (Big East Tournament)
No. 22 Women's Basketball Falls To Villanova, 41-37
March 06, 2005 | Women's Basketball
March 6, 2005
By DONNA TOMMELLEO
AP Sports Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Kate Dessart Mager scored 15 points and Liad Suez added 11 to lead Villanova to a 41-37 upset of No. 22 Boston College in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament Sunday.
The game was matchup of the last two tournament champs and the final Big East appearance for defending champ Boston College. The Eagles (19-9) join the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.
The fifth-seeded Wildcats (19-10) move on to Monday's semifinals, where they will face either top-seeded Rutgers or No. 8-seeded St. John's.
BC set a dubious mark in its Big East finale when it scored a tournament-record low nine points on 4-of-20 shooting in the first half. Villanova led 23-9 at the break, a cushion too big to overcome against the Wildcats' typical deliberate pace that used up nearly every second of the shot clock.
The fourth-seeded Eagles didn't hit their first 3-pointer until Kindyll Dorsey drained one with 9:52 left in the game. She hit her second with 0.8 seconds remaining to pull the Eagles to 39-37, but Dessart Mager made a pair of free throws on Villanova's next possession to seal the win.
The Wildcats had eight steals in the first period and built their biggest margin on a 17-2 run midway through the half. Dessart Mager had seven points in the spurt and Suez capped the run with a 3 to give the Wildcats a 23-7 lead.
The Eagles have never beaten Villanova in the Big East tournament. Aja Parham led Boston College with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Game Notes:BC scored a season-low nine points in the first half...the Eagles shot 20% (4-20) in the opening stanza...the BC defense held Villanova to 37% shooting in the first half...BC held a 41-27 rebounding edge in the game...the Eagles have hit at least one triple in all of their games this season and in 53 consecutive games dating back to last season...BC has held its opponent to under 33% shooting for the past two games...BC outscored the Wildcats 28-18 in the second half...Clare Droesch now has 1,090 points in her career, moving her into 13th place on the all-time list...her seven rebounds give her a total of 522, putting her in a tie for 13th on that list...BC falls to 9-8 in Big East Tournament quarterfinal games and is now 0-3 against Villanova in tournament action...BC's 37 points were an all-time low in a Big East Tournament game...the previous low was 37 in a 1983 loss to Providence.
