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Villanova defeats Drake 66-58
Updated: Friday March 16, 2001 8:01 PM
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Villanova made the most of its return to the NCAA tournament. Katie Davis had 15 points and Courtney Mix keyed a late second-half run as Villanova beat Drake 66-58 Friday night in the Wildcats' first tournament game in 12 years. Villanova, which is in the second round of the tournament for the first time since 1987, will face the winner between North Carolina State and Delaware late Friday. "We didn't hit many shots early on," Villanova coach Harry Perretta said. "I told the team if you can just absorb this blow and keep yourself strong, you can get yourself back into this game." Villanova (22-8), the fifth seed in the East region, overcame poor shooting and an off night by its leading scorer. The Wildcats shot just 38 percent and Brandi Barnes, who came in averaging 13.9 points, scored five on 2-for-6 shooting. Villanova used a 12-2 run to take a 63-56 lead with 1:38 left. Trish Juhline capped it with a 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer that hit the front of the rim and tumbled in. "The ball bounced on the rim 5,000 times and finally went in," Perretta said. Mix had six points and three offensive rebounds during the run. She finished with 13 points. Drake (23-7) lost its fifth straight NCAA tournament game. Carla Bennett led No. 12 Drake with 22 points and 13 rebounds. She had 10 points and five rebounds in the first four minutes as Drake took a 13-2 lead. "We were in control for 36 minutes of the game," Drake coach Lisa Stone said. "That's what makes losing so difficult." Juhline and Lauren Pellicane each had 13 points for Villanova. Drake had a 22-14 rebounding edge in the first half, but allowed eight offensive rebounds in the second half. "The difference in the game came down to second-half
rebounding, without a doubt," Stone said. "We gave them way too
many second opportunities."
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