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Feb. 10, 2003

Villanova women's basketball game notes for Tuesday night's Big East game featuring the Villanova Wildcats (17-4, 7-3) traveling to Pittsburgh, Pa., to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers (10-10, 2-7) at the Petersen Events Center with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Click on the pdf link below for a complete version of the game notes.

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GAME 22

No. 22 Villanova Wildcats (17-4 Overall, 7-3 Big East)

at

Pittsburgh Panthers (10-10 Overall, 2-7 Big East)

February 11, 2003 * 7:00 p.m.

Petersen Events Center (12,500)

Pittsburgh, Pa.

SERIES HISTORY:

All-Time Series: Villanova leads 30-14

Last VU Win: 2/13/02 (83-59)

Last Pittsburgh Win: 2/23/00 (66-64)

Streak: Villanova has won 10 of last 11

**Ranking is from the poll released on 2/3/03**

VILLANOVA NEWS & NOTES:

LAST TIME OUT: Villanova won for the third-straight time with a 71-44 win at Syracuse on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Wildcats jumped out to an 11-0 lead just five minutes into the game and would go to intermission leading 23-18. In the first half, Villanova was 7-of-19 from three-point range and 0-for-11 from two-point range. In the second half, the Wildcats went on a 20-5 run over the first eight minutes to lead 43-25 at the 12:29 mark. Villanova's first 14 field goals made were three-pointers and the 'Cats did not make their first two-point basket until Courtney Mix made a foul line jumper with 10:05 left in the second half. The Wildcats finished the game 16-of-35 from three-point range (45.7%), 5-of-20 from two-point range (25.0%) for a total of 21-of-55 (38.2%) from the field. Senior forward Katie Davis led the Wildcat attack with a game-high 23 points, including a 7-of-12 effort from three-point range. Junior guard Kelly Nash made five triples and had 17 points, while senior guard Trish Juhline added 12 points. Junior Courtney Mix recorded eight points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Syracuse was led by Shannon Perry and Julie McBride who netted 12 points each. The Orangwomen shot 16-of-50 (32%) from the field and just 2-of-13 (15.4%) from three-point range.

CONFERENCE ACCOLADES: For her efforts last week in wins over Boston College and Syracuse, senior forward Katie Davis was named Big East Conference Co-Player of the Week. She shares the honor with Ieva Kublina of Virginia Tech. In the two games, Davis made 12-for-21 (57.1%) from the field, 11-for-19 (57.8%) from three-point range and 4-of-4 from the foul line for 39 total points to go with eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block. This is the first time in her career that Davis has garnered Big East Player of the Week honors.

STAY BEHIND THE LINE: It is no surprise that Villanova attempted 35 three-point field goal attempts in last Saturday's 71-44 win at Syracuse. Known for its perimeter play, Villanova uses the three-point shot to its advantage whenever the opportunity presents itself. However, the stats surrounding the Wildcats three-point shooting versus Syracuse is hard to believe. In the first half against the Orangewomen, Villanova was 7-of-19 from three-point range and 0-for-11 from inside the arc. More unbelieveable is the fact that the Villanova's first 14 field goals were three-pointers and the Wildcats did not make their first two-point shot until Courtney Mix made a foul line jumper with 10:05 left in the second half. The 'Cats finished the game 16-of-35 (45.7%) from three-point land and 5-of-20 (25%) from two-point range for a combined 21-of-55 (38.2%) from the field. The 16 three-pointers represents a season-high.

END OF THE ROAD: Villanova will finish its toughest road stretch of the season with Tuesday night's visit to the University of Pittsburgh. Tuesday's game with the Panthers will be Villanova's fourth road game in the last five contests. The road stretch began on Wednesday, Jan. 29 with a 58-38 loss at Connecticut and continued on Saturday, Feb. 1 with a 61-55 victory at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. After returning home on Wednesday, Feb. 5 and defeating Boston College, the Wildcats won at Syracuse by a score of 71-44 on Saturday, Feb. 8. After the Pittsburgh game, the Wildcats will be off until Wednesday, Feb. 19 when they host the Georgetown Hoyas. Villanova is currently 10-1 at home, 6-3 on the road and 1-0 on neutral courts.

QUALITY WINS.: Villanova posted another quality win with its 75-61 win over No. 23 Boston College on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The win rates as Villanova's sixth this year versus teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI and it improved Villanova's record this season versus ranked teams to 2-2. Villanova's six top 50 wins have come against Saint Joseph's, Ohio State, Colorado, Virginia Tech, Penn State and Boston College. The two wins against ranked opponents were against No. 13 Penn State and Boston College, with the losses versus No. 23 Notre Dame and No. 2 Connecticut. The Wildcats have now recorded eight wins over teams ranked in the Top 25 since the 1999-00 season.

FEBRUARY FUN: The month of February has been good to the Villanova Wildcats the last three years. In 18 February games the last two-plus seasons, Villanova has tallied a 14-4 record with three of the four losses coming to nationally ranked opponents. The Wildcats have started the February portion of the 2002-03 schedule in fine fashion with wins over Miami, Boston College and Syracuse.

SHOOTING SUCCESS: Leading the way in Saturday's 71-44 win at Syracuse was senior forward Katie Davis who scored a game-high 23 points. Davis was zoned in from three-point range, as she made a career-high tying seven three-point field goals in 12 attempts. Davis attempted 12 shots the entire game with all 12 coming from behind the arc. Her other seven three-point field goal game came on Jan. 29, 2002 when she connected on 7-of-11 from downtown against Miami. For the year, Davis is second on the team in scoring with a 15.8 ppg. average and she leads the Wildcats in three-point field goal shooting with a 41.8 percent (62-of-148) shooting percentage from behind the arc. Her 62 triples leads the Big East Conference. In 21 games this year, Davis has tallied double figures 17 times including scoring 20 or more seven times.

VERSATILE PERFORMER: Junior Courtney Mix has been tallying stats in a number of categories the last three games. In three-straight wins over Miami, Boston College and Syracuse, Mix has registered 27 points, 27 rebounds, 21 assists, 11 steals and just five turnovers in 113 minutes of action. In last Saturday's win at Syracuse, Mix had eight points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals. This was her seventh double figure rebounding game of the season. The 5-11 Mix starts at the point guard spot for the Wildcats, but also sees time at both forward positions. Entering play at Pittsburgh, Mix leads Villanova in four categories including rebounding (7.2 rpg.), assists (5.0 apg.), steals (2.3 spg.) and blocks (1.1 bpg.) and she is third on the team in scoring with a 9.1 points per game average. Mix has had 10 double figure scoring games this season and in those 10 contests Villanova is 8-2. In the latest Big East Conference statistics, Mix leads the conference in assist to turnover ratio with a 3.42:1 and she ranks tied for ninth in rebounding.

BIG EAST BEST: In the latest Big East Conference statistics, Villanova has the top two players in the conference in the assist to turnover category. In the league stats released on Monday, Feb. 10, Courtney Mix leads the league with a 3.42:1 ratio, while Trish Juhline is second in the conference with a 3.12:1 assist to turnover ratio. Mix has 106 assists and 31 turnovers, while Juhline currently has 100 assists and 32 turnovers.

LEADING THE WAY: Villanova is led in scoring by senior guard Trish Juhline who enters play at Pittsburgh with a team-best 17.2 points per game average which also ranks her sixth in the latest Big East Conference statistics. After 21 games this year, she has had 20+ points on seven occasions and she has reached double figures in 19 of the 21 games. In addition to her scoring, she is also averaging, 3.2 rpg., 4.7 apg., and 1.6 spg. A 2002 first team All-Big East selection, Juhline was named to the 2002-03 pre-season first team squad.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP: The senior class of Nicole Druckenmiller, Katie Davis and Trish Juhline has had a great deal of success during their Main Line careers. Together, they have started 290 of a possible 331 games, and have helped lead the Wildcats to a 76-39 record (.660). The three have also played a major part in Villanova making three consecutive postseason appearances. As freshmen, the Wildcats went to the WNIT before making back-to-back NCAA Tournament trips during their sophomore and junior campaigns.

THE NATION'S BEST : Villanova leads the country in two statistical categories and is in the top five in another. The Wildcats currently lead all of NCAA Division I women's basketball in three-point field goals made per game (9.1) and fewest turnovers per contest (9.8) and they are sixth in scoring defense (53.6)

CHASING HISTORY: Entering play versus Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Feb. 11, senior guard Trish Juhline has 139 made career three-point field goals in just Big East Conference games and needs 18 more to break the record of 156 held by Julie Wheeler of Providence (1994-98). For all games, Juhline has made a Villanova school record 249 three-point field goals.

BIG EAST CAREER THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL LEADERS
1. Julie Wheeler, Providence		1994-98		156
2. Wendy Davis, Connecticut		1988-92		155
3. Sheila McMillen, Notre Dame	1995-99		145
4. Jaime James, Syracuse		1998-02		144
5. TRISH JUHLINE, Villanova	1999-present	139
6. Jennifer Rizzotti, Connecticut	1992-96		126
7. Cal Bouchard, Boston College	1996-00		123
8. Kim Gallon, Georgetown		1994-98		121
9. Tomora Young, Rutgers		1995-99		113
10. Erin Maloy, Pittsburgh		1990-94		111

RANKING HIGH: With her 15-point effort versus Miami on Saturday, Feb. 1, senior guard Trish Juhline moved past Jenea Skeeters (1996-00/1,387 points) and into fifth place on Villanova's all-time scoring list. Entering play at Pittsburgh on Feb. 11, Juhline currently has 1,417 points.

VILLANOVA 1,000 POINT SCORERS
NAME	YEARS	GAMES	POINTS	AVG.
1. 	Shelly Pennefather	1983-87   	117	2,408	20.5
2.   	Nancy Bernhardt 	1980-84   	119       	2,018	16.9
3.   	Lisa Ortlip	1978-82   	111       	1,634	14.7
4.   	Lisa Angelotti        	1984-88   	119       	1,622	13.6
5.	Trish Juhline	1999-	106	1,417	13.3
6. 	Jenea Skeeters	1996-00	115	1,387	12.1
7.   	Denise Dillon	1992-96	107       	1,355     	12.7
8.   	Kathie Beisel         	1979-83   	114       	1,328	11.6
9.   Helen Koskinen      	1986-90   	118       	1,292	10.9
10. Nikki Benedix     	1989-93   	104       	1,280	12.3
11.  Michele Thornton   1991-95   	111       	1,261	11.4
12.	 Katie Davis	1999-	113	1,109	9.8
13.  Karen Hiznay       	1977-81   	96        	1,072	11.2
14.  Karen Hargadon   	1983-87   	117       	1,058	9.0
15.	Jenn Beisel	1994-98	111	1,050	9.4
16. Kathy Straccia       	1975-79	76 	1,048	13.8

JOIN THE CLUB: By scoring her 1,000 career point on Saturday, Jan. 11 at West Virginia, senior forward Katie Davis gives Villanova two 1,000 point scorers on the current roster, as senior guard Trish Juhline reached the 1,000 point plateau last season. Davis and Juhline are just the second classmates in the history of Villanova women's basketball to score 1,000 points during their Villanova careers. Shelly Pennefather and Karen Hargadon, both members of the class of 1987, were the first classmates to both tally 1,000 career points. This season, Davis and Juhline have combined to score 50.8 percent of Villanova's points (686 of 1,350 points).

NON CONFERENCE SUCCESS: Villanova completed its non conference portion of the 2002-03 schedule with a 73-66 overtime win against Penn State on Thursday, Jan. 23. In 11 non conference contests this year, the Wildcats tallied a 10-1 mark. The 10 wins have come against Saint Joseph's, Howard, Ohio State, Colorado, Penn, LaSalle, Temple, Brown, Fairfield and Penn State with the lone non conference loss coming at Massachusetts.

TRIPLE THREAT: Villanova will use the three-point shot whenever the opportunity presents itself. After 21 games this year, the Wildcats are 192-of-528 (.364) from three-point range and have outscored their opponents 576-120 from three-point territory. The 192 made triples leads the Big East and all of NCAA Division I women's basketball in three-pointers made. In last Saturday's win over Syracuse, the Wildcats were 16-of-35 from three-point range, marking the ninth time this year that Villanova has made double figures in three-point field goals. Entering play Tuesday versus Pittsburgh, Villanova is averaging 9.1 made three-point field goals per game and 25.1 three-point field goal attempts per contest. In 31 games last year, the Wildcats made 263-of-791 (33.2%) from three-point range. The 263 triples led all of NCAA Division I women's basketball. The Wildcats averaged 25.5 three-point field goal attempts and 8.4 made three-pointers per game last season.

DEFEND THE ARC: Besides being sixth in the nation and second in the Big East in scoring defense (53.6 ppg.), the Wildcats lead the Big East in three-point field goal defense allowing teams to shoot just 25.2 percent from three-point range. In 21 games this year, Villanova has given up one or less three-point field goals made on 10 occasions, including holding five opponents without a made three-pointer. Villanova opponents are just 40-of-159 from long distance.

LIMITING MISTAKES: After 21 games thus far in 2002-03, Villanova has turned the ball over only 207 times for a 9.8 per game average. In seven of the 21 games this year, the Wildcats have had single digits in turnovers, including in three of the last five games. The 9.8 turnovers per contest leads all of NCAA Division I in fewest turnovers per game. Villanova's highest turnover games of the season came versus Howard and Temple when the Wildcats had 14 turnovers against both teams, while the lowest was five versus Colorado and Notre Dame.

TOUGH D: The most consistent aspect of the 2002-03 Wildcat squad has been the team's defense. After 21 games, the Wildcats have allowed just two opponents to score over 60 points in a game (73-66 overtime win against Penn State on Jan. 23 and a 75-61 win over Boston College last Wednesday). Entering play versus Pittsburgh on Feb. 11, Villanova is giving up just 53.6 points per contest which currently ranks second in the latest Big East statistical rankings and sixth in the nation. In 10 of the 21 games this year, Villanova has kept it opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field.

167-STRAIGHT: Entering play against Pittsburgh on Feb. 11, the Villanova Wildcats have made at least one three-point field goal in 167-straight games. The last time the 'Cats failed to connect on a triple in a game came at Boston College on Jan. 25, 1997.

TRAINING ROOM REPORT: Villanova suffered its first serious injury of the year in the win over Penn State on January 23 when center Jeanine Johnson suffered a dislocated right shoulder in the first half. Johnson, who has started 15 of 16 games this year and is averaging 1.1 ppg., and 0.9 rpg., is expected to be out the remainder of the year.

BIG FIVE CHAMPS: By virtue of its 66-54 win over Temple on Dec. 21,Villanova captured the 2002-03 Philadelphia Big Five Championship with a perfect 4-0 record. This is Villanova's first City Series title since 1995-96. The Wildcats won all four Big Five games this year by an average of 13.2 points per game. Villanova's four Big Five wins included victories at Saint Joseph's (59-44) and at Penn (65-54) and at home versus LaSalle (72-57) and Temple (66-54).

BIG EAST RECOGNITION: Senior guard Trish Juhline has been named to the Big East Conference preseason All-Conference first team for the second-straight year. As a junior last season, Juhline became the first Wildcat since Denise Dillon in 1994-95 to earn first team All-Conference acclaim. In 24 games last year, Juhline averaged a team-high 13.6 ppg., 3.1 rpg., 2.7 apg., and 1.1 spg. In addition, she connected on 61-of-156 (39.1%) from behind the arc.

VILLANOVA PICKED FOURTH: In the 2002-03 Big East Confer-conference preseason coaches poll, Villanova was chosen to finish fourth in the 14-member Big East Conference. The following is the coaches order of finish.

1. Connecticut (7)			161
    Notre Dame (7)			161
3. Boston College			143
4. VILLANOVA			128
5. Virginia Tech			110
6. Rutgers				107
7. Miami				104
8. West Virginia			81
9. Seton Hall			69
    Syracuse			69
11. Georgetown			64
12. Providence			33
13. Pittsburgh			29
14. St. John's			15

A NEW LOOK: Of the 15 players on the Wildcat roster, five are in their first season of college basketball as freshmen. The five-person recruiting class is the tied for the largest freshmen group that head coach Harry Perretta has brought in during his Villanova career. Perretta's 1983 class also consisted of five people. The five rookies include Jackie Adamshick (Allentown, Pa.), Kate Dessart Mager (Media, Pa.), Betsy McManus (Pearl River, N.Y.), Liad Suez (Even-Yehuda, Israel) and Jenna Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.).