Women's Basketball Set For Big East Showdown In Blacksburg :: The Wildcats take on the Virginia Tech Hokies Saturday at 2.

Feb. 20, 2003

BLACKSBURG, Va.-The No. 20 Villanova University women's basketball team (19-4, 9-3) heads to Virginia to take on the Hokies (17-6, 8-4), looking to extend their five-game winning streak. The two teams have met once already this season, with Villanova winning a 62-60 decision at The Pavilion. Click the .pfd link below for a complete version of the game notes.


February 22, 2003 * 2:00 p.m.
Cassell Coliseum (10,052)
Blacksburg, Va.


SERIES history:
All-Time Series: Villanova leads 3-2
Last VU Win: 2/7/03 (62-60)
Last Virginia Tech Win: 3/5/01 (73-67)
Streak: Villanova has won two-straight

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LAST TIME OUT: Villanova won its fifth in a row with a 51-37 home win over Georgetown on Wednesday, Feb. 19. After a sluggish first half where the Wildcats shot just 8-of-30 (26.7%) from the field, Georgetown led 23-21 at intermission. The Wildcats started the second half on an 11-2 run to take a 32-25 lead with 15:22 to play. After Georgetown cut the lead to one at 34-33, Villanova used a 6-0 run to lead 40-33 at the 7:42 mark. The spurt was highlighted by sophomore forward Jennifer Hilgenberg who scored four of the six points on back-to-back baskets. Villanova put the game away when senior forward Nicole Druckenmiller hit a three-point field goal as the shot clock expired giving the Wildcats a 47-35 advantage with 2:14 left on the clock. In the win, the 'Cats were led by senior forward Katie Davis who netted a game-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including a 5-of-8 effort from three-point range. Davis also recorded a career-high tying four steals. Senior guard Trish Juhline tallied 14 points, while junior Courtney Mix grabbed 12 rebounds. Georgetown was paced by Nok Duany who had 10 points. Villanova shot 32.7 percent (18-of-55) from the field and 7-of-29 (24.1%) from three-point range, while Georgetown shot 29.2 percent (14-of-48) from the floor and 2-of-10 (20.0%) from three-point range. Villanova out-rebounded the Hoyas 37-36.

ROUND ONE: Villanova and Virginia Tech will meet for the second time this season on Saturday, Feb. 22 at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia. In game one at Villanova on Jan. 6, the Wildcats registered a 62-60 win. After the teams went to intermission tied at 25-25, the Hokies started the second half on a 6-0 run to take a 32-26 lead. Villanova answered the Virginia Tech run with a 7-0 run to lead 33-32 at the 15:48 mark. With the scored tied at 35-35, the 'Cats went on another run to take a 47-37 lead with 8:58 to play. Leading 56-49 with 1:15 left in regulation, Villanova made 6-of-9 from the foul line to earn the win. Leading the way for the Wildcats in the win was senior forward Katie Davis who netted a game-high 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while senior guard Trish Juhline had nine points, seven assists, four steals and three rebounds. Erin Gibson led Virginia Tech with 17 points with Kerri Gardin tallying a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Hokies shot 49 percent (24-of-49) from the field, while Villanova shot 39.6 percent (19-of-48) from the floor. Virginia Tech had 24 turnovers compared to the Wildcats who had 11. Villanova recorded a season-high 16 steals in the victory.

TRYING FOR 20: Villanova enters play at Virginia Tech on Saturday, Feb. 22 with a 19-4 overall record. With a win over the Hokies, the Wildcats will record their third-straight 20-win season. One more victory will also give Wildcat head coach Harry Perretta the 12th 20-win season of his 25-year Villanova career.

ROAD TEST: Villanova will attempt to win its fourth-straight road game when the Wildcats travel to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech on Saturday, Feb. 22. For the year, the 'Cats are 7-3 on the road, including a 4-2 away mark in Big East Conference games.

STREAKING ALONG: Villanova is in the midst of its third extended winning steak of the season, having won five consecutive games entering play Saturday at Virginia Tech. The Wildcats won six games to start the year and they had a six-game win streak in late December/early January.

DEFENSIVE MINDED: The most consistent aspect of the 2002-03 Wildcat squad has been the team's defense. After 23 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 on Feb. 5). The Wildcats have also given up 50 points or less on six occasions, including the last three games. Entering play at Virginia Tech on Feb. 22, Villanova is giving up just 52.6 points per contest which currently ranks second in the latest Big East statistical rankings and third in the nation. In 12 of the 23 games this year, Villanova has kept it opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field.

DAVIS SCORES 20: While most of her teammates were suffering through a cold shooting night, senior forward Katie Davis netted a game-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including a 5-of-8 effort from behind the arc in Wednesday's 51-37 win over Georgetown. She also tied a career-high with four steals. The 21 point night marks the eighth time this year that Davis has tallied 20+ points. In addition, Davis has scored double figures in 19 of Villanova's 23 games. For the year, Davis is averaging 15.7 points per game and she is shooting 50.2 percent (124-of-267) from the field and 42.9 percent (69-of-161) from behind the arc. She leads the Big East in three-point field goals made and she is second in three-point field goal percentage.

CLEANING THE GLASS: Junior Courtney Mix had another strong rebounding game in Villanova's 51-37 win over Georgetown on Wednesday, Feb. 19. In the victory, Mix pulled-down 12 rebounds for her eighth double figure rebounding game of the season. In her last five games, Mix has recorded 45 rebounds for an average of 9.0 rpg. during the span. She currently leads Villanova in rebounding and is eighth in th Big East with a 7.3 rpg. average. The 5-11 Mix starts at the point guard spot for the Wildcats, but also sees time at both forward positions. In addition to leading the Wildcats in rebounding, Mix also leads the team in assists (5.2 apg.), steals (2.1 spg.) and blocks (1.1 bpg.) and she is third on the team in scoring with a 9.0 points per game average. Mix has had 11 double figure scoring games this season and in those 11 contests Villanova is 9-2.

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 No. 23 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.

FANTASTIC FEBRUARY: The month of February has been good to the Villanova Wildcats the last three years. In 20 February games the last two-plus seasons, Villanova has tallied a 16-4 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, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Georgetown.

ON THE NATIONAL SCENE : 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 (8.9) and fewest turnovers per contest (9.9) and they are third in scoring defense (52.6).

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 296 of a possible 337 games, and have helped lead the Wildcats to a 78-39 record (.666). 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.

TOP CAT: Senior guard Trish Juhline continues to lead the Wildcats in scoring. Juhline enters play versus Virginia Tech averaging a team-best 16.9 points per game which ranks her fourth in the latest Big East Conference statistics. After 23 games this year, she has had 20+ points on eight occasions and she has reached double figures in 21 of the 23 games. In addition to her scoring, she is also averaging, 3.1 rpg., 4.6 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.

WITHIN REACH: Entering play versus Virginia Tech on Saturday, Feb. 22, senior guard Trish Juhline has 141 made career three-point field goals in just Big East Conference games and needs 16 more to break the Big East Conference record of 156 held by Julie Wheeler of Providence (1994-98). For all games, Juhline has made a Villanova school record 251 three-point field goals.