March 10, 2002

VILLANOVA, PA. - The Villanova University women's basketball team earned its second straight NCAA Tournament bid and sixth in school history as the women's pairings were announced on Sunday, March 10. The Wildcats earned the No. 9 seed in the west bracket and will face the No. 8 seed Pepperdine Waves on Saturday, March 16, at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., at 6:00 pm central and 7:00 pm eastern standard time. The game can be heard live on WZZD 990 AM.

Villanova finished the season 19-10 overall and ended the regular season tied for third in the Big East with a 12-4 conference record. Earning the No. 4 seed in the Big East Tournament, the Wildcats defeated the University of Miami in the first round, 68-49, to earn a semifinals berth against the No. 1 nationally ranked Connecticut Huskies. The Huskies beat the `Cats, 83-39, and went on to win the conference championship.

Last season, Villanova went to its first NCAA Tournament since the 1988-89 campaign. The fifth seeded Wildcats defeated 11th seeded Drake in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 66-58, in Raleigh, N.C., to reach the round of 32. Villanova fell to the fourth seed North Carolina State Wolfpack, 68-64, to end the season at 22-9.

The Wildcats have faced Pepperdine once in the school's history, losing to the Waves in the championship game of the 1998 PNC Wildcat Classic, 72-67 in overtime, on Nov. 21, 1998.