Dec. 20, 2001

Check out the Villanova women's basketball game notes for Friday night's game featuring the Villanova Wildcats (4-3) hosting the Morgan State Lady Bears (0-8). Click on the pdf link below for a complete version of Villanova's game notes.

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GAME EIGHT

Villanova Wildcats (4-3 Overall, 0-0 Big East)

vs.

Morgan State Lady Bears (0-8 Overall, 0-3 MEAC)

7:30 P.M.

Friday, Dec. 21, 2001

Villanova, Pa.

The Pavilion (6,500)

SERIES HISTORY

FIRST MEETING

MEDIA INFORMATION

Interview Requests- All Interview requests should be directed toward Dean Kenefick, Director of Media Relations at (610) 519-4120.

On the Web- Villanova's recently re-designed web-page can be found at www.villanova.com.

Hotline- Get up-to-date scores on all your favorite Wildcat sports on the official hotline: (888) 400-NOVA

GAME NOTES

CAREER NIGHT: Senior point guard Mimi Riley established a career-high in points and tied her career high in assists on Dec. 11 in the Big Five overtime loss to Pennsylvania. Riley shot nine-of-19 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe for a team-high 23 points. She also tallied 10 assists and nine rebounds, including six offensive boards, in 44 minutes of action.

LONG LAYOFF: After Friday's game with Morgan State, Villanova will not play again until after the Christmas holiday. The Wildcats will return to action on Dec. 29-30 when they will host the PNC Wildcat Classic at The Pavilion. Joining the 'Cats in this year's PNC Tournament will be Alabama, Massachusetts and Rider. Villanova will open up against Rider in the second game of the afteroon on Dec. 29 at 3:00 p.m.

HOME STRETCH: After opening up the season on the road for the first five games of the year, Villanova is now in the midst of a six game home stretch. Following the New Year, the Wildcats will play host to the West Virginia Mountaineers on Thurs., Jan. 3 in Villanova's Big East opener. Tip-off is set for a 7:30 start at The Pavilion.

DAVIS FROM DOWNTOWN: Katie Davis has been impressive from beyond the arc in the 2001-02 season connecting on a team-best 21 three-point field goals. In the loss to Pennsylvania, Davis shot four-of-10 from long range for 12 points. The junior guard/forward currently leads the team in field goal percentage connecting on 28-of-52 attempts for a .538 percentage including 21-of-40 shots (.525) from three-point range.

BAKER ON THE BOARDS: Senior center Stephanie Baker had a season-high in rebounds and established a new career-high in block shots against the Quakers on Tuesday, Dec. 11. Baker grabbed a team-best 12 boards and tallied seven points and a personal-best five blocks in 36 minutes of action against Penn. For the season, she is second on the squad with a 6.0 rpg. average in addition to 3.9 ppg. in 25.7 minutes per game.

FIRST MEETING: When Villanova plays host to Morgan State on Friday, Dec. 21, it will be the first ever meeting between the Wildcats and the Lady Bears. Morgan State is currently the second team from the MEAC conference to play Villanova in the last three seasons. The Wildcats defeated the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore in the first round of the PNC Wildcat Classic during the 1999-00 season by a score of 54-45.

INJURY BUG: Villanova suffered a big loss in the Dec. 7th game with St. Jospeh's when junior guard Trish Juhline broke her right foot early in thr second half. Juhline, a 2001-02 pre-season Big East first team selection, underwent successful surgery on Wednesday, Dec. 12 and is expected to miss four to six weeks. The surgery was performed by Villanova Team Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Rob Good. After six games this season, Juhline is averaging 11.7 ppg., 3.3 rpg., 3.0 apg., and 1.5 spg. She is also second on the team in three-point field goals made with 10 in 30 attempts. As a sophomore last year, Juhline averaged 11.1 ppg., 2.5 rpg., 2.8 apg., and 1.0 spg and she was 73-of-191 from three-point range. Juhline joins freshman Courtney Roantree on the Wildcat disabled list. Roantree tore her ACL last summer and is out for the season.

REACHING DOUBLE FIGURES: Villanova senior point guard Mimi Riley enters play on Friday versus Morgan State having scored in double figures in points in four-straight games with all four contests being Philadelphia Big Five affairs. Against LaSalle on Wednesday, Nov. 28, Riley netted 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting, before scoring 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting at Temple on Saturday, Dec. 1. On Fri., Dec. 7 versus St. Joseph's, Riley recorded 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Against Pennsylvania on Dec. 11, Riley fell one rebound shy of a triple-double posting a career-high 23 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. For the year, she leads the team in scoring and assists with a 12.3 ppg. average and a 5.7 apg average.

DIAL LONG DISTANCE: Villanova will use the three-point shot to its advantage whenever the opportunity presents itself. Entering play versus Morgan State on Friday, Dec. 21, Villanova is 51-for-159 (32.1 percent) from behind the arc while Wildcat opponents are 18-of-76 (23.7 percent) from long distance. In terms of points, Villanova has outscored its opponents 153-54 from three-point range. Villanova's best three-point shooting game of the year came in the season opener at Penn State when they connected on 13-of-27 from three-point land. The team's lowest three-point shooting game of the year came at Temple when they were 1-of-5 from behind the arc. Villanova is currently averaging 7.2 made three-point field goals per game and averaging 21.6 three-point shots per game. Last year, the Wildcats made 228-of-660 from behind the arc for 34.5 percent. In 31 games a year ago, Villanova averaged 22.7 three-point field goals per game and made 7.3 triples per contest.

122-STRAIGHT: Entering play versus Morgan State on Friday, Dec. 21, Villanova has made at least one three-point field goal in 122-straight games. The last time the 'Cats failed to connect on a triple in a game came at Boston College on Jan. 25, 1997. Twice during this 121 game span, Villanova has tied the NCAA record for three-point field goals made in a game with 18 (vs. Penn 12/20/97/ vs. West Virginia on 1/3/00).

BIG EAST RECOGNITION: Junior guard Trish Juhline (Havertown, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) was honored by the Big East Conference after being named a Preseason All-Big East First Team selection in 2001-02. Juhline finished second on the team last season in scoring with an 11.1 scoring average at the shooting guard position. In addition, she made 73-of-191 from long distance to lead the Big East in three-point field goals made. She also averaged 2.8 apg., 2.5 rpg. and 1.0 spg. Thus far this year, she is averaging 11.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.0 apg., and 1.5 spg. From three-point range this year she is 10-of-30 for 33.7 percent. For her effort at Penn State in the season opener on Nov. 16 when she netted 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting, Juhline was named the Big East Conference Co-Player of the Week. Juhline is currently out 4-6 weeks with a broken foot.

VILLANOVA PICKED FIFTH: In the 2001 Big East Conference preseason coaches poll, Villanova was chosen to finish fifth in the 14-member Big East Conference. The following is the coaches' order of finish.

1. Connecticut (11)	167
2. Notre Dame		155
3. Boston College		143
4. Rutgers			125
5. VILLANOVA (1)		112
6. Virginia Tech		111
7. Georgetown		102
8. Miami			86
9. Seton Hall			75
10. Syracuse		59
11. Providence		56
12. Pittsburgh		41
13. St. John's		23
14. West Virginia		19

MINIMIZING MISTAKES: After commiting a season-high 26 turnovers against Temple on Saturday, Dec. 1, the Wildcats have committed just 21 turnovers in the last two games combined. In a 68-62 loss to St. Joseph's on Friday, Dec. 7, Villanova had just 10 turnovers and in a 69-62 overtime loss to Pnnnsylaaina on Tuesday, Dec. 11, the Wildcats registered 11 turnovers. For the year, Villanova has committed 96 turnovers for a 14.7 average.