Villanova University

Jan. 16, 2004

Villanova will try to rebound from Wednesday night's defeat at Virginia Tech when the Seton Hall Pirates visit the Pavilion on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 12:00 p.m. Click on the PDF link below for a complete version of the game notes.

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LAST TIME OUT: Villanova is coming off a 63-50 loss at Virginia Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 14. With the score tied at 4-4, the Hokies went on an 11-0 run to take a 15-4 advantage at the 12:09 mark. Virginia Tech would lead by as many as 18 in the first half and would go to intermission with a 30-16 lead. In the second half, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to cut the Hokie lead to nine at 36-27 with 13:07 to play. Virginia Tech responded with a 9-0 run to increase its lead to 45-27 at the 9:59 mark. In the loss, Villanova was led by junior Jennifer Hilgenberg who had a team-high 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting, while sophomore Kate Dessart Mager added 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Senior guard Courtney Mix tallied seven points, nine rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block. The Hokies had four players in double figures led by sophomore Kerri Gardin with 14 points. Dawn Chriss had 12 points for the Hokies, while Ieva Kublina and Carrie Mason added 11 points each. For the game, Villanova shot 36.7 percent from the floor (22-of-60), 28.6 percent from three-point range (4-of-14) and 33.3 percent from the foul line (2-of-6), while the Hokies were 23-of-45 from the field (51.1%), 2-of-4 from behind the arc (50.0%) and 15-of-18 from the foul line (83.3%). Virginia Tech dominated the backboards, out-rebounding the Wildcats 39-24.

FIRST OF TWO: Villanova and Seton Hall will play the first of two games this season when the Wildcats and Pirates do battle at The Pavilion on Saturday, Jan. 17. The Big East schedule calls for each team to play 10 opponents once and three opponents twice. In addition to Seton Hall, Villanova will play St. John's and Pittsburgh twice. Villanova currently leads the all-time series with Seton Hall 26-14.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Villanova was rewarded for its play by earning a spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time this year when the Wildcats were No. 19 in the poll released on Monday, Jan. 12. Villanova makes the highest debut in the poll since Kansas State joined at No. 14 on Jan. 7, 2002. The 'Cats are one of five Big East teams ranked this week, joining Connecticut (#4), Miami (#21), Boston College (#22) and Virginia Tech (#23).

WEEKLY HONORS: For the second time this year, sophomore forward Liad Suez has been named Big East Conference Co-Player of the Week for her efforts last week versus Miami and Rutgers. Suez shares the honor with Diana Taurasi of Connecticut. In the two wins over Miami and Rutgers, Suez combined to shoot 13-of-23 from the field (56.5%), 7-of-15 from three-point range (46.6%) for 37 points to go with six rebounds and five assists. Her best game of the week came against Miami when she netted a career-high tying 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field, including a 5-of-10 effort from three-point range.

SOPHOMORE SCORER: Sophomore forward Liad Suez has been the team's leading scorer from the very first game of the year. For the season, she is averaging a team-leading 13.2 points per game and is shooting 45.3 percent from the floor (73-of-161), and 40.5 percent from three-point range (32-for-79). In 15 games this season, Suez has tallied double figures in scoring on 10 occasions and she has four 20-point scoring games to her credit this year.

A PERFECT MIX: You would be hard pressed to find a more versatile player than Wildcat senior Courtney Mix. As she has done throughout her Main Line career, Mix continues to put up impressive statistics in a number of different categories. After 15 games, Mix is leading the team in three categories, including rebounding (7.1 rpg.), assists (4.8 apg.,) and steals (1.6 spg.), and is second in blocks (1.4 bpg.) and scoring with an 8.1 ppg. average.

MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT: After 15 games in 2003-04, senior Courtney Mix is putting up staggering numbers in the assist to turnover category. For the year, Mix has tallied 72 assists and just 14 turnovers for an incredible 5.1:1 assist to turnover ratio. In the latest Big East statistics, the next closest person to Mix in this category is Jessalyn Deveny of Boston College and West Virginia's Yolanda Paige who have a ratio of 2.2:1.

MIX IN THE BIG EAST: In the Big East Conference statistical report released on Friday, Jan. 16, Villanova senior Courtney Mix ranks in the top 10 in five different categories. In addition to leading the league in assist to turnover ratio, Mix is fourth in assists (5.0 per game), fifth in defensive rebounds (5.2 per game), fifth in blocked shots (1.4 per game) and 10th in overall rebounding (6.9 per game).

FOUR YEARS OF SUCCESS: Senior guard Courtney Mix is on pace to leave Villanova ranking in the top 10 in a number of career categories. Entering play versus Seton Hall on Saturday, Jan. 17, Mix ranks high on a number of the Villanova career lists. She currently ranks fourth all-time in rebounding with 766 and needs 89 more rebounds to surpass Lisa Angelotti (854 career rebounds) and move into third place on the all-time list. In addition to her rebounding totals, Mix currently ranks 10th on the all-time assist list with 399. With four more assists, Mix will move past Helen Koskinen (1986-90) and into ninth place on the all-time assist list. She also has 954 career points to her credit.

CONFERENCE ACCOLADES: The multi-dimensional Courtney Mix was named second team preseason All-Big East Conference by a vote of the league head coaches. Last season as a junior, she earned Big East Conference Honorable Mention distinction.

THE MAGIC 60: When Villanova scores 60 or more points in a game, its chances for success are pretty good. After 15 games this season, the Wildcats are 8-0 when scoring 60 or more points. Last season, Villanova was a perfect 18-0 when tallying 60 or more points.

DOMINANT D: Villanova has played outstanding defense all season long. Entering play versus Seton Hall on Saturday, Jan. 17, Villanova is giving up 53.5 points per game which ranks second in the latest Big East Conference stats and 10th in the NCAA rankings. After 15 games this year, the 'Cats have allowed 60 or less points seven times and 50 or less on five occasions. Connecticut leads the conference in scoring defense at 53.2.

LIMITING MISTAKES: Villanova currently leads the country in fewest turnovers per game at 9.5 per contest (142 in 15 games). The team's worst turnover performance of the year came on Wednesday, Jan. 7 versus Miami with a season-high 16 turnovers. In a 70-40 win over Columbia on Dec. 30, Villanova committed a season-low three turnovers. The 'Cats have had eight single digit turnover games this year, including nine in their last game at Virginia Tech.

YOUNG GUNS: Of the 14 players on the 2003-04 Villanova roster, nine are either freshmen or sophomores. The lone seniors on this year's squad are co-captains Kelly Nash and Courtney Mix. The nine freshmen and sophomores have combined to score 59.0 percent (546 of 925) of Villanova's points this season.

CHARITY CASE: After missing her first two free throw attempts of the season versus Valparaiso on Nov 16, junior forward Jennifer Hilgenberg has made 14 consecutive charity stripe attempts. For the year, she 14-of-16 (.875) from the foul line.

MARKED IMPROVEMENT: The most improved player on the 2003-04 Villanova roster is junior forward Jennifer Hilgenberg. Last year, Hilgenberg had one double figure scoring games, while she already has four double figure scoring efforts this season. She began her improvement in last year's NCAA Tournament when she went 11-of-21 from the field in Villanova's four NCAA Tournament games, including a then career-high 14 points versus George Washington. Below is a comparison of Hilgenberg's stats from last year to this season.

2002-03 (33 games)
2.3 ppg.		31.1% FG (33-of-106)	20.0% 3-PT (3-of-15)
2003-04 (15 games)
7.6 ppg.		39.4% FG (43-of-109)	36.8% 3-PT(14-of-38)

PLAYING TOGETHER: One of the trademarks of Harry Perretta coached Villanova teams is the unselfish manner in which his teams play. The 2003-04 Wildcats look to be no exception. After 15 games, Villanova has been credited with an assist on 230 of its 347 field goals for 66.2 percent.

BLOCK PARTY: Despite being a relatively small team, Villanova has blocked 67 shots in its first 15 games, while Wildcats opponents have tallied just 26 blocks. In last Wednesday's loss at Virginia Tech, Villanova registered a season-high tying eight block shots. Junior Jana Rediger has recorded a team-best 27 blocks, with senior Courtney Mix second with 21 blocks. Register is currently third in the Big East in blocks, while Mix is fifth.

VILLANOVA PICKED SEVENTH: In the 2003-04 Big East Conference preseason coaches poll, Villanova was chosen to finish seventh in the 14-member Big East Conference. The following is the coaches' order of finish.

1. Connecticut (13)			169
2. Rutgers (1)			156
3. Notre Dame			139
4. Virginia Tech			124
5. Boston College			120
6. Miami				115
7. VILLANOVA			103
8. West Virginia			80
9. Georgetown			66
10. Seton Hall			65
11. Syracuse			61
12. Pittsburgh			30
13. St. John's			28
14. Providence			18

BIG SHOES TO FILL: You would be hard-pressed to find a team who was hit harder by graduation than the 2003-04 Villanova women's basketball team, as the Wildcats lost three four-year starters from last season's 28-6 squad. The 2003 senior class of Nicole Druckenmiller, Katie Davis and Trish Juhline combined to start 323 of a possible 364 games and helped Villanova to an 85-41 overall record (.674) and a 42-22 Big East Conference mark. The trio also played a big part in the Wildcats tallying three consecutive 20-win seasons and three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances where they advanced to the Elite Eight in 2003. All together, the three combined to score 3,593 career points and connect on 669 three-point field goals. Juhline is currently on the coaching staff at Drexel University, while Davis is playing professionally in Luxembourg and Druckenmiller is working in Florida.

PHILADELPHIA BRAGGING RIGHTS: By virtue of its 66-57 win at Temple on Dec. 19, Villanova finished Philadelphia Big Five play with a 4-0 record to give the Wildcats a second-straight City Series title. Villanova also won last year's Big Five championship with a 4-0 mark. This year's championship was Villanova's 10th Big Five title in the program's history (six outright/four shared) Villanova's four Big Five wins this year came against Penn (57-40), at La Salle (51-48), Saint Joseph's (72-68) and at Temple (66-57). Since beginning Philadelphia Big Five play in 1979, Villanova has compiled a 74-25 all-time record in City Series play for a .747 winning percentage.

PHILLY'S FINEST: Entering play versus Seton Hall on Saturday, Jan. 17, Villanova head coach Harry Perretta has 477 career wins to his credit. The 477 victories are the most wins in the history of Philadelphia Big Five basketball for both men and women. Current Temple men's coach John Chaney is second with 473 wins. Former Villanova men's mentor Al Severance is third on the list with 417 victories, followed by former Temple men's coach Harry Litwack with 373 and former Villanova men's coach Rollie Massimino with 357.