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Women's Basketball Prepares For BIG EAST Battle With Pittsburgh
Feb. 23, 2000
Pittsburgh Panthers Villanova Wildcats
February 23, 2000 . 7:30 pm
Series Information:
1999-2000 Big East Standings
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Villanova Probable Starters
Head Coach Harry Perretta During his career at Villanova, Perretta has guided the Wildcats to three NCAA Tournament appearances, two Big East Tournament Championships and eight Philadelphia Big Five titles. In 1981-82, he led the Wildcats to the AIAW Final Four. Perretta, who is the all-time winningest coach in Villanova women's basketball history, is just six wins shy of 400 career victories.
Pittsburgh Probable Starters
Head Coach Traci Waites In her inaugural campaign, Waites built the foundation for the revitalization of Pittsburgh's women's basketball program. If the enthusiasm and commitment the Panthers showcased during the 1998-99 season under Waites is any indication of what is to come this season, then Pittsburgh's women's basketball team is on the right track. In the midst of her second season at the helm of the Panthers, Waites has posted a 22-29 record.
Team Comparison
LAST TIME OUT: Villanova-- On Saturday, Feb. 19, in Jamaica, N.Y., the Villanova University women's basketball team lost to the St. John's Red Storm by the score of 58-49. The loss dropped the Wildcats record to 14-10 overall and 7-6 in the Big East Conference. In the first half, St. John's led by as many as 15 points, at 28-13 with 6:13 remaining before halftime. Villanova ended the half on a 14-2 run to close the gap to 30-27 at intermission. Sparking the Wildcat run were senior Jenea Skeeters and freshman Trish Juhline, who each tallied seven points. With the score tied at 33-33 with 17:27 left in regulation, the Storm got hot and built their lead to 47-39 with 6:19 remaining in the game. Villanova would get only as close as six the rest of the way, as St. John's went on for the 58-49 victory. The Red Storm hit seven-of-eight from the foul line down the stretch to seal the victory. Skeeters was the Wildcats' top scorer on Saturday with 21 points, to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. She shot nine-of-23 from the field, but 0-for-10 from the three-point line. Juhline netted double-figures as well, with 10 points on three-of-12 from the field and two-of-seven from three. Rounding out the Villanova scoring were senior guard Mary Beth Snell with nine points on three-of-six shooting from long distance, and junior center Brandi Barnes who posted nine points and eight boards. The Wildcats shot 19-for-59 from the field for the game, and five-for-27 from the three-point stripe. For St. John's, Latasha Thompson had a team-high 19 points, while Tanya Mrdjan had 11. The Red Storm shot 23-for-50 for the game, and two-for-eight from three-point territory.
Pittsburgh- The Panthers are coming off a 66-52 home loss to Boston College on Sunday, Feb. 20. Boston College led 28-26 at halftime before the Eagles outscored the Panthers, 38-26, in the second stanza. Boston College was led by senior guard Cal Bouchard who poured in a game-high 20 points and junior center Jamie Cournoyer who netted 15 points. Pittsburgh was paced by junior guard Monique Toney who had 11 points. The freshmen duo of Dallas Williams and Brooke Stewart each recorded 10 points for the Panthers. Boston College out-rebounded Pittsburgh by a 37-28 margin. The Eagles shot 49.1 percent from the field, while Pittsburgh shot 40.4 percent from the floor.
STREAK ENDS: Last Saturday's 58-49 loss at St. John's, snapped a 13-game winning streak that Villanova had over the Red Storm. Prior to Saturday's setback, Villanova had not lost to St. John's since Feb. 19, 1992 when the Red Storm earned a 62-61 overtime victory.
LATE GAME: Despite this being the third to last game of the regular season for both Villanova and Pittsburgh, tonight's contest is the first meeting between the two teams this year. Last season, the two teams also played just once with the Wildcats winning in Pittsburgh on Jan. 27, 1999 by a score of 61-45.
OFF THE MARK: A big reason why Villanova lost to St. John's on Saturday, Feb. 19 was due to the Wildcats' poor shooting. For the game, Villanova shot just 32.2 percent (19-of-59) from the floor and 18.5 percent (5-of-27) from three-point range. In the second half, the Wildcats were 9-of-34 from the field and a dismal 1-for-18 from behind the arc. The game prior to St. John's contest, Villanova shot just 29.3 percent from the floor in a 70-52 loss to Notre Dame.
SKEETERS SCORES 20: In Saturday's loss to St. John's, senior guard/forward Jenea Skeeters tallied a game-high 21 points on 9-of-23 shooting from the floor and a 3-of-5 effort from the foul line. However, from three-point range, Skeeters was 0-for-10. In addition to her 21 points, Skeeters recorded a game-high nine rebounds and four assists. Her 21 points marks the 20th time this year that Skeeters has reached double figures in points and it is the 11th time in her career that she has scored 20 or more points. For the year, Skeeters leads Villanova in scoring with a 14.5 ppg. average.
GREAT BEGINNING: Freshman Trish Juhline has started her career off in fine fashion. Entering play versus Pittsburgh, Juhline is currently second on the team in scoring with a 13.0 ppg., average and she leads the Wildcats in three-point field goals made with 53. In just Big East Conference games, Juhline leads the Wildcats in scoring with a 14,9 ppg. average. Juhline has scored in double figures in seven-straight games. In Big East statistics for just conferenc games, she is seventh in the league in scoring and she is second in the league in three-pointers made with 36.
REACHING 300: With 311 points to her credit, rookie guard Trish Juhline currently ranks fifth all-time at Villanova for points scored by a freshman. With 47 more points, Juhline will move past Wildcat teammate Jenea Skeeters into fourth place on the list. The other six players on the list below combined to earn Big East honors on 14 occasions. In addition, Shelly Pennefather was a three-time Big East Player of the Year and Lisa Angelotti was a one-time conference Player of the Year.
MOVING UP: With five points this Wednesday versus Pittsburgh, senior Jenea Skeeters will surpass Kathie Beisel and move into sixth place on the all-time Villanova scoring chart.
VILLANOVA 1,000 POINT SCORERS
UNDER THE KNIFE: Starting guard Lauren Pellicane underwent successful knee surgery on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Pellicane tore her right ACL in practice on Thursday, Jan. 20. At the time of the injury, she was averaging 5.5 ppg., 2.5 rpg., and 3.2 apg. She also made good on 18 field goals from behind the arc. Last year as a sophomore, Pellicane finished second in the Big East Conference in three-pointers made with 69. Pellicane is expected to be completely healthy for her senior season in 2000-2001.
SNELL STARTS: Senior guard Mary Beth Snell has moved into the starting line-up the last four games and has played well for head coach Harry Perretta and the Wildcats. In averaging 30 minutes per contest in the last four games, Snell has done a solid job of providing consistency to the Wildcats offense. In her four starts, Snell is 7-of-18 from the field and she has tallied six assists in those four outings. Against St. John's this past Saturday, Snell went 3-of-6 from three-point range for nine points. On the defensive end, Snell has been nothing short of sensational. Against Boston College on Feb. 12, Snell played a career-high 37 minutes and held Boston College's leading scorer Cal Bouchard to 3-of-11 shooting for nine points. In the second half, Bouchard was 0-for-6 from the field. In last Wednesday's loss to Notre Dame, Snell helped hold Irish guard Niele Ivey to five points on 2-of-5 shooting.
THREE-POINT PRODUCTION: After 24 games, Villanova has already attempted 531 three-point field goals, compared to its opponents who have tried 245 shots from behind the arc. The Wildcats are 164-of-531 for 30.9 percent, while their opponents are 68-of-245for 27.8 percent. The 'Cats have had seven different players make at least seven triples this season, including six players who have double figures in three-pointers made.
79-STRAIGHT: Entering play versus Pittsburgh, Villanova has made at least one three-point field goal in 79 consecutive games. The last time the Wildcats failed to connect on a three-point field goal was on Dec. 2, 1997 when they were 0-for-7 from behind the arc in a 67-27 loss at Connecticut.
PLAYING TIME: Due to the knee injury to starting guard Lauren Pellicane, senior Jenea Skeeters and freshman Trish Juhline have had to carry the load at guard for the Wildcats. In the last nine games, Skeeters has played 311 of a possible 320 minutes, while Juhline has logged 357 of a possible 400 minutes. For the year, Skeeters and Juhline have started every game with Skeeters averaging 35.5 mpg., and Juhline averaging 32.0 mpg. Villanova was already short-handed at the guard spot before Pellicane's injury, as junior Mimi Riley has missed all but three games with a foot injury.
YOUNG GUNS: Of the top eight players in head coach Harry Perretta's rotation, three are freshmen and one is a sophomore. Two of the rookies, guard Trish Juhline and forward Katie Davis, are true freshmen, while forward Nicole Druckenmiller is a redshirt freshman. Sophomore center Stephanie Baker comes off the bench. The three freshmen have accounted for 40.0 percent of the team's scoring and they have logged 34.7 percent of the team's minutes played. Juhline, Davis and Druckenmiller rank second, fourth and fifth respectively on the team in scoring.
1999-2000 DOUBLE-DOUBLES:
THE MAGIC 60: Over the last six seasons, Villanova is an impressive 77-14 when scoring 60 or more points and the Wildcats are 70-10 when holding opponents below 60 points over the last five years.
STUDY HALL: The Villanova women's basketball team has enjoyed a great deal of success in the classroom. During the fall semester, 10 of the team's 15 players recorded a GPA of 3.0 or better. As a whole, the 597 Villanova student-athletes combined to earn a 2.9 GPA this past fall semester.
PELLICANE'S STREAK ENDS: Junior guard Lauren Pellicane saw her streak of 43-straight games in the starting line-up come to an end when she missed the UConn game on Saturday, Jan. 22. Pellicane missed the match-up with the No. 1 Huskies due to an injured right knee suffered in practice on Thursday, Jan. 20. Pellicane has started 15 games this season and is averaging 5.5 ppg., 2.5 rpg., and 3.2 apg in 34.3 minutes per contest. In addition, she has made 18 three-point field goals. As a sophomore last year, Pellicane averaged 9.0 ppg., and finished second in the Big East Conference in three-point field goals made with 69.
RILEY LOST FOR THE SEASON: Junior guard Mimi Riley will miss the remainder of the 1999-2000 season due to left foot injury. Following the season, Riley will apply for a medical hardship. If granted the hardship, she will have two years of eligibility remaining with the 2000-2001 season. Riley suffered the injury in Villanova's final exhibition game on Nov. 16. The injury forced her to miss the team's first six games. She returned to the line-up on Dec. 8 when she came off the bench at Boston College to tally four points and four rebounds in 17 minutes of action. Riley also saw playing time in Villanova's next two games, logging 22 minutes versus St. Joseph's on Dec. 11 and 17 minutes against George Washington on Dec. 13. The injury has failed to heal properly and the discomfort forced Riley to miss both games in the PNC Bank Wildcat Christmas Classic on Dec. 29-30 and the Providence contest on Jan. 8.
A NEW ROLE: After playing point guard for head coach Harry Perretta and the Wildcats the last four seasons, Shanette Lee has exchanged her uniform for a clipboard, as Lee will now serve as Perretta's third assistant. Lee had a stellar four years on the Main Line, finishing her career as the program's all-time assist leader with 526.
VILLANOVA SEASON-HIGH SUPERLATIVES
VILLANOVA BY THE NUMBERS:
WILDCATS RECORD WHEN...
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