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Villanova Looking for 20th Win in Season Finale at Miami
Feb. 26, 2001
Complete Release in PDF Format
No. 23 Villanova University (19-7 Overall, 10-5 Big East)
February 27, 2001 * 7 p.m. Knights Sports Complex Miami, Fla. Series History: Overall Series Record: Miami leads 9-7 Last VU Win: 1/26/00, 44-34 Last UM Win: 2/21/98, 67-64 Streak: VU has won 7 of last 9
MAKING HISTORY: Wildcat head coach Harry Perretta became Villanova's all-time winningest basketball coach for both men's and women's basketball with his team's 61-45 win over Providence this past Saturday. Former Wildcat men's coach Al Severance tallied 413 victories from 1936-61. Earlier this season on Dec. 5, Perretta recorded his 400th career win in a 60-55 victory over Temple.
Villanova Top 5 Basketball Coaching Records By Wins 1. Harry Perretta (1978-present) 414-243 Al Severance (men's bball/1936-61) 413-201 3. Rollie Massimino (men's bball/1973-92) 357-241 4. Jack Kraft (men's bball/1961-73) 238-95 5. Steve Lappas (men's bball/1992-present) 172-107 BACK TO THE SUNSHINE STATE: Villanova will be making its second trip to Miami this season when they travel to take on the Hurricanes on Tuesday, Feb. 27 in the regular season finale. Earlier this year during the Thanksgiving holiday, the Wildcats participated in the Florida International Tournament. Villanova captured the tournament championship by defeating host Florida International (52-50) in the first round and Georgia State (70-46) in the title game. Tuesday's game will be Villanova's first regular season game at Miami since the 1997-98 season.
SHOOTING FOR 20: Villanova enters play on Tuesday at Miami just one win shy of 20 wins with a 19-7 record. If the Wildcats are fortunate enough to reach the 20-win plateau, it will be the 10th 20-win season of head coach Harry Perretta's 23-year Villanova coaching career. Villanova's last 20-win campaign came during the 1995-96 season when they were 21-7.
TOURNAMENT SCENARIO: Villanova will conclude the regular season portion of its schedule with a road game at Miami on Tuesday, Feb. 27. Following the Miami contest, the Wildcats will travel to Storrs, Connecticut for the 2001 Big East Tournament. Entering play on Tuesday, Villanova can mathematically be seeded fourth, fifth or sixth in next weekend's conference tournament. To finish fourth, Villanova needs to beat Miami, while Virginia Tech has to lose at St. John's. A Virginia Tech win automatically gives the Hokies the four seed. The only way Villanova can be the six seed is if Seton Hall beats Connecticut and the Wildcats lose to Miami. A Seton Hall loss or a Villanova win guarantees the `Cats of being seeded no lower than fifth. At next week's Big East Tournament, the five seed will play the 12 seed at noon on Saturday, March 3, while the six seed will battle the 11 seed at 8 p.m. The four seed receives a first round bye and does not play until Sunday, March 4 at noon.
POINT PER MINUTE: Senior center Brandi Barnes was sensational in her last regular season game at The Pavilion last Saturday versus Providence. In 21 minutes against the Friars, Barnes tallied 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go with seven rebounds and three blocks. In her last four games versus Providence, Barnes has scored 77 points and is 31-for-54 (57.4 percent) from the field.
LEADING THE WAY: Senior center Brandi Barnes has had a terrific senior season for the Wildcats. Entering play versus Miami, Barnes leads the Wildcats in scoring (14.0 ppg.), field goal percentage (150-for-287 for 52.3 percent), blocked shots (38) and she is second in rebounding with a 6.0 rpg average. In 26 games this year, Barnes has scored double figures in 20 of the contests, including six games of 20 points or more. In the latest Big East statistics, Barnes is ninth in scoring, second in field goal percentage, fourth in blocked shots and 18th in rebounding.
SHOOTING FOR 1,000: Entering play versus Miami on Tuesday, Feb. 27, senior center Brandi Barnes is just 10 points shy of the 1,000 career point mark. Of her 990 career points, 45 came during her freshman season at the University of Maryland. Barnes transferred to Villanova and is currently in her third season with the Wildcats. If Barnes reaches the 1,000 point mark she will be the 15th Villanova women's basketball player to achieve this feat.
DOUBLE FIGURE BIG EAST WINS: By defeating Providence this past Saturday, Villanova raised its Big East Conference record to an impressive 10-5. This is the first time since the 1997-98 Wildcat team went 12-6 in an 18 game league slate that Villanova has posted double figure conference wins.
BAKER NETS CAREER-HIGH: Junior center Stephanie Baker played one of the best games of her career in Villanova's 61-45 win over Providence last Saturday. In 17 minutes of action, Baker tallied a career-best 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a perfect 3-of-3 effort from the foul line. She also recorded four rebounds and two assists. Her previous career-high was 11 versus Seton Hall on Feb. 2, 1999.
STARTING STREAK ENDS: With last Saturday being Villanova's last home game of the season, Wildcat head coach Harry Perretta started sophomore Nicole Druckenmiller and the four senior members of the team including Brandi Barnes, Lauren Pellicane, Jen Papay and Megan Stewart. Due to Senior Day, sophomore Trish Juhline saw her streak of starting in 55-straight games come to an end. As a freshman last season, Juhline started all 30 games and she had started the first 25 contests this season.
WILDCATS MOVE UP TO 23: For the third-straight week, the Villanova women's basketball team is ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25. In the poll released on Monday, Feb. 26, the Wildcats moved up from No. 24 to No. 23 (with 101 points). Texas is No. 22 with 111 points, while Wisconsin (70 points) and Arizona (56 points) fall in behind Villanova at No. 24 and No. 25 respectively. Earlier this season on Monday, Jan. 22, the Wildcats earned a national ranking for the first time since the 1986-87 season when they were No. 24 in the Associated Press poll. Villanova stayed at No. 24 for two weeks before falling out of the poll on Monday, Feb. 5.
LIFE AFTER CONNECTICUT: By defeating Providence this past Saturday at The Pavilion, Villanova is now 9-1 in the next game following the Connecticut contest dating back to the 1994-95 season. All 10 of the games followed a loss to a nationally ranked Connecticut team.
VERSATILITY: Freshman Courtney Mix has turned into Villanova's most versatile performers. The Perrysburg, Ohio native has seen time this year at both guard spots and both forward positions. In Saturday's win over Providence, Mix had seven points, seven rebounds, six assists and one steal in 27 minutes. After 26 games, she is averaging 7.2 ppg., a team-high 6.6 rpg., a team-best 1.6 spg., and 2.3 apg. Her numbers are even more impressive for just conference games as she is averaging 8.0 ppg., 7.6 rpg., 2.4 apg., and 1.8 spg. She has had four games this year where she has registered double figures in rebounds. She has also reached double figures in points on seven occasions this season. In her last eight games (227 total minutes), Mix has committed just four turnovers.
PLAYING TOGETHER: In Villanova's last five games, the Wildcats have recorded an assist on 96 of their 116 baskets. In Saturday's win over Providence, Villanova was credited with an assist on 19 of its 23 field goals. For the season, Villanova has had an assist on 470 of its 594 field goals for 79.1 percent. By comparison, Villanova's opponents have had an assist on 308 of 567 field goals 54.3 percent.
SHOOTING THE TRIFECTA: Villanova continues to use the three-point shot to its advantage. After 26 games, the Wildcats are 187-of-546 (34.2 percent) from three-point land, while their opponents are just 59-of-255 for 23.1 percent. When you look at it in points, Villanova has outscored its opposition by 384 points at 561- 177 from behind the arc. The Wildcats are currently averaging 21.0 three-point field goal attempts per game, while they are making an average of 7.1 triples per contest which ranks seventh in the latest NCAA statistics. There have been eight games this year where Villanova has made 10 or more three-point field goals in a game.
110 STRAIGHT: Entering the Miami game on Tuesday, Feb. 27, Villanova has made at least one three-point field goal in 110-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 110 game span, Villanova has tied the NCAA record for three-point field goals made in a game with 18 (vs. Penn 12/20/97 and earlier this year versus WVU on 1/3/00).
BIG WINS: By defeating No. 10 Rutgers on Saturday, Jan. 20, Villanova has now tallied three wins over ranked opponents in the last two seasons. Last season, Villanova won at No. 9 Rutgers, 66-65, in overtime and they defeated No. 19 Boston College, 60-59, in a game played at Villanova.
2000-2001 DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Brandi Barnes vs. Pennsylvania (12/12) 20 points 11 rebounds Brandi Barnes vs. Bucknell (12/29) 20 points 11 rebounds Courtney Mix vs. Georgetown(1/10) 11 points 11 rebounds Brandi Barnes vs. Virginia Tech (1/23) 16 points 10 rebounds
VILLANOVA PICKED SEVENTH: In the 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 169 2. Rutgers 152 3. Notre Dame 150 4. Boston College 129 5. Georgetown 100 Virginia Tech 100 7. VILLANOVA 94 8. Pittsburgh 92 9. Miami 88 10. Syracuse 53 11. St. John's 49 12. Providence 44 13. Seton Hall 39 14. West Virginia 15
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