Feb. 28, 2005

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VILLANOVA, Pa.--Women's Basketball Game Notes for Tuesday night's game between Villanova (17-9, 10-5 Big East) and No. 9 Rutgers (22-5, 13-2 Big East). Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at The Pavilion.

LAST TIME OUT: Villanova is coming off a 62-60 loss at Georgetown on Saturday, Feb. 26. The Wildcats raced to an 18-8 lead, before Georgetown would mount a comeback and go to halftime with a 33-31 lead. Trailing 52-40 at the 10:30 mark, Villanova went on a 17-7 run to cut the Hoya advantage to two at 59-57 with 2:42 to play. Villanova found itself down one at 61-60 when point guard Betsy McManus missed a foul line jump shot with 1.8 seconds left on the clock. In the loss, the `Cats were led by sophomore Jackie Adamshick who had a game-high 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting, including a 5-of-11 effort from three-point range. Senior Jennifer Hilgenberg added 11 points. The Hoyas were paced by sophomore Kate Carlin with 14 points and senior center Varda Tamoulianis who registered 13 points and 11 rebounds. For the game, the `Cats shot 23-of-59 from the field (39.0%), 11-of-34 from three-point range (32.4%) and 3-of-4 from the foul line (75.0%), while the Hoyas shot 46.2 percent from the floor (24-of-52), 41.7 percent from behind the arc (5-of-12) and 64.3 percent from the charity stripe (9-of-14).

FAREWELL SENIORS: Tuesday's game with Rutgers will be the final career home game for Villanova senior forward Jennifer Hilgenberg and Wildcat senior center Jana Rediger. The duo have helped the Wildcats to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, a Big East championship, a trip to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and a four-year record of 88-33. Hilgenberg has career totals of 566 points, 262 rebounds and 150 assists, while Rediger has 307 points, 340 rebounds and 60 blocks.

LOOKING FOR AN ENCORE: The 2004-05 Villanova Wildcat are hoping that this year's Senior Night versus No. 9 Rutgers will turn out as well as last year's finale. Last season, Villanova upset No. 1 Connecticut, 59-56, on Senior Night in front of the first-ever women's basketball sellout at The Pavilion. Under head coach Harry Perretta, the Wildcats are 17-9 in Senior Night contests.

TOO CLOSE TO CALL: The last six games played between Villanova and Rutgers have been decided by an average of just 4.3 points per contest. In the six games, which Villanova is 4-2, three of the six have been decided by just one point.

Last six games of Villanova/Rutgers series
Jan. 9, 2004 Villanova 53, Rutgers 49
Jan. 15, 2003 Rutgers 58, Villanova 57
March 1, 2003 Rutgers 50, Villanova 49
Feb. 9, 2002 Villanova 49, Rutgers 43
Jan. 20, 2001 Villanova 78, Rutgers 65
Jan. 15, 2000 Villanova 66, Rutgers 65 (ot)

FRIENDLY CONFINES: After playing four of its last five games on the road, Villanova will return home on Tuesday, March 1 to close out the regular season against nationally ranked Rutgers. In the team's last 37 home games, Villanova is an impressive 33-4.

DOUBLE DIGIT CONFERENCE WINS: Last Tuesday's win at Seton Hall was Villanova's 10th Big East win of the season, marking the fifth consecutive year the `Cats have registered 10 or more league victories. Beginning with the 2000-01 season, Villanova has recorded a 57-22 Big East Conference mark.

TOURNAMENT TALK: Entering the final game of the 2004-05 regular season on Tuesday versus Rutgers, possibilities exist for the Wildcats to earn either the No. 3, 4 or 5 seeds in the upcoming Big East Tournament. Villanova will garner the third seed with a win over Rutgers and a Notre Dame loss to Seton Hall. The Wildcats will be the fourth seed with either a win over Rutgers or a Boston College loss at St. John's. Villanova will be the fifth seed with a loss to Rutgers and a Boston College win over St. John's. Villanova is currently 10-5 in Big East play, while Notre Dame is 11-4 and Boston College is 9-6. If the Eagles and Wildcats both finish at 10-6, Boston College will earn the higher seed by virtue of its Jan. 12 win over Villanova. If Villanova and Notre Dame tie at 11-5, Villanova earns the higher seed due to its win over the Irish on Jan. 9.

STREAKING TO A STOP: Villanova had its season-high five-game winning streak snapped on Saturday with a 62-60 loss at Georgetown. The loss also stopped Villanova's four-game road winning streak.

A WEEK TO REMEMBER: Sophomore forward Jackie Adamshick had an outstanding two games last week. In back-to-back performances versus Seton Hall and Georgetown, Adamshick combined to score 42 points, while shooting 15-of-30 from the field (50.0%), 8-of-18 from three-point range (44.4%) and 4-of-4 from the foul line. She also had 11 rebounds in the the two games combined. In 26 games this year, she has had 16 double figure scoring games, including five 20+ point performances. Adamshick currently leads the team in both scoring (13.4 ppg.) and rebounding (6.3 rpg.).

SUCCESSFUL STRETCH: Villanova junior forward Liad Suez has played outstanding basketball the last six games. In her last six outings, Suez has totaled 81 points for a 13.5 points per game average. From the field, she is 25-of-51 from the field (49.0%), including a 15-of-31 effort from three-point range (48.3%).

BLOCK PARTY: In the last two games, senior center Jana Rediger has registered nine block shots, including a career-high tying six versus Seton Hall on Feb. 22. She also registered six blocks against Colorado in the 2002 Sweet 16. For the year, Rediger has a team-best 34 blocks to her credit.

CHARITY CASE: Over the last 11 games, Villanova is an impressive 80-of-100 (80.0%) from the free throw line. For the year, Villanova is 227-of-309 from the foul line for 73.5 percent.

A DIFFERENT LOOK: Beginning with the Syracuse game on Feb. 9, Villanova head coach Harry Perretta went to a different starting line-up. Perretta inserted junior Kate Dessart Mager into the starting line-up at the four position and moved Liad Suez to the sixth player role. In the six games since the move was made, Villanova has tallied a 5-1 mark.

2004-05 DOUBLE-DOUBLES:
Dec. 8 vs. LaSalle Kate Dessart Mager (23 points/ 11 reb.)
Dec. 11 vs. St. Joseph's Jackie Adamshick (15 points/ 11 reb.)
Feb. 5 vs. Seton Hall Kate Dessart Mager (10 points/ 10 reb.)
Feb. 12 vs. WVU Liad Suez (15 points/ 10 reb.)
Feb. 16 vs. Providence Jackie Adamshick (18 points/ 14 reb.)

BOOST FROM THE BENCH: A big reason why Villanova is 5-1 in its last six games is due to the play of the Wildcat bench. In the last six contests, the bench has outscored its opponent by a 144-47 margin.

FANTASTIC FEBRUARY: Villanova ended the month of February with a 6-2 record. Dating back to 2002, the Wildcats are 26-2 in the games played in February. After winning the final six February games of the 2001-02 season, the `Cats went 7-0 in February in both 2002-03 and 2003-04 and were 6-2 this year in the second month.

DEFEND THE ARC: Playing three-point defense has been a strength of the Villanova Wildcats this season. After 26 games, Wildcat opponents are averaging just 2.9 made three-point field goals per game and are shooting just 31.8 percent from three-point range (76-of-239). Villanova has made 171 triples this year and have outscored its opponents 513-228 from behind the arc.

TOUGH D: Entering play versus Rutgers on Tuesday, March 1, Villanova ranks third in the Big East Conference in scoring defense at 53.6 points per game. Since allowing 73 points at Connecticut on Jan. 15, the Wildcats are giving up 50.2 points per game in the last 11 contests. In 26 games this year, the Wildcats have held 18 opponents under 60 points and eight opponents under 50 points.

HALFTIME ADVANTAGE: Over the last two seasons, Villanova is 31-4 when leading at halftime, including 14-2 this season. The two losses this year came against North Carolina and Temple.

MILESTONE VICTORY: Villanova University head women's basketball coach Harry Perretta tallied his 500th career win in a 70-49 victory at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Feb. 2. With the victory, Perretta becomes the 26th women's basketball coach in NCAA history to reach the 500 win plateau. Currently in his 27-year as the Wildcat mentor, Perretta owns a 505-278 record. His 505 victories currently rank him 21st on the winningest active collegiate coaching list.

TRAINING ROOM REPORT: Starting junior guard Jenna Viani was lost for the year when she she suffered a season-ending knee injury in Villanova's 58-52 win over West Virginia on January 23. Viani started all 17 games this year and averaged 5.8 points per game, 2.4 assists per contest and 2.4 rebounds per contest. She is expected to be at 100 percent for the 2005-06 season.

THE SUEZ FACTOR: When Wildcat junior forward Liad Suez scores double figures, Villanova's chances for success are pretty good. Suez has reached the double figure scoring mark in 39 career games and in those 39 contests, Villanova is 33-6. On the contrary, the Wildcats are 7-9 when she does not score double figures. This season, the team is 15-4 when she has double figures and 2-5 when she does not.

DIAL LONG DISTANCE: Entering play versus Rutgers on Tuesday, March 1, Villanova has made at least one three-point field goal in 236 of its last 237 games. The Wildcats are currently 171-of-491 from three-point range this season for 34.8 percent. In the team's last outing at Georgetown, Villanova went 11-of-34 from three-point range. This was the third time this season that the `Cats have made double figure three-point field goals. In the last four games, Villanova has connected on 36 field goals from behind the arc.

THE IMPORTANCE OF 70: When Villanova scores 70 points, it is a good bet that the Wildcats will have success. Dating back to 2000-01, Villanova is 39-1 when scoring 70 or more points, including a perfect 6-0 this season. The lone loss was an 81-70 setback to Penn State in the 2000 season opener. The Wildcats are also 78-8 since 2000-01 when scoring 60 or more points. However, the flip side of that statistic is also true. Although Villanova's defense has allowed an opponent 70 points just seven times in the last 123 games dating back to 2001-02, the Wildcats are 0-7 in those games, including losses this season to Kansas State (75-63), Boston College (77-63) and Connecticut (73-57) this season.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: Villanova currently leads the country in fewest turnovers per game at 9.7. If the Wildcats finish the year at the top of this category, it will be the third time in the last four years that they have led the nation in fewest turnovers per game. In 12 of the 26 contests this year, Villanova has committed single digit turnovers, including in seven of the last 11 games.

FIRST TEAM DISTINCTION: Junior forward Liad Suez was named to the preseason All-Big East first team. The team was selected by a vote of the league head coaches. As a sophomore last year, Suez earned third team All-League distinction after averaging 13.3 ppg., 3.9 rpg., and 2.2 apg. Suez was joined on the preseason first team by Jacqueline Batteast (Notre Dame), Jessalyn Deveny (Boston College), Yolanda Paige (WVU), Cappie Pondexter (Rutgers), Ann Strother (Connecticut) and Barbara Turner (Connecticut). After 26 games this season, Suez is averaging 13.2 points per game and is shooting 43.2 percent from the field (121-of-280) and 39.5 percent from three-point range (51-of-129).

VILLANOVA PICKED FIFTH: In the 2004-05 Big East Conference preseason coaches poll, the Villanova Wildcats were chosen to finish fifth in the 12-team member Big East Conference. The following is the coaches order of finish.

1. Connecticut (10)
2. Notre Dame (2)
3. Boston Coll
ege 4. Rutgers
5. VILLANOVA
6. West Virginia
7. Seton Hall
8. St. John's
9. Syracuse
10. Georgetown
11. Pittsburgh
12. Providence