ND defends undefeated Big East record
By KERRY SMITH
Assistant Sports Editor
When Muffet McGraw thinks about the Villanova Wildcats, one word comes to her mind: dangerous.
"This game is extremely dangerous because of their style of play," said the Irish head coach. "We really need to come out and execute and play good defense because they run a lot of great offenses."
A quiet team in the first half of the season, the Wildcats began to show their muscle Saturday when they upset the No. 18 Boston College Eagles 60-59 at home to improve their record to 14-8 on the season. With the Big East tournament just around the corner, the Wildcats are looking for a repeat performance against the No. 5 Irish tonight.
"It's always a struggle playing Villanova," said McGraw. "They play the slow-down game so we've really got to be focused. We're a very impatient team Ñ we like to run and score 90 points and they'd like to win 59-50."
The slow-down game is what hurt the Eagles and is just what the Irish want to avoid.
While McGraw will expect solid performances from all her players, all eyes will be focused on the matchup between first-year players Alicia Ratay and Trish Juhline.
Both shooting guards, Notre Dame's Ratay and Villanova's Juhline shared the limelight this week, each earning the Big East co-rookie of the week award.
The honor is Ratay's fifth of the season and comes after top performances during Irish wins over Pittsburgh and St. John's last week. Ratay's 20-point outing helped the Irish salvage a win against the Panthers, while her 28 points against St. John's led the team to a 97-54 victory.
But the 21-2 Irish will need more than Ratay to keep their 17-game winning streak alive.
Wildcat Brandi Barnes directs a tough inside game. The 6-foot-3 center shot 10-for-14 against the Eagles, scoring the final six points of the game to earn the win. The one-point win is not the first the Wildcats have pulled a major conference upset this season. The Wildcats handed Rutgers a 66-65 loss in January, making them a force to be reckoned with.
Despite their wins, the Wildcats are stuck in the fifth spot in the Big East standings, but are looking to move up with another upset.
McGraw is confident with her squad's ability to play its type of ball game instead of letting the Wildcats set the pace.
"I think we're playing with a lot of confidence and we certainly expected to be at least where we are right now if not a little bit better off. We've seen tremendous improvement," said McGraw. "I think we know how good we can play. [Villanova] is just another challenge for us. We're looking to March. We're taking these games as experience and trying to prepare for the Big East tournament. We want to win the regular season so every game is critical for us."
Notre Dame's matchup with Villanova begins the toughest week of the season for the Irish.
"We've got a big week coming up," said McGraw. "This is the toughest week in the season for us. We're on the road for two big games."
After playing the Wildcats, the Irish are back on the road when they meet Rutgers in New Jersey Saturday.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, February 16, 2000
