Irish begin Big East season with Wildcats
By TIM CASEY
Assistant Sports Editor
The quest for its first Big East title begins on Wednesday for the women's basketball team.
An improved Villanova team comes to South Bend with a 5-1 record, its best start since 1986-87. The Wildcats are unranked, but received four votes in the latest Associated Press rankings.
In that same poll, announced on Monday, the Irish are ranked fourth behind Connecticut, Tennessee and Duke. If they win on Wednesday, the Irish will improve to 7-0 on the season and will have recorded their 26th straight victory at the Joyce Center.
Sophomore guard Trish Juhline, a Big East All-Rookie performer last season, leads the Wildcats in scoring with 14.2 points per game. Another key player is center Brandi Barnes, who averaged 10.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game a year ago.
Villanova lost its first game of the year, 81-70 to then-No. 10 Penn State on Nov. 17. Since then the Wildcats have beaten Fairfield, Florida International, Georgia State and Temple. Head coach Harry Perretta won his 400th career game (in 23 years) on Saturday. The Wildcats' record ranks third among Big East teams so far in 2000.
The trio of Ruth Riley, Niele Ivey and Alicia Ratay have led the Irish all year. Notre Dame had no trouble in their last game, a 23-point victory over North Carolina in Orlando. The biggest win of the season occurred on Nov. 24 when the Irish beat then-No. 6 Georgia in the finals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge.
On Feb. 16, 2000 Notre Dame defeated Villanova 70-52 in the teams' only meeting of the year. Riley had a team high 14 points and 8 rebounds for the victors.
The Irish also host another key game on Saturday. Purdue (No. 5 in the Associated Press poll and No. 6 in the ESPN/USA TODAY rankings) will visit the Joyce Center with a 6-1 record. Its only loss of the season came in the preseason women's National Invitational Tournament against Louisiana Tech. The Boilermakers avenged that five-point defeat with a key 73-61 victory over Boston College last Saturday.
Katie Douglas and Camille Cooper lead the team in scoring with 17.0 and 14.5 points per game. A year ago, the Boilermakers handed the Irish their second loss, a 71-61 defeat on Dec. 8. Purdue plays Valparaiso on Wednesday before coming to town this weekend.
The Irish have nine days off for finals after the Purdue game before hosting Western Michigan.
Notre Dame faces two key games to start the New Year. Rutgers and Connecticut come to South Bend on Jan. 6 and Jan. 15, respectively.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, December 7, 2000
