The Villanova women’s basketball team has done a lot of soul-searching lately. It started the season a surprising 11-2, albeit against teams that won’t necessarily strike fear into the hearts of teams — after all, the Wildcats’ two losses were to the likes of Lehigh and Massachusetts.
Then Big East play came along and the Wildcats couldn’t buy a win. Near-wins at West Virginia and Louisville went along with blowout losses against Connecticut, Notre Dame and Marquette. Suddenly, Villanova found itself sitting 0-9 in conference play.
The Wildcats finally got their first Big East win Tuesday night with an 83-69 victory over Syracuse, led by Maria Getty’s 28 points on 6-of-10 shooting, all from behind the 3-point line. Four Wildcats’ players scored in double digits, combining for 79 of the team’s 83 points.
Stringer suspended
Rutgers women’s basketball Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer was suspended for one game on Tuesday for violating an NCAA bylaw which states that managers may not participate as practice players with the institution’s team if they are not eligible student-athletes.
Rutgers has only nine players on its roster after freshman Christine Huber decided to transfer in early January.
Huskies roll
The Connecticut Huskies continued their complete dominance of women’s college basketball, extending their winning streak to 62 games with an 84-38 massacre at Louisville Sunday.
Tina Charles again led the way for the Huskies with 20 points and nine rebounds, the 14th straight game she has scored in double digits.
The Huskies’ last six wins have been by at least 30 points, and the 46-point win was the 11th time this season Connecticut has won by more than 40 points.
Two games to watch
Georgetown at West Virginia, Sunday, Feb. 14
The game will be a part of ESPN’s February Frenzy/Pink Zone, which includes games on Sunday and Monday. Schools participating in the event have the option to wear pink uniforms or shoelaces to help promote breast cancer awareness. The Hoyas entered play Wednesday a game and a half behind Connecticut for first place in the Big East at 9-1, with its lone loss coming at Marquette. The Mountaineers currently sit in fourth place at 8-2, having defeated Providence, 75-59, on Feb. 6.
Connecticut at Oklahoma, Monday, Feb. 15
The Huskies will play their final non-conference game of the season in Norman, Okla., Monday night, also part of ESPN’s February Frenzy/Pink Zone. The Sooners enter the game Monday at 17-6 overall but have not fared well against higher-level teams this season, with losses against Notre Dame and Tennessee on the road.
Player of the week
Nicole Michael, Syracuse, Sr. G
Michael averaged 22.5 points, eight rebounds and 1.5 assists in Syracuse’s two Big East victories last week. The senior forward registered a game-high 27 points and a team-best 10 rebounds in Syracuse’s 87-80 overtime victory at Pittsburgh on Feb. 2. Michael became Syracuse’s all-time leading scorer as she surpassed Julia McBride’s scoring mark of 1,605 points in the Pittsburgh win.
Points per game: 15.4
Rebounds per game: 8.0
Field goal percentage: 40.3
3-point percentage: 37.7
Free-throw percentage: 58.1
Total steals: 31
