Game 18: Women at Villanova

The #21 women's team visits Villanova (7-1) in Philadelphia, PA this afternoon. The Colonials are coming off of a trip to New Orleans last weekend that saw the squad split its two games. Last Saturday, GW beat Sanford 64-57 behind 21 points, six rebounds, and four assists from Kimberly Beck.

The Wildcats, who were picked to finish 12th out of 16 teams in the Big East Conference, return four starters from the squad that went 8-21, the worst mark in coach Harry Perretta's long tenure at the school. Villanova has three players averaging double figures in scoring: 6-0 senior forward Stacie Witman (16.6 points, 5.8 rebounds per game this season), 6-2 junior forward Laura Kurz (14.9 points, 7.4 rebounds), and 6-1 junior forward/center Lisa Karcic (14.4 points, 4.9 rebounds). Perretta is 543-314 in his 30th year with the Wildcats.

On Wednesday, Villanova used 22 points and seven rebounds from Kurz to beat St. Joseph's 71-47. The Wildcats' lone loss of the season came on November 11 at Loyola (MD) by a score of 49-47. Villanova has outscored opponents by an average of 14.5 points per game this season.

This is the seventh-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 4-2. The last meeting came on November 29 of last year at the Smith Center, which the Colonials won 73-47. In that one, Jessica Adair had 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Villanova was held to just 26% shooting from the field. GW won the last meeting in Philadelphia 68-60 on December 1, 2005. The Colonials are 1-1 all-time at the Pavilion.

This is a dangerous game for the Colonials. I'm reluctantly picking coach Joe McKeown and company to come out with a tough road win.

Max Smith and Eric Struening have the call for WRGW with Adam Rosenbloom and Steven Smith handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 12.40 p.m.

Game notes: Whitney Allen (broken left ring finger) and Antelia Parrish (sprained left ankle) are both questionable for today's game...Allen hasn't played since the Rutgers loss on November 18, while Parrish hasn't stepped on the court since the South Dakota State game on November 23...With Allen and Parrish both out of the lineup, GW is 2-2...McKeown is 45-15 in his hometown of Philadelphia while at GW...McKeown and Perreta were high school basketball rivals...Perretta ranks at 16th on the list all-time wins by active coaches...McKeown ranks 22nd...Today's coaches have combined for 1,031 career wins...Beck needs 16 assists to pass Kathy Marshall for the top spot in program history...McKeown is 12 wins shy of 500 for his career.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from the WRGW studios and the Pavilion once we get closer to tip-off. Please check back later.

Update, 1.30 p.m. - Here were the starting lineups:

GW
G - Stefani Munro (5-7 sophomore from Mount Clemens, MI)
G - Kimberly Beck (5-8 senior from Fairburn, GA)
G - Sarah-Jo Lawrence (5-11 senior from Rhoadesville, VA)
F - Whitney Allen (5-11 senior from Woodbridge, VA)
C - Jessica Adair (6-4 junior from Washington, DC)

Villanova
G - Maria Getty (5-9 sophomore from Centerville, OH)
G - Tia Grant (5-11 sophomore from Lido Beach, NY)
F - Stacie Witman (6-0 senior from Plymouth Meeting, PA)
F - Lisa Karcic (6-1 junior from New Hyde Park, NY)
F - Laura Kurz (6-2 junior from Lower Gwynedd, PA)

Good to see Allen back in the lineup. Parrish did not appear in the first half and is not expected to play.