Dec. 11, 2002
Recap?|? Box Score
Villanova Wildcats Vs. Pennsylvania Quakers Game Notes
December 10, 2002 First Union Center
Onward to a Milestone: Entering the December 10th game against Penn, senior Ricky Wright had totaled 953 points in his career and needed only 43 points to reach the 1000 point milestone. Wright inches closer to the feat as he led the Wildcats with 15 points against Penn. The senior now only needs 28 more points to accomplish what only 45 other Villanova basketball players have done themselves.
Series Update: Villanova and Penn have been foes since 1922 when the Quakers pulled out a 27-23 victory. Following today's match the series remains in Villanova's favor with a 33-17 edge. Penn has now won two straight against the 'Cats as they defeated Villanova by one point, 75-74, in overtime at the Palestra last season.
Regulating the Rebounds: The Wildcats have consistently been a strong rebounding team all season as they have out rebounded their opponents by an average of 42.0-29.7. While the Quakers rebounded much better than other Wildcat opponents, Villanova still held an edge in the department by grabbing 35 caroms to Penn's 28, and held a 13-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
Turnovers to Points: The first half of the Penn-Villanova match-up saw similar turnover numbers with the Quakers committing six and the Wildcats nine. The Quakers made more with the Villanova turnovers than the Wildcats could muster. Penn turned the Wildcats nine turnovers into 10 points while Villanova only managed to score one point of Penn's mistakes. The second half saw the 'Cats improve by only committing three turnovers however Penn capitalized once again by turning those into five points. The Quakers also had three turnovers in the second half but the 'Cats once again could not benefit by only scoring two points in response.
Three Point Frenzy: Penn came out on fire hitting six three pointers in the first half on 12 attempts. On the reverse side of the ball the Wildcats had only three attempts from long range connecting on just one of those. The Quakers continued to catch fire from the outside as they hit five three's in the second half. Leading the way for Penn was Jeff Schiffner who connected on five from deep in just seven attempts. The Wildcats on the whole made only six three's all game on 17 attempts.
Usual Suspects: Veteran interior players lead both teams and when matched up they did not disappoint. For Penn, Ugonna Onyekwe averages 15.5 points per game and 6.3 rebounds both of which pace the Quakers. Against Villanova the senior tallied a game-high 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Villanova is led by Ricky Wright, who currently averages 13.5 points and 8.3 rebounds. Wright led the 'Cats in scoring and rebounds versus the Quakers with 15 and eight respectively.
