Villanova will open-up Philadelphia Big 5 play on Saturday afternoon when the Wildcats travel to Hawk Hill to take on the Saint Joseph's Hawks. The Wildcats enter play 0-2 on the young season, while Saint Joseph's is 1-2. Tip-off at Hagan Arena is set for 3 p.m.
 
Starting with Saturday's game at Saint Joseph's, Villanova will play three consecutive Philadelphia Big 5 games. Following the trip to Hawk Hill on Saturday, the Wildcats will visit The Palestra on Monday to take on the Penn Quakers. The third game in the stretch will take place on Nov. 27 with a home date versus the Temple Owls. The fourth and final City Series game will be on Dec. 21 at La Salle. 
 
Villanova enters play versus Saint Joseph's on Saturday having won five in a row against the Hawks. Saint Joseph's last win in the series came during the 2014-15 season. In the last meeting between the schools on Dec. 7, 2019, Villanova tallied a 60-44 win over the Hawks. The Wildcats are also 33-6 in its last 39 games versus Philadelphia Big Five competition.
 
The Wildcats enter play on Saturday with an all-time Big Five record of 122-40 (.753). The 122 wins are the most victories by any Big Five women's program. Saint Joseph's is second with 111 Big Five wins.
 
This will be Villanova's first game action in eight days.In the team's last outing on Nov. 12, Villanova fell at No. 4 Maryland by a score of 88-67. In the setback, Brianna Herlihy led the Wildcats with 16 points, while Lior Garzon tallied 15 points and Maddy Siegrist chipped in with 11 points. Maryland was paced by Angel Reese who had a game-high 23 points. She was one of six Terrapins to reach double figures. For the game, Villanova was 24-of-55 from the field (43.6%), 13-of-27 from three-point range (48.1%) and 6-of-6 from the foul line (100.0%), while Maryland shot 56.7 percent from the floor (34-of-60), 50.0 percent from long distance (5-of-10) and 83.3 percent from the foul line (15-of-18).  Maryland owned a 38-21 advantage on the backboards.
 
Villanova will stay on the road for its next game when the Wildcats play Penn at The Palestra on Monday evening. Tip time is set for 7 p.m.