For the seventh straight season Coach Peretta has led the Wildcat women into the postseason. This year, they missed out on a NCAA tournament at-large bid. Villanova finished the season at 19-10 with a 9-7 record in the Big East. After losing in the Big East quarterfinals to Rutgers, their fate was in the hands of the NCAA tournament selection committee, who chose to snub the women Wildcats. Villanova instead will play the winner of Wednesday’s game between Stony Brook and Hofstra on Saturday at the Pavilion in the WNIT tournament. The winner will advance to the second round against the victor of the South Carolina and Xavier game.

Villanova left the regular season, however, with some impressive numbers. Senior forward Liad Suez-Karni was named to the All-Big East first team with a points per game average of 14.8 and a total of 75 three-pointers on the season. As a team, the ‘Cats also lead the nation in fewest turnovers per game, coughing up a measly 10.2 balls on average. In addition to being careful with the ball, the girls ranked third in the country with a three-pointer average of 7.8 per game. With numbers like that, this past season was certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

The Wildcats had a rank of 45 in the RPI and boasted the 37th toughest schedule. They played 20 games against top 100 RPI teams and broke even with a 10-10 record, while four of those wins were against top 75 RPI teams. As Saturday approaches, the past record Villanova has in the WNIT looms above them. In their three previous appearances they are 0-3, getting bounced out in the first round each time, most recently by Chattanooga last year in a 50-40 loss.

This team, which is dominated by veteran senior stars and features several rising ones as well, has a coach beyond familiar with postseason play. Coach Harry Perretta will do his best to move his squad deep into the postseason this year.