Old Big East rivals ’Nova, Notre Dame meet again
SOUTH BEND, IND. » Playing old rival Villanova was not something Muffet McGraw and No. 5 Notre Dame looked forward to doing Sunday night in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
A root canal might be more pleasing for McGraw, whose top-seeded Irish (30-3) advanced Friday on their home floor at the Purcell Pavilion with a 99-81 victory over Cal State Northridge in the first round of the Spokane (Wash.) Regional.
They meet No. 9 seed Villanova (23-8), which needed 16 3-pointers and an overtime to oust South Dakota State, 81-74.
The fact the Irish are facing their old Big East nemesis with the prospect of not having forward Kathryn Westbeld only adds to McGraw’s pain. Westbeld rolled her left ankle — she had postseason surgery last April on her right — early against Northridge and, following treatment, returned to the bench in the second half but did not play. X-rays Saturday revealed nothing serious, and McGraw said her status will be a “game-time decision.”
There’s no avoiding Villanova and her 40-year relationship with coach Harry Perretta. Perretta took over at Villanova in 1978, about a 20-minute trip from Saint Joseph’s University, where McGraw was a feisty point guard, and Archbishop Carroll, where McGraw’s coaching career began in 1977.
Even though their the days coaching against one another ended in 2013 when Notre Dame left the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference, McGraw and Perretta still ring each other up to bounce ideas off each other.
“Harry has a great Xs-and-Os mind,” McGraw said. “He’s somebody I can talk with about another team.”
“The Philadelphia ties have kept us together,” Perretta agreed. “She’s turned (Notre Dame’s) program into one of the best in the country. We had some great games with them in the old Big East.”
Except McGraw doesn’t remember those games too fondly.
“I can’t think of any pleasant experiences playing against Villanova,” she said, though the record book shows a 19-10 Irish edge in the series and wins in the last four games. “We once beat them 38-36 (on Jan. 24, 2004 in South Bend).”
In those 29 games against Villanova, Notre Dame, which is averaging 85.2 points a game this season, surpassed the 80-point margin just three times, the last time 81-46 on Jan. 9, 2010. The Wildcats are surrendering just 59.8 points a game this season.
“Obviously we can’t play toe-to-toe with them,” Perretta said. “We’ve got to make it as ugly a game as possible. We need to generate 3-point shots and make them. If we don’t shoot the ‘3’ well, we could get beat by 30.”
Friday against Northridge, Notre Dame had four players in double figures, led by guard Arike Ogunbowale’s 30 points and forward Jessica Shepard’s double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds. Marina Mabrey had 23 as the Irish had three players score 20 or more points in a game for the first time since 1999.
A healthy Westbeld would help Notre Dame’s 2-3 zone defend against Villanova’s long-range assassins. The Wildcats’ 835 3-point attempts are 47 percent of their total field-goal attempts. Adrianna Hahn (24 points) and Jannah Tucker (20) each made six 3-pointers against the Jackrabbits Friday night.
“I think we need to be a little more aware and close out on shooters better,” said Mabrey, who has made 21 of her last 39 3-point attempts. “We need to communicate, jump to the ball and come together on screens.”
A knowing smile creased her head coach’s face.
One of Perretta’s fondest memories coaching against McGraw was when his Wildcats scored a 4845 victory on Feb. 26, 2002 to end Notre Dame’s 51-game home winning streak that had started with a 63-62 Irish victory against Villanova on Dec. 12, 1998.
“I came in (to the post-game press conference) and said, ‘The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away,’” joked Perretta, whose team is 2-9 against Notre Dame in South Bend.