Villanova Earns NCAA Women’s Tournament At Large Bid – Seeded 9th In Spokane Region

VILLANOVA, PA. 3/12/2018 – The Villanova Wildcats were rewarded for their successful season with a bid to the NCAA Tournament.  The Wildcats are the #9 seed in the Spokane Region and will face the South Dakota State Jackrabbits , the number 8 seed, in South Bend, IN.  The game is scheduled for 7:30 PM on Friday.

Villanova is going to the NCAA’s for the 11th time in program history and the first since 2013.  Coach Harry Perretta sees this bid as part of the growing process the team has gone through since last season.

“That run to the final four of the NIT helped us,” said Perretta.

“I’ve seen them grow a lot.  I saw them start to grow last year at the end of the season and it kept on going this year.  And we wound it up with an NCAA appearance.”

For seniors Megan Quinn and Alex Louin, this was their last chance to get to the NCAA’s.  Getting the invitation was a source of excitement for them.

“I’ve got the NIT Tournament my past two years, so this has been a goal for us,” Louin said.  “For this to happen my last year here is really incredible, and we hope to make the most of it.”

“We’re ecstatic,” said Quinn.  “The NCAA’s are a place you can make history.  For the seniors on our last go around is the greatest thing we could have asked for.”

South Dakota State went 26 – 6 this season.  Their style of play is similar to Villanova’s style, just faster.

“They shoot the ball extremely well,” said Perretta about their opponent.  “They’re mobile, they like to push the ball, that’s all I know about them.  Those teams in the midwest are a lot better than you think.  We actually played South Dakota one time.  They were very good, too.”

The Wildcats (22 – 8) were placed in the Spokane Region.  The opening game will be at Notre Dame as the top four seeds will host the first two rounds on campus.  Notre Dame is the #1 seed in the region.  The Irish will play Cal State Northridge in their opening match up.  There is a potential that the former Big East rivals can meet in the second round, but Nova is thinking only about the Jackrabbits.