November 29, 2020 –
The Villanova Wildcats women’s basketball team goes to 2 – 0 on the season under Coach Denise Dillon as they held off the Bobcats of Quinnipiac 63 – 60 in Hamden, CT. The game was not on the original schedule. It was put together recently as Manhattan paused their season due to COVID-19. Maddy Siegrist led the Wildcats with a game-high 25 points and her two free throws with 9 seconds to play provided the final margin of victory. A last second three-pointer by the Bobcats was off the mark.
Villanova was sharp at the start scoring the first 11 points of the game, and stayed ahead throughout. Quinnipiac kept making runs, but Villanova got key baskets to stay in front.
In the fourth quarter a Sarah Mortensen three with just under 7 and a half minutes to play gave Nova a 54 – 45 lead. That was the last basket the Wildcats would score over the next three minutes. The Bobcats erased all but one-point of that lead getting back-to-back buckets form beyond the arc by Sajada Bonner. Villanova answered with scores by Bella Runyan and Mortensen to increase the lead to 6 with just over 2 minutes on the clock. Those would be the last points for Nova until Siegrist sank the critical two foul shots after Quinnipiac cut the lead to one at the ten second mark.
In the game Villanova shot 44% making 26 of 59 attempts, and went 9 of 12 from the line. The Cats converted on fast breaks and drives to the basket creating the high shooting percentage, and getting a 44 – 22 advantage in points in the paint. Sharing the ball was a key as Villanova had 21 assists on their 26 baskets. At least one assist was recorded by nine of the ten Nova players. The Wildcats won the boards 37 – 33.
Siegrist has scored 20 or more points in 17 of her 33 career games. She got 10 rebounds for a double-double in both games this season, and 13 in her short career. In this game the sophomore forward made half of her 18 shots and converted 7 of 8 from the line. She also added an assist, a blocked shot, and 2 steals. This season Siegrist is averaging 26.5 points per game and 10 rebounds.
Mortensen, a transfer from Miami, had her Villanova-best 16 points making 7 of 13 from the floor. Briana Herlihy contributed 10 points and 7 rebounds. Runyan set a career-mark with 6 assists, and Sam Carangi also had a career-mark in helps with 3.
Quinnipiac, coming off a 71 – 65 win against Providence, got a team-high 16 points from Mackenzie DeWees who also grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with 3 steals. Bonner and Rose Caverly contributed 11 points with Caverly handing out 6 assists. Mikala Morris broke double figures with 10. The Wildcats defense limited the Bobcats to 34.5% shooting, 7 of 18 were from distance. After three quarters Quinnipiac was shooting below 30%. The last quarter increased their shooting percentage.
The next game for Villanova is scheduled for December 4th as they host DePaul. Stay tuned as schedules change frequently in college basketball so far this season.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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