Maddy Siegrist Scores 25 Points in 71 – 56 Wildcats Win
VILLANOVA, PA. 1/21/2022 –
The previous time Villanova played Providence it was the Friars that posted a big victory over the Wildcats. Villanova forward Maddy Siegrist did not play in that game. She did tonight and made her presence felt both on and off the floor. Siegrist contributed 25 points and in doing so she went past Caroline Coyer and over present coach Denise Dillon to move into 12th place on the all-time scoring list on the main line. Siegrist has scored 1,366 career points. And she was surprised to hear the news.
“I had no idea,” said a surprised Siegrist. “Those are two really great players, so it’s an honor. I’m a little surprised about it.”
Siegrist, a redshirt junior, moved into 13th place quickly to overtake Coyer, whom she trailed by a point, with a follow up off a miss at the 9:14 mark of the first period. With 4:01 remaining in the second quarter Siegrist scored her 15th point of the game and went ahead of Dillon with a basket from beyond the arc for point number 1,356. Neither player nor coach was aware of that at the time, but were thrilled to about it after the game.
“I’m glad to have her pass me, and I hope more of these players pass me,” said Dillon. “We’ll be doing pretty good for ourselves. That’s fantastic, she’s moving right along.”
The Wildcats took the game 71 – 56 and lead comfortably from start to finish. Villanova had their complete team as three players returned from health and safety protocols. And in this game Siegrist played. The Wildcats got into a flow early and kept control throughout. They had more than Siegrist contributing to the win, and made amends for the previous game in Rhode Island.
“It was the intensity of wanting this game back,” Dillon said. “The game up there was so bad. We didn’t have the energy. The energy was stale. It wasn’t lack of execution, it was not connecting. They all felt it, but nothing they could do about it. Maddy opened it up offensively. Brianna (Herlihy) brings some energy we didn’t have against DePaul last Friday, got it back against Marquette. It was them recognizing what they could bring and how they could impact the game when they’re out on the floor or not.”
In the victory nine players who saw the floor scored for Villanova. Siegrist had a double-double adding 10 rebounds to her stat line. This is her 28th career double-double and 38th twenty-point game. Brianna Herlihy took down 11 rebounds and scored 9 points. Lior Garzon added 9 points and Kaitlyn Orihel scored 8 points. The Cats made 26 of 64 from the floor (40.6%). Providence (8 – 9, 3 – 5) was held to 36.2% shooting. Kylee Sheppard led the Friars with 11 points. Nova won the rebounding battle 28 – 23.
“It was our revenge tour,” Siegrist said. “We lost by twenty there, so we knew coming in that we had to bring it right from the jump. We tried to keep our foot on the gas a little bit and for the most part we did.”
With the win Villanova improves to 10 – 6 overall and 4 – 3 in the Big East. They are above .500 in the conference, and is important for the team.
“It’s really important,” Siegrist said. “You try not to look too far ahead, one game at a time. Beating Marquette was big for us, beating these guys today, try to keep it rolling. Get as many wins as you can and finish off in the best position for postseason.”
The Creighton Blue Jays come to visit on Sunday. They defeated Villanova earlier in the season, and the Cats await the rematch as they finally have a full contingent, back together and happy about it.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@phillycollegesports.com
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