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What you might not know about Villanova as the NCAA Tournament awaits

Who leads Villanova in three-point shooting? Which Wildcat is among the nation's top 10 in blocked shots? And why was Denise Dillon's lineup card easy to complete?

Villanova celebrates a January win over St. John's.
Villanova celebrates a January win over St. John's.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
    by Ed Barkowitz, For The Inquirer
    Published 

The Villanova women’s basketball team has never been ranked this highly by the Associated Press. They’ve never had a scorer this prolific. They’ve never hosted NCAA Tournament games, either.

We’ll know either in a couple of weeks – or a couple of days, if things go terribly wrong – whether this fascinating season will include an unprecedented trip to a Final Four. But until then, here are 20 things to know about Villanova’s women’s hoops team.

» READ MORE: The Inquirer's Bracket Jawn -- NCAA men's and women's tournaments. Who you got?

  1. The Wildcats (28-6) need two wins to break the school record held by the 1981-82 squad, which went 29-4 and advanced to the AIAW Final Four - the predecessor to the NCAA Tournament. The other three clubs in the Final Four that year were Rutgers (winner), Wayland Baptist and Texas.

  2. Coach Denise Dillon has used the same starting five in all 34 games – Maddie Burke, Christina Dalce, Brooke Mullin, Lucy Olsen and Maddy Siegrist.

  1. Siegrist, Villanova’s all-time leading scorer with 2,799 points, hails from Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Her father, George, played at Marist and was a freshman in 1987-88 when former NBA player Rik Smits was a senior.

  2. Brooke Mullin, who went to Neshaminy and averages 26 minutes, is a niece of former NBA star Chris Mullin. Uncle Chris and Smits played three years together with the Pacers (1997-00).

  3. A mock draft on ESPN last month had Siegrist being selected by Washington with the No. 4 overall pick. The draft will be held April 10.

  4. Maddy Siegrist enters the NCAA Tournament leading the nation in scoring over Iowa star Caitlin Clark and Drexel’s Keishana Washington.

Here’s a look at how recent scoring champs fared in the NCAA Tournament:

2023: Maddy Siegrist, Villanova (28.9) – ???

2022: Caitlin Clark, Iowa (27.0) – 2nd round

2021: Caitlin Clark, Iowa (26.6) – Sweet 16

2020: Stella Johnson, Rider (24.8) – No tournament

2019: Megan Gustafson, Iowa (27.8) – Elite 8

2018: Megan Gustafson, Iowa (25.7) – 1st round

2017: Kelsey Plum, Washington (31.7) – Sweet 16

2016: Jasmine Nwajei, Wagner (29.0) – DNQ

2015: Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio St. (24.9) – 1st round

2014: Jerica Coley, FIU (29.5) – DNQ

2013: Jerica Coley, FIU (26.3) – DNQ

2012: Elena Delle Donne, Delaware (28.1 points) – 2nd round

  1. Villanova is 19-3 since Dec. 21. Their only losses were to Connecticut by 5, 9 and 11. They are 0-6 against ranked teams this season.

  2. Sophomore Christina Dalce, a 6-2 forward, is ninth in the nation in overall blocked shots. Her 76 swats shattered the previous school record of 65 by Lisa Ortlp 44 years ago.

  1. After playing about 5 minutes per game last season, Dalce averages about 24 minutes this year and tells her teammates to take care of the offensive end of the floor. “I’m just trying to be the best defensive player I can be,” she told the school’s media network last week. “I know my teammates, like Maddy, got the offensive piece. I tell them: ‘defensively, I’ve got you guys.’ ”

  2. Villanova’s No. 10 ranking is its highest ever in the AP poll. The 2003 team got as high as 8th in the Coaches’ poll.

» READ MORE: Maddy Siegrist has Villanova’s scoring mark, and a special bond with Sister Rose Marie, the old record-holder

  1. Most points in an NCAA Tournament game by a Villanova women’s player:

Shelly Pennefather, 1987, vs. N.C. State (L), 27 points

Maddy Siegrist, 2022, vs. BYU (W), 25 points

Adrianna Hahn, 2018, vs. San Diego St. (W/ot), 24 points

Shelly Pennefather, 1986, vs. La Salle (W). 20 points

Jannah Tucker, 2018, vs. San Diego St. (W/ot), 20 points

  1. The deepest the Wildcats have gone in the NCAAs was the 2003 Elite 8. It’s actually the only time they’ve gotten out of the first weekend in their 12 appearances.

  2. When Villanova was overwhelmed by host Tennessee, 73-49, in that 2003 Mideast Regional Final, coach Harry Perretta observed, “It was like we were holding back a river with a piece of plywood.”

  1. Lucy Olsen, who was second-team all-Big East, has nearly a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. When she was at Spring-Ford High, she won a PIAA state championship in doubles tennis.

  2. Olsen and reserve teammate Kaitlyn Orihel have known each other since they were rivals in grade school. Orihel, the Pennsylvania state player of the year in 2020 at Archbishop Wood, told 247Sports.com that the hiring of head coach Denise Dillon in 2020 played a big role in her decision to attend Villanova.

  3. Siegrist needs 16 points to become just the fifth women’s player with 1,000 points in a season. The list:

1. Kelsey Plum, Washington, 2016-17 - 1,109 points

2. Jackie Stiles, Missouri St., 2010-11 - 1,062 points

3. Odyssey Sims, Baylor, 2013-14 - 1,054 points

4. Megan Gustafson, Iowa, 2018-19 - 1,001 points

5. Maddy Siegrist, Villanova, 2022-23 - 984 points

  1. The Wildcats have made at least one three-pointer in 616 straight games, a streak that dates back to 2004.

  2. Villanova is 12-0 when Maddie Burke scores in double figures. She (not Siegrist) leads the team in three-pointers made with 68 and in three-point shooting at 38.2%. Burke’s father Chris played at Widener and professionally in Europe.

  3. Valuable sixth-woman Bella Runyan is the daughter of former Eagles’ tackle Jon Runyan and sister to current Packers’ tackle Jon Runyan Jr. Unlike her burly relatives, Bella Runyan is a 5-11 guard.

  4. Scoring leaders among notable Villanova women’s players in NCAA Tournament games:

Shelly Pennefather, 1986-87, 61 points, 3 games, 20.3 points

Jannah Tucker, 2018, 39 points, 2 games, 19.5 points

Maddy Siegrist, 2022, 37 points, 2 games, 18.5 points

Adrianna Hahn, 2018, 35 points, 2 games, 17.5 points

Katie Davis, 2001-03, 106 points, 8 games, 13.3 points

Courtney Mix, 2001-03, 93 points, 8 games, 11.6 points

Trish Juhline, 2001-03, 92 points, 8 games, 11.5 points

Source: Inquirer research, Villanova sports information department