For these players, all roads led to Villanova. From there, it was back to the NCAA Tournament.

BATON ROUGE, La. — It sounds cliche, but Villanova women’s basketball coach Denise Dillon believes everything happens as it’s meant to.

She and her staff recruited the likes of Denae Carter, Ryanne Allen, and Kylee Watson as high schoolers, but the trio began their college careers elsewhere. But, like the multifaceted brand of basketball Dillon employs, those connections created a web that led back to the Main Line. Watson (Notre Dame), Allen (Vanderbilt), and Carter (Mississippi State), along with Iowa State transfer Kelsey Joens didn’t just bring long game logs, either. They brought NCAA Tournament experience from each of their previous stops. Now, they’ve helped lead the Wildcats (25-7) back to the big dance, where they’ll take on No. 7 seed Texas Tech (25-7) in the first round here on Friday (8:30 p.m., ESPNU).

“I think that experience certainly can help, but it was about us just finding the right people for our culture and continuing to add on the program, as well,” Dillon, who’s in her sixth season coaching her alma mater, said.

(Joens isn’t from the area, but she had a connection to Villanova all-time great Maddy Siegrist via her sister, Ashley, Iowa State’s all-time scoring leader who played nine games with Siegrist’s Dallas Wings in 2023.)

For Carter, there was instant chemistry with Villanova. The forward has been on both sides of it, as an incoming transfer in 2023 and senior leader on this season’s squad, showing newcomers “what it means to play basketball in Philly.” Sometimes that bond was deepened through major events like Philly is Unrivaled in January or meeting Natasha Cloud, who’s perhaps the biggest name to come out of the Big 5 in recent memory.

“We have a special chemistry and bond here at Villanova,” said star sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe. “We’re lucky to have that. We’re great friends on and off the court. As soon as our freshmen and transfers came in this year they joined that, and I think that’s a testament to why we’ve been playing so well this year.”

» READ MORE: After a tough start to the season, Villanova knew where to turn: the players who’ve been in March Madness before

But sometimes, the bonds were strengthened in smaller, less obvious settings like watching the Stranger Things finale together or the moments in the locker room before or after practice.

“You spend, jeez, 95% of your time with these girls, and if you don’t love each other, if you don’t want to play for each other, you’re probably not going to make it far, and I think that’s something that I’ve learned throughout my time as well is, like, the more you want to play for the person next to you, the further you’re going to go,” Watson said.

Coincidentally, Watson’s and Carter’s teams faced each other in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, with Notre Dame winning, 53-48, in the first round. Carter had two rebounds and missed the only shot she took in seven minutes off the bench; Watson started and had four points and two rebounds in 27 minutes.

But the experience on that stage extends beyond the Wildcats’ locker room.

» READ MORE: Inside ACL tear recovery, from the perspective of two Villanova women’s basketball players

Flau’jae Johnson, the charismatic leader of the weekend’s host, No. 2-seeded LSU, is no stranger to this stage. As a freshman in 2022-23, she helped lead the Tigers to their first national title in a game highlighted by the matchup between two of the sport’s biggest stars, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

“We have a lot of experience,” Johnson said. “I’ve been to a couple of Elite Eights and the national championship. So I think just knowing the ropes a little bit, knowing the focus you have to have. … It’s good to have that in the locker room with so many new pieces.”

Texas Tech, meanwhile, is back in the tournament for the first time in over a decade, though its coach, Krista Gerlich, brought a title to Lubbock, Texas, in 1993. The Red Raiders touted the Wildcats’ efficient offense and ability to share the ball, but there may be a certain commonality to the teams’ ethos. Before its lengthy winning streak and the attention that comes with being ranked in the AP Top 25, Texas Tech was picked to finish 13th in the 16-team Big 12. Ouch. But the Red Raiders embraced it — they liked being underdogs, standout guards Bailey Maupin and Snudda Collins said.

That’s something a team from the Philly area can relate to. That and a fluid style that’s mobile, dynamic, and hard to guard — “it’s more fun, I think, that way,” Carter said. Dillon doesn’t just preach it; she grew up playing it, and her teams see it early each season in Big 5 play. Now, it’ll be back on a national stage.

“We play a continuity offense, a five-out offense, a read-and-react. So you need players who are comfortable in all areas,” Dillon said. “It’s not a post player with their back to the basket. … Your guards, they’re responsible on both ends of the floor. As much as we want that versatility on the offensive end, we want it on the defensive end, as well. They know they’re going to be switching a lot. They [have to] guard post players. Our posts have to guard perimeter players. So just that all-around versatile player.”