Villanova’s opener vs. Notre Dame sets up a showdown between star guards Jasmine Bascoe and Hannah Hidalgo

ROME — Jasmine Bascoe has played against Hannah Hidalgo on an international stage before. Bascoe’s Team Canada met Hidalgo’s American side in the lead up to an international tournament in what Bascoe called a “teaser in an exhibition game a couple years ago.”

And because it was international competition and not a college game, both star guards had different, less assertive roles.

“I can’t say I’ve played the NCAA Hannah, but I’ve definitely been on the court with her before,” Bascoe, who begins her junior year on the Naismith Trophy watch list, said Friday before Villanova practiced at the Giulio Onesti Olympic Center.

That means Hidalgo, a native of Merchantville, New Jersey, and one of the best players in women’s college basketball, hasn’t faced the NCAA version of Bascoe, either.

The two teams meet Sunday at the Palazzo dello Sport after the men’s teams officially tip off the college basketball season earlier in the day. It’s a Villanova team again picked second in the Big East behind juggernaut UConn and with a team capable of another at-large NCAA Tournament bid against a Notre Dame team that starts the season ranked 13th nationally and has aspirations of a deep tournament run.

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It’s a critical non-conference game to start the season, but it’s also a showdown of two smaller guards who do a little bit of everything for their respective teams. For Bascoe, Villanova’s leading scorer in both her freshman and sophomore seasons, it’s a chance to show a larger audience that the Milton, Ontario native deserves to be in some of the same national conversations that Hidalgo is in.

“I don’t really care too, too much about the accolades,” Bascoe said. “But obviously just putting myself on the map as a player and Villanova on the map. I feel like we’re definitely seen as the underdogs in this matchup, but I think that’s something we can use to our advantage.”

So, Bascoe took the humble approach in responding to the answer, but her coach knows the reality of a game and opportunity like this. Denise Dillon said she thinks Bascoe is looking forward to the head-to-head with Hidalgo “a great bit.”

“Of course you want to go against the best,” Dillon said. “You want to see where you stand. That’s Jas on every level, wanting to compete against the best.”

That’s where Hidalgo sits entering her senior season. The Paul VI graduate was named to the preseason AP All-America women’s college basketball team last week and is expected to be a top three pick in the next WNBA draft. She averaged 25.3 points and 6.9 rebounds last season and amazingly had more steals per game (5.6) than assists (5.2).

“Preparing against her, I enjoy it,” Dillon said. “You just love watching. You watch her first and then you watch what everybody else is doing.

“You realize her ability to make plays on the offensive end, but I say defensively is where I’m most impressed by her. She’s like a free safety out there.

“Putting in perspective with our players ... you’ve seen pieces of her in other players, but she has the whole package.”

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Bascoe, who averaged 18.9 points, 4.8 assists, and 4 rebounds last season, said the matchup against Hidalgo is “really cool” and “a testament to both of us and our hard work and what we’ve both put in, especially as small guards.”

Fewer know how good Bascoe is, though Dillon said “you’re hearing more talk.”

Why not more?

“It’s about where you bring your team,” Dillon said. “I felt this way with Maddy Siegrist as well. ‘Yeah, you’re doing some good stuff. But what is your team doing?’ Just continuing to challenge [Bascoe] with bringing people along and leading the way.”

That component is more important than ever this time year after last year’s second-leading scorer, Brynn McCurry, had knee surgery in September. She’ll miss the 2026-27 season.

This version of Bascoe, now in her third year on campus, is “very different, much more mature, just a lot more emotionally sound,” she said.

“Being able to throw her into the fire as a freshman was an easy decision because of her commitment to just being great every day,” Dillon said. “She shows up every day. However it’s been an absolute player to watch her grow and mature in the game and then off the court.”

Dillon will need it. With McCurry out, Bascoe and her backcourt mate Kennedy Henry are the only two returning players who averaged more than six points last season. The schedule will let Dillon know soon what kind of team she has. Besides Sunday’s opener vs. Notre Dame, Villanova has non-conference contests vs. No. 9 LSU, No. 24 West Virginia, and a strong Kansas State team.

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After practice, the Villanova women were due for a private tour Friday night at the Vatican, where they’ll return Saturday morning for a mass followed by an audience with the pope.

“It’s been great because we talked with the players about recognizing that this is a business trip and their approach has been nothing but [business],” Dillon said.

“We have an opportunity to experience Rome and a pope visit, all of that, however they’re really focused in on rest, treatment, whatever they need to do to be prepared for the game.”

For Bascoe, that means preparing for a major matchup. It’s a five-on-five sport, of course. But all eyes will be on the two 5-foot-7 guards Sunday afternoon.

“I really respect her as a player,” Bascoe said. “She’s a great player, obviously, I feel like everyone knows that.”

Villanova’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will be the first of the school’s 24 varsity programs to sport a new jersey patch on Sunday.

The school on Thursday announced a multiyear partnership with Future Standard, a global alternative asset manager. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but Future Standard will “collaborate with the Villanova School of Business on educational programming, classroom engagement, and other initiatives designed to connect students with leaders and perspectives from the financial services industry,” according to a press release.

The partnership also includes plans for financial literacy programming for Villanova athletes.