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Maddy Siegrist sets all-time scoring record at Villanova in a 73-57 road rout of Creighton

Siegrist reached the program milestone in just 103 games, 14 fewer than the record set 36 years prior by Shelly Pennefather.

Maddy Siegrist (left) is presented with a ceremonial basketball by Coach Denise Dillon (right) of Villanova for scoring over 2,000 points in her career prior to the game against St. Joseph's on Dec. 10. A little over a month later, Siegrist set the all-time scoring record at Villanova on both the men's and women's programs.
Maddy Siegrist (left) is presented with a ceremonial basketball by Coach Denise Dillon (right) of Villanova for scoring over 2,000 points in her career prior to the game against St. Joseph's on Dec. 10. A little over a month later, Siegrist set the all-time scoring record at Villanova on both the men's and women's programs.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
    by Meghann Morhardt
    Updated 
    Published 

When Villanova senior Maddy Siegrist finished her junior campaign with 1,815 career points, 593 behind 1987 graduate Shelly Pennefather’s school record of 2,408, the prospect of her becoming the university’s all-time leading scorer seemed more a matter of when rather than if.

Siegrist entered Friday’s game against Creighton trailing Pennefather by just 18 points.

With a jumper in the fourth quarter of Friday’s matchup, Siegrist’s total reached 2,409 points as she claimed the title of Villanova’s all-time leading scorer, man or woman. She ultimately finished with 23 on the night to bring her total to 2,414 points, six better than Pennefather.

Kerry Kittles is Villanova’s all-time leader in the men’s program with 2,243 career points from 1992-96. Siegrist previously passed Kittles with her 29-point performance over Georgetown on Jan. 4.

Siegrist reached this milestone in just 103 games, while it took Pennefather 117 to set the record. Siegrist also was the fastest player in program history to surpass 1,000 points, doing so as a sophomore in her 50th game, two fewer than Pennefather.

This record is not the first for Siegrist this season, as she recently became the program’s all-time leader in free-throws made, passing Helen Koskinen during the team’s win over Georgetown. Koskinen made 367 free throws in her career spanning from 1986-90, while Siegrist’s total currently sits at 391.

Siegrist scored 684 points last year, just one shy of Pennefather’s single-season record that she set as a junior during the 1985-86 season. With an average of 28.8 points this season entering Friday’s game against Creighton, Siegrist could break that record by almost 200 points — not taking postseason play into account.

» READ MORE: Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist and Drexel’s Keishana Washington rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation in scoring. Here’s the reason why.

With 10 games left in Villanova’s regular season, more records are likely on the horizon for Siegrist. The Big 5 record, held by Penn’s Diana Caramanico, is 2,415 points, while the City 6 record is held by Gabriela Mărginean who scored 2,581 in her career. If Siegrist’s average holds up, she will surpass both this season.

Outside of just Philadelphia, the Big East scoring record, which includes points during regular season conference games only, also is within reach. The record is held by Boston College’s Sarah Behn, who scored 1,546 points, while Siegrist has 1,370 with 10 games left to play.

With Siegrist leading the Wildcats and breaking records along the way, Villanova is poised to finish strong in conference play and make another postseason run.

As head coach Denise Dillon has indicated multiple times throughout the season, when Siegrist is playing well, Villanova is playing well, adding: “We are ready to go as far as Maddy can take us.”