Even in a loss, it’s clear Villanova’s Christina Dalce is the definitive two in the Wildcats one-two punch

Coming out to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” at Hoops Mania — a staple to kickoff Villanova’s basketball season — is one thing. Becoming a thriller on the floor, on the other hand, may very well sum up the breakout campaign of junior forward Christina Dalce.

While the spotlight this season is on teammate Lucy Olsen, who ranks sixth in the nation in scoring (23.4 points per game), Dalce has put together her finest season on the Main Line. She has improved in nearly every statistic from her first two seasons at Villanova (16-9, 9-5 Big East). Even with the two costars firing on all cylinders, the Wildcats were on the bottom end of a 55-52 final to Butler on Saturday at Finneran Pavilion, snapping a three-game win streak.

Villanova looked out of sync on the offensive end, including a third quarter in which it had a six-minute scoreless streak.

“Tough one to give up, especially here at home,” said Villanova coach Denise Dillon. “Gotta give Butler credit, they came in here ready, they played their game much better than we did and took advantage. They did a nice job playing space and switching screens. They did a really good job disrupting us there, and we were just asking for our players to keep their heads up, find the open person, [but] a little bit out of rhythm [and] just not in the flow so we weren’t knocking down anything.”

Dalce has quietly posted near double-double figures the entire season, averaging 8.6 points, 2.4 blocks, and 10.1 rebounds — the latter is the best in the Big East and tied for 26th in the nation.

“Certainly depend on [her] a lot, [we] gotta outrebound them, and she’s in there each and every time,” Dillon said of Dalce. “We need some others in that position as well to take advantage. [I’m just looking for] her to be rewarded with some of the rebounds, the putbacks, or quick kick-outs for shots so she continues to grow and work and get better there in the paint and good things will happen for us.”

» READ MORE: Christina Dalce brings big play inside and is a provider of joy for Villanova (from 2023)

Against Butler (12-13, 4-10), the Rutgers Prep grad continued to show off all aspects of her well-rounded game, nearly recording a double-double in rebounds (10) and blocks (six) by halftime. Dalce finished by tying her career-high in blocks with seven, coupled with 14 rebounds and seven points.

“She has the green light,” said Dillon. “It’s a big thing for her to create for herself and for others. I think today, pressing a little bit with things not going our way from the start. Definitely some areas, players were trying to make some things happen as opposed to letting the offense come and realizing there was still significant time left in the game to settle in, but you have nights like that for sure.”

Noticeably absent for Villanova was Zanai Jones (6.4 ppg, 1.9 assists per game). The guard had started every game for the Wildcats but didn’t play at all in the loss and wasn’t spotted on the bench. Postgame, Dillon attributed this to an unspecified upper-body injury with no timetable for a return.

“We don’t know at this point,” Dillon said. “As you see, it’s tough not having her on the floor, wanting to get the ball out of Lucy’s hands, and just relying on her to do so much. [Zanai’s] been having a really good year for us, [but we’re] not sure yet.”