Villanova is the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Here’s how they got there.

This might be the best campaign in Villanova women’s basketball program history. The Wildcats’ 28-6 mark heading into the NCAA Tournament is the best record since 2002-03 (28-6). That year, Harry Perretta led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight.

Going 8-5 against Quad 1 opponents and undefeated in all other games, this team has proven itself time and time again. All eight Quad 1 wins came either on the road or at neutral sites, and, with that kind of track record, it should be no surprise the team was ranked for 14 weeks this season and made an appearance on each of the top 16 committee rankings. Here’s a look at each of those eight big wins:

Villanova hit its first test early in just its second game of the season. For most of the game, The Wildcats were trailing at No. 24 Princeton, a team they lost to last year. A big finish in the form of a 12-0 run was good enough for a ranked win. Maddy Siegrist paced all players with 32 points and 13 rebounds in her 39th career double-double.

» READ MORE: Maddy Siegrist drops her 39th double-double as Villanova knocks off No. 24 Princeton

The Wildcats picked up more than just some turkey at the Gulf Coast Showcase during Thanksgiving weekend. After overtaking Belmont and falling to Baylor, Villanova went wire-to-wire against host South Florida to pick up its second Quad 1 win. With 25 points, Siegrist became the third player in program history to cross the 2,000-point threshold.

» READ MORE: Siegrist hits 2,000 points; Villanova women crush South Florida in Gulf Coast Showcase

Villanova ended 2022 on a high note with a win in Milwaukee, Wis. It was a tight game throughout: no team led by more than eight points. A late push from the Golden Eagles wasn’t enough to finish ahead of the Wildcats, however. Once again, Siegrist led all players in points (21) and rebounds (11).

» READ MORE: Villanova edges Marquette, 54-52, behind Maddy Siegrist’s third straight double-double

The top two scorers in the Big East — Siegrist (29.0 ppg) and DePaul’s Aneesah Morrow (25.8 ppg) faced off for the first time in a Wednesday night showdown in Chicago. Though both put up big numbers, Siegrist (32 points, 12 rebounds) won the one-on-one over Morrow (28 points, 11 rebounds). After a back-and-forth first quarter, Villanova broke away and put the game in the bag.

» READ MORE: Yet another Maddy Siegrist double-double powers Villanova’s 71-64 win over DePaul

Villanova had already lost to Creighton at home, and facing them again in Omaha, Neb., perhaps was the biggest challenge of the season to that point. The Wildcats outscored the Blue Jays 26-6 in the first quarter and kept the Bluejays at arm’s lenght for the remainder of the game on Siegrist’s historic night.

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

Siegrist became the all-time City 6 points leader as she scored 39 points at St. John’s. By the end of the game, she had 2,610 career points, over 25 more than the previous mark set by Gabriela Mărginean (Drexel ‘10). Her 39 points in New York marked the third-best performance this season, and most in a Quad 1 game. With 11 rebounds, this was her 14th double-double on the year as well.

» READ MORE: Another game, another record-setting night for Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist

Seton Hall might have double-teamed Siegrist from the get-go, but that didn’t stop the star guard as she ended up registering 32 points. The Pirates’ defensive strategy allowed for other Villanova players like Christina Dalce (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Lucy Olsen (nine points, five assists) to star. This show of depth allowed the team to cruise into the conference tournament off a big win.

» READ MORE: No. 11 Villanova runs all over Seton Hall, 83-56 in regular season finale

When faced with a win-or-go-home scenario, no one in the Big East withheld any firepower. Villanova barely escaped DePaul in the quarterfinals, and the semis against Creighton was no different. Creighton chased down Villanova in the final two minutes with a 10-4 run and threatened an upset. The Wildcats were able to hold off the late push, narrowly escaping by two points. Scoring remained a one-woman show with Siegrist’s 37 points.

With this kind of resumé, the only question that remains is who Villanova’s next test will be.

» READ MORE: Siegrist lifts Villanova past Creighton, into Big East women’s title game vs. UConn Monday