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

PRINCETON, N. J. — Fueled by a second straight double-double effort from Maddy Siegrist, Villanova fired on all cylinders to come away with a 69-59 road win against No. 24 Princeton on Friday night.

In its season opener against Marist on Monday, Villanova got off to a rough start before pulling away with a victory.

Against Princeton (1-1), it was the exact opposite.

“I think we were just kind of getting settled [on Monday],” Siegrist said. “We were prepared today. We were really focused.”

Siegrist led all scorers with 32 points on 12 of 17 shooting, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. The senior forward also added 13 rebounds, marking her second straight double-double — and 39th of her collegiate career.

Helping Siegrist on the offensive end, sophomore guard Lucy Olsen added 18 points while senior Brooke Mullin added a little of everything with five assists, three rebounds, and three blocks.

The Tigers were led by seniors Julia Cunningham and Grace Stone with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

It was an even battle early, with the Tigers narrowly leading, 21-20, after the first quarter. Stone went 4 of 4 from three-point distance in the first quarter, but the Wildcats adjusted on defense, with Mullin chasing Stone tightly in the second quarter. She didn’t allow Stone to get another attempt from deep.

Behind Mullin’s efforts, the Wildcats held the Tigers to just nine points in the second quarter to take a 41-30 lead into halftime. Siegrist scored the Wildcats’ first eight points of the third, but the Tigers held the Wildcats to 12 in the quarter, allowing Princeton to get within four entering the fourth.

The Tigers started the fourth with a 5-0 run to take their first lead since early in the second quarter. The rest of the contest saw back-and-forth action with each team coming up with clutch plays on both sides of the floor. Despite Siegrist being sidelined with four fouls for five minutes in the fourth, the Wildcats were able to hold on.

“Maddy is obviously a great player, so with her off the floor, everyone just has to step up,” Olsen said. “We had to keep it a one-possession game to give her time to come back, and we did that.”

With 2 minutes, 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Olsen took her defender to the lane and drilled a turnaround jumper to put Villanova up, 60-59. That clutch moment sparked a 10-0 Villanova run to seal the victory. In the run, Siegrist scored five points, including a clutch and-one jumper with 43 seconds remaining, while Olsen hit two free throws to extend the lead to eight with 30 seconds on the clock.

“I knew she’d get a shot on the rim, but for her to make a little turnaround jumper and get hit on the elbow was huge for us,” said Villanova coach Denise Dillon. “Just control the tempo, get the ball in her hand, and her not allowing them to double team with the fadeaway.”

Villanova has a few days off before traveling to Penn on Nov. 17 for its first Big 5 matchup of the season at the Palestra (7 p.m.). Penn will play two games on the road, against Northwestern and St. Joseph’s, before it faces the Wildcats.

St. Joseph’s 59, Yale 54: Talya Brugler led the way with 16 points and McKenzie Smith added 12 as the Hawks improved to 2-0 on the season. Yale guard Grace Thybulle, the cousin of Sixers forward Matisse Thybulle, led the Bulldogs (0-2) with a 16-point performance as well.