In a season with a lot of promise, keep an eye on Villanova’s newcomers, too

In an exhibition game Friday against Towson, two Villanova players scored in double digits. One was last season’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe, who tallied 32 points.

The other was freshman forward Brooke Bender, who had 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench. She went 5-for-10 from the field, including 4-for-7 from three. Bender, who hails from Whitehouse, Ohio, joined the Wildcats alongside her twin sister, Elise.

Brooke Bender “knows herself and what her role is,” Villanova coach Denise Dillon said. “[Opponents] will realize she’s a shooter, and they’ll do what they can to not let her touch the ball. I’m excited for what she did in her first outing.”

The Wildcats have a starting five and roster full of newcomers. Villanova put its new squad to the test and emerged with a 79-54 win over Towson. It has another exhibition at 7 p.m. Thursday against Fairleigh Dickinson.

Dillon sees the preseason as a vital chance for the team to gain experience and develop its new identity before the regular season gets underway Monday vs. Lafayette (7 p.m., ESPN+). The Wildcats are expected to be among the top teams in a competitive conference and were picked fourth in the Big East preseason poll.

“I think it was a great opportunity for us to get out on the floor, compete against someone else,” Dillon said. “There’s a lot of new players for [Towson], and they’re figuring things out just like we are. We have a lot to build from, but the experience for our players, especially our freshmen, was great.”

That freshman group also included Kennedy Henry, a guard and Westtown School graduate who established herself as an effective utility player. She started vs. Towson and chipped in five points, four rebounds, and a game-high seven assists in 31 minutes.

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“[Henry] is hard to take off the court because she impacts, even if it’s not a stat-filler,” Dillon said. “She gets deflections, and she makes the right pass. For a player to do that so early in her career, that shows great promise.”

Henry also took on extra minutes in the absence of senior guard Ryanne Allen, one of the team’s key returners, because of a knee injury. Dillon hopes Allen will be ready to rejoin the rotation by the start of the season.

Graduate forward Kylee Watson is one of Villanova’s most highly anticipated newcomers. The Notre Dame transfer brings advantageous size at 6-foot-4 and experience, as she is entering her sixth year of college basketball. Watson received an extra year of NCAA eligibility after missing all of last season because of a knee injury.

In her official return to competition since the injury, Watson started but played in only the first half against Towson. She recorded eight points and five rebounds.

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Dillon expects that the guidance Watson offers her younger teammates will be one of her biggest assets this season.

“[Watson] is an energy giver,” Dillon said. “Her size and her ability is one thing, but how she talks and pours that energy into her teammates is a great thing when you have some young ones out there early.”

Bascoe, expectedly, spearheaded the offense for the Wildcats in the opening exhibition. After a summer playing for Team Canada in the FIBA U19 World Cup, Bascoe is on a trajectory to build off her impressive freshman campaign. Against Towson, she displayed her offseason work with 7-for-10 shooting from three (11-for-19 overall).

“We put a lot on [Bascoe], but she’s capable and she wants it,” Dillon said. “One of the areas she’s focused on is being more efficient at the three-point line. We’re counting on her to stay steady and continue to get better.”

Heading into a second exhibition on the road against FDU, Villanova will look to improve on defense as the team builds chemistry on the court.

“I’m hoping we stay disciplined in executing the plan on the defensive end,” Dillon said. “Forcing the team to run their offense and take tough contested shots. Offensively, not abandoning the system and trying to make plays, so that they’re getting more comfortable together.”