Big 5 women’s hoops teams went global this summer and made ‘lifelong memories’ along the way

The St. Joseph’s and Villanova women’s basketball teams are very different in terms of makeup.

While the Hawks returned most of their 2023-24 roster and welcomed only three new freshmen, the Wildcats underwent several offseason changes.

One thing the programs have in common: Head coaches Cindy Griffin and Denise Dillon thought this was the perfect time for a foreign tour.

NCAA rules allow for college basketball teams to take a foreign tour once every four years, during a vacation period. The Hawks chose to play in Croatia while the Wildcats traveled to Italy.

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Both coaches had hoped to take foreign tours earlier, but the COVID-19 pandemic affected their plans.

Dillon spoke to Villanova about a foreign tour soon after being hired in 2020. She’d hoped to embark on one while stars like Maddy Siegrist and Brooke Mullin were on the team, but the timing “didn’t align.”

“It’s such an extensive trip getting everything in place, so we were able to make it happen for this past summer, and it just really worked perfectly with having so many new players, and [it being the] last year for Kaitlyn Orihel and Maddie Burke,” Dillon said. “So things worked for a reason.”

Griffin said she knew she wanted to take a trip with her current core of Hawks, but their in-season tournament to the Bahamas in 2021, when that core was freshmen, didn’t work out.

“For the student-athletes, the students have the ability to go and study abroad for a semester, but in basketball, we can’t do that because we’re a two-semester sport,” Griffin said. “So just giving the players an opportunity to experience a different culture, compete against different competition, and, at the same time, have lifelong memories with your teammates.”

St. Joe’s is largely the same team as last season, but the time over the summer allowed Griffin to get a look at different combinations on the court.

“We know who we are from last year, but every year is different, right? We can’t assume that we are the same team, even though we are returning 11 of our 13 players,” Griffin said. “We don’t want to take anything for granted, and at the same time, start to integrate the younger players and get them comfortable with playing minutes and contributing.”

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While St. Joe’s went to Croatia and Villanova went to Italy, another Big 5 women’s team, Penn, did both this summer — and swept its three scrimmages along the way. Head coach Mike McLaughlin said the Quakers decided to take a trip for the first time in six years after the Ivy League allowed freshmen to go for the first time.

“In the past, they had to be students at the school first before they became athletes,” McLaughlin said. “This summer, they waved that restriction, which allowed our freshmen to go.”

This trip allowed for team building to begin, an advantage as Penn welcomed six new freshmen this season.

“It bonds players. It gets them to know each other a little bit off the court, because there’s so much off-the-court time on these trips,” McLaughlin said. “It can only help going forward, right? Because when we did start, the players already had an understanding of each other, not only on the court, but off the court. And it’s really helped grow this group much quicker than I could even anticipate, which has been fun.”

Villanova’s trip allowed the younger players to get comfortable after their first game against the Spanish All-Star team, which the Wildcats lost, 65-55. They won their next two games, against ASD Basketball Sisters and Riga Stradins University, to finish their tour 2-1.

“The Spanish All-Star team was a lot of older women. I think the oldest one on the team was 38, so that was pretty cool,” Burke said. “Those were the first games we played together, in Italy, with this brand-new team. I mean, that’s something that a lot of people can say that they did. So being able to do that was awesome.”

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The Hawks won their games against Croatia All-Stars and Croatia Select. They trained for their trip “like an A-10 championship,” senior guard Mackenzie Smith said.

“We were very fortunate to be able to enter 20 hours [of practice] in the summer,” Smith said. “I know a lot of teams aren’t able to do that, and wouldn’t be willing to do that, but I think that we took advantage of our time that we had together. It really prepared us, and I think that it only benefits us in the future”

Even off the court, Smith saw the camaraderie she and her teammates built follow them into what Griffin and Smith said was their favorite activity: zip line. Smith said she and Griffin were apprehensive on the way up, but just like on the court, Griffin coached her players through it.

“It was just like we were in a game,” Smith said “She was like, ‘You got it, Mac. One at a time, we’re going to get up through this. It’s going to be great.’ I felt very coached at the moment.”

Griffin believes that the support of the group is what encouraged everyone to participate in something they wouldn’t have done otherwise.

“Nobody forced anybody into doing anything. They just were like, ‘Yeah, I’m brave. I’m courageous. I’m going to do this,’” Griffin said. “It really promoted a lot of encouragement, bravery, and support.”

The same is true for the Wildcats, who experienced the bulk of their team building outside of games or practice.

“You’re always talking about team-building strategies and trying to tie them into your schedule,” Dillon said. “When you do something like this, there’s nothing greater than a trip overseas, the travel itself, to really get that opportunity to separate from distractions and spend that quality time together.”

Burke added: “We got to go to dinners together, and we got to do all these tours together, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. So being able to do that definitely brought us closer.”

One of Burke’s favorite experiences was a private tour of the Vatican and a meeting with the Rev. Jack Flynn, a Villanova alumnus, to learn more about the Augustinian tradition and the history of the Augustinians and Villanova.

“To really tie Villanova to this trip for our returning players, and for our new players, for them to really get the story of what Villanova is about, was extremely special,” Dillon said.