Villanova women win the Big 5 title for the eighth straight time with an 81-55 rout of La Salle
Wildcats guard Maddy Siegrist led the way with her third straight 30-plus point performance as the Wildcats improved to 10-3.
After Villanova’s eight-point loss to Iowa State on Sunday, star forward Maddy Siegrist said, “We’ll be ready” when asked about the Wildcats’ next opponent, a Big 5 matchup against La Salle.
And ready they were.
Led by Siegrist’s third consecutive 30-point performance, Villanova cruised to an 81-55 women’s basketball victory over La Salle to clinch the Big 5 title for the eighth consecutive time.
Statistical leaders
Siegrist led Villanova (10-3) with 31 points and 11 rebounds, her second straight double-double and sixth of the season.
Sophomore guard Lucy Olsen added 19 points and eight assists and six rebounds while fellow sophomore Kaitlyn Orihel finished with a career-high 18 points, making 4 of 5 shots from three-point range.
Graduate student Kayla Spruill led La Salle (8-6) with 14 points, while seniors Gabby Crawford and Claire Jacobs finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
What we saw
The Explorers hung around early, but the Wildcats quickly pulled away, leading by nine at the end of the first quarter and 16 at the half.
In the first half, Siegrist and Olsen led the way for the Wildcats, combining for 26 of the team’s 38 points in the first 20 minutes.
The Wildcats dominated inside, both in points in the paint and on the glass. Villanova finished with 38 points in the paint and 39 rebounds. La Salle scored just 24 of its points inside and finished with 31 rebounds.
A stifling defensive effort from Villanova held the Explorers to just 22 first-half points. Additionally, La Salle shot just 32.8% for the game.
Game-changing play
Leading by nine points with four minutes to play in the first half, Orihel knocked down a triple that sparked a 10-3 Villanova run to end the second quarter. The run gave the Wildcats a 38-22 lead at the break.
Up next
Villanova has a week off before traveling to Marquette on Dec. 28 (8 p.m., FloSports) for its third Big East matchup. Both teams are 1-1 in conference play this season. La Salle hosts St. Joseph’s on New Year’s Eve at 2 p.m.