Villanova women fall to UConn, 70-40, in Big East title game
Evina Westbrook scored 13 points and Aaliyah Edwards added 12 as the Huskies rolled in the final. Maddie Siegrist had 16 points for 'Nova.
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UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Perhaps it was a tall task to ask the Villanova women’s basketball team to beat top-seeded Connecticut twice in a season. After all, the Huskies hadn’t lost to the same team twice in the same campaign since 2013.
In the Big East championship game Monday night, Connecticut’s size was too much for the Wildcats to overcome as they fell, 70-40, at Mohegan Sun Arena.
“You go into every game with the same mentality. You know, you respect everyone and fear no one,” said junior forward Maddy Siegrist, who led the Wildcats (23-8) with 16 points.
After relying on rebounds and second chances throughout the tournament, the Wildcats got pounded on the glass, getting outrebounded by 39-17. Siegrist and forward Brianna Herlihy were overmatched in the paint, giving away inches to UConn forwards Aaliyah Edwards (12 points) and Olivia Nelson-Ododa (11).
Guard Christyn Williams was named the Big East Tournament’s most outstanding player for UConn (25-5). Evina Westbrook led the Huskies with 13 points.
Pressed for luck
The Huskies pressed and trapped all game, forcing 18 Villanova turnovers.
Buckets also came easy for Connecticut, shooting 56% from the field to Villanova’s 32%. It seemed as if the Wildcats had to work harder for every shot, with UConn’s length and height changing shot angles and their players contesting threes.
“[Scoring] is contagious,” Villanova coach Denise Dillon said. “So if you make some of these shots … you get into a little bit of a rhythm [and it] just didn’t happen.”
A lack of scoring depth also hurt the Wildcats, as Connecticut’s bench poured in a collective 28 points.
“We made shots last time [against Connecticut] and we didn’t today,” Siegrist said. “... They score the ball, but we just didn’t make shots today.”
The last time the Wildcats took on the Huskies in Connecticut, Villanova prevailed, 72-69, to break UConn’s 169-game conference win streak.
Now, Villanova must turn to Selection Sunday to await its postseason fate. According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, Villanova still could be on the outside looking in despite its impressive late-season run and in the Big East tournament, winning 15 of its last 17 games. Lunardi has the Wildcats listed as “on the bubble.”
However, don’t tell that to them.
“I don’t think we’re done yet,” Herlihy said.