Lucy Olsen drops career-high 40 points as Villanova women dominate Temple

After a 63-56 loss to Oregon State in their second game of the 2023-24 season, the inevitable question was looming: Will Villanova be okay without Maddy Siegrist?

Behind a career-high 40 points from junior guard Lucy Olsen, the Wildcats shattered any doubts with a commanding 90-62 win over Temple (2-3) on Sunday in their home opener. Even will all Siegrist’s scoring, this was just the seventh 40-point game in Villanova women’s basketball history.

Freshman guard Maddie Weber added on 13 points and six rebounds off the bench, while junior guard Christina Dalce also contributed under the basket with a career-best 18 rebounds to help lead Villanova (2-1) to their second victory of the season.

“What a great way to start a home opener here,” head coach Denise Dillon said. “And against a Philly team too — Big 5 wins are always special.”

It only took 13 seconds for Olsen to open up the scoring, and just 20 minutes of play for her to break her career record. With a jumper nine seconds before halftime, Olsen already had 26 of the Wildcats’ 43 points.

This is the second time in the 2023-24 season that Olsen has broken her own record for points in a game; she previously scored 24 points in the Wildcats’ loss to Oregon State.

But in the win over the Owls, she shattered it.

“It’s exciting, but I just want to win the game,” Olsen said. “Whatever has to be done [to win]... my teammates did a great job finding me, setting screens for me to be open. I would not have been able to score that much without them all being a threat.”

Olsen went 12-for-22 from the field and 4-for-6 from behind the arc. She also raised her season average to 36 points per game.

After starting off its season with two games on the West Coast, Villanova headed back to the Philly suburbs for its home opener.

“One thing we talk about is being ready to play the game,” Dillon said. “It doesn’t matter what court you’re playing on. I think last weekend, being at Oregon State and feeling that vibe with their fans and the atmosphere, I know our players were anxious to feel the same here at our place.”

But it took some time for the Wildcat’s to adjust to life back to the Finn.

By the end of the first quarter, despite being up 20-15, Villanova was shooting just 35% from the field and Olsen had 12 of Villanova’s 20 points.

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In the second quarter, Villanova finally started to settle into play.

Villanova opened up the second period with a layup and jumper from — who else? — Olsen, followed by a steal and layup from senior guard Bella Runyan to bring the score to 27-25, forcing the Owls to take a time out.

“It was great getting the fans in the stands,” Dillon said. “But [it was] really nice to be here at home and see what we have, just to continue to grow and get better.”

Up 19 at the half, the trajectory of the game was decided. The Wildcats had improved their shooting to 44.4% from the field and 50% from behind the arc. The only question that remained was how many more points would Olsen contribute in the second 20 minutes of play.

With just over two minutes remaining in the game, only one Wildcat starter was still on the court.

In the fourth quarter, Dillon subbed in freshman Brynn McCurry, who added four points to the win, senior Kyle Swider, sophomore Maggie Grant, and redshirt freshman Abby Jegede.

This was Swider’s and Grant’s first appearances in the 2023-24 season.

“It’s something that every one of our players [works for] every day,” Dillon said. “In time [they] get to step out on the floor and embrace that opportunity.”

All-time, Villanova is 10-7 against the Owls, with the Wildcats going 6-4 in the most recent 10 matchups. Last year when these two teams saw each, the Wildcats won, 74-71. There was also another 40-point performance that day, as former Wildcat and All-American Maddy Siegrist had 41 in the win.

Villanova will take the court again for its second home game of the season Tuesday against Holy Cross. The Crusaders are 2-2 on the season, after picking up their second loss on Sunday to Stony Brook. That game will tip off at 7:00 p.m. (on FloSports) at the Finneran Pavilion.