Freshman point guard Lucy Olsen playing beyond her years for surging Villanova

There are plenty of challenges that come with being a freshman in college. Starting at point guard in the Big East is not one that most first-year students have to deal with. Villanova’s Lucy Olsen has done just that, starting every game since joining the Wildcats.

“A lot of people dream of coming in and starting as a freshman, and that was my dream, for sure,” said the 5-foot-9 guard.

Olsen ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 6.4 points per game, but it is her ability to distribute the ball that has stood out most. She has a team-high 48 assists to just 18 turnovers on the season (a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio), which is a mark that Olsen credits to the scoring threats surrounding her.

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“Coming in, in the summer, I knew Maddy [Siegrist] was one of the best players in the country and she’s really showed it’s great to play with her,” said Olsen, “but we all just want each other to do so well, which makes it easy to play with everyone.”

A Royersford native and Spring-Ford High School alum, Olsen is no stranger to creating looks for teammates. She set the program record there with 379 career assists, and also graduated as the school’s all-time leading scorer among both boys and girls, with 1,699 points. She also was a state tennis champion in fall 2020.

When asked if she prefers being a scorer or a distributor, Olsen’s answer was simple: “My preference is winning. Whatever it takes, I’m willing to do. I think they’re both just as fun as long as we get the end result.”

That win-first mentality paired with a laundry list of high school accolades made her a sought-after recruit. She didn’t have to look long or far, as she chose Villanova, a school just 20 miles from home.

“It just seemed like the perfect fit,” she said. “When I showed up, everyone was so nice, I felt like family before I even got here.”

Olsen growing up as a fan of the team did not hurt Villanova’s pitch, either. When she was younger, she had an autographed poster of the women’s team in her room. Who knew that just a handful of years later, Olsen would be inspiring the next generation of Wildcat fans?

“I just thought having that poster was so cool because this year, I was the one sitting at the table signing the autograph,” said Olsen.

Team merchandise is not the only thing Olsen’s name has been all over this season. She has also filled up plenty of box scores, recently helping the team win four straight games and improve to fifth in the Big East.

Coming off the team’s quarantine earlier this month, Villanova (12-6, 6-3 Big East) faced four straight opponents that were higher in the conference standings. According to Olsen, winning three of those games highlighted the team’s depth and ability to overcome adversity.

» READ MORE: Villanova's men's and women's teams thriving amid challenges of COVID-19

“We didn’t know who we were going to be playing with. We just wanted to be ready with whoever we had, which helped us win those important games,” said Olsen.

With plenty of season left ahead, Olsen has already built strong chemistry with her teammates. But with just one graduate student (Brianna Herlihy) and no seniors on the roster, the Wildcats are building a core that is here to stay, which is “exciting” to the true freshman.

“We’ve already grown so much just since the beginning of the season,” said Olsen. “And hopefully, if we grow as much as we did from the beginning until the end of the season, we’ll move on further and further.”

The Wildcats, who defeated visiting Butler 59-44 on Friday, are back in action on Sunday at Finneran Pavilion against Xavier.