Led by Maddy Siegrist’s 22 points, Villanova is victorious over Penn, 67-41

In her first game at the Palestra, senior Maddy Siegrist dominated with her third consecutive double-double, leading No. 24 Villanova to a 67-41 win over Big Five opponent Penn.

“That was cool,” Villanova head coach Denise Dillon said of the experience for Siegrist. “We had talked about that, being able to make that decision because of the unbalanced schedule with COVID. ... It’s not always the friendliest court for people, so for it being her first time out there, it was nice to see.”

Siegrist led all scorers with 22 points to go along with 11 rebounds, marking her 40th career double-double. Sophomore Lucy Olsen added nine points, five assists, and five rebounds.

Junior Maddie Burke helped out on the offensive end with 12 points, going 4-for-5 from deep. The Penn State transfer struggled in her first two games with the Wildcats (3-0) but found her rhythm on Thursday night.

“It was huge,” Burke said of what knocking down the four threes did for her confidence. “Just gives me that confidence once that first one went in, and my teammates and coaches just told me to keep shooting.”

The Quakers (1-3) saw a balanced effort with Stina Almqvist, Kayla Padilla, and Mandy McGurk, who tallied eight points each.

The Quakers hung around for a majority of the first period, even leading, 10-7, with 3:53 to play in the opening quarter.

But with 1:36 on the clock, Siegrist drilled a three to take a 12-10 lead, and the Wildcats never looked back, leading by as many as 31 in the fourth.

Holding a 30-point lead with seven minutes remaining, Dillon started to take out starters and give younger players an opportunity to get minutes. Freshman Megan Olbrys and sophomore Anahi-Lee Cauley played the final six minutes.

Padilla started strong for the Quakers, drilling two threes in the first quarter, but Villanova’s Brooke Mullin picked up the defensive assignment, and Padilla was quickly out of the picture. Mullin held Padilla to just two points for the remainder of the game. The senior has been key for the Wildcats on the defensive end all season.

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“I complimented the squad on the adjustments we made defensively, and I think Brooke set the tone from the beginning,” Dillon said. “And then Bella Runyan as well ... recognizing the importance of giving Brooke a breather, so they tag-teamed that job.”

St. Joesph’s guard Erik Reynolds II had a career-high 32 points in a 99-79 rout of Albany (2-3).

Reynolds shot 10-of-15 from the field, including 5-of-7 from three. The Hawks (2-1) opened the game with a 15-0 run and went into halftime leading, 60-30.

Up next, St. Joe’s will travel to Daytona Beach, Fla., to take on Georgia in the Sunshine Slam tournament at 8:30 p.m. Monday.