Maddy Siegrist’s scoring ability has put her on course to make Villanova history

Last Sunday, Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist became just the sixth woman in program history to surpass 1,600 career points. And the junior still has about a season and a half to continue her climb up the all-time list.

The names Siegrist continues to pass keep getting bigger and bigger. The most recent was 2020 graduate Mary Gedaka, who according to Siegrist, “walks on water to me.”

“She’s one of the [school’s] best players ever,” said Siegrist. “She is just one of the many great Villanova players on this list, and I want to be just like them.”

» READ MORE: Villanova's historic win at UConn proves Denise Dillon's Wildcats are for real

Siegrist began the season 20th on Villanova’s all-time scoring list, but averaging 26.4 points per game (No. 2 nationally) this season, she has quickly risen all the way to sixth.

Now, with Siegrist having a realistic shot of moving into the No. 4 spot on Sunday against DePaul (she needs 28 points to tie Lisa Ortlip), some are turning their attention to the top of the leaderboard. Could she have a legitimate shot to surpass 1987 national player of the year Shelly Pennefather’s school record for both men and women of 2,408 career points?

With at least 33 regular-season games remaining for Siegrist, she would surpass Pennefather’s historic feat if she were to average 24.3 points per game over the span, and that doesn’t include the potential for additional conference tournament and postseason games.

“I don’t know if I’m there yet,” said Siegrist, “I don’t know if I’m good enough to get there, either. There are just so many great players to play for Villanova, I appreciate just being included.”

Passing Pennefather, who in 1991 to became a Poor Clare nun, would be particularly special for Siegrist since she once met Pennefather, now known as Sister Rose Marie.

While opportunities to meet with cloistered nuns are limited, Siegrist accompanied former Villanova head coach Harry Perretta in 2020 when he made his annual visit to Alexandria, Va., to see the former Wade Trophy winner.

“It was an incredible experience,” said Siegrist. “She will write me occasionally, but her most recent letter to me was this past Tuesday, right ahead of our win at UConn.”

As purposeful as the timing of the letter may have seemed, Siegrist recollected not only on how “bizarre” it was to hear from her before the historic victory, but also how a similar “coincidence” happened once before.

“Harry [Perretta] and Coach Joe [Mullaney] always talk about how something like that happened when they beat UConn in 2003,” said Siegrist, “So, as soon as the game was over, Coach Joe reminded me of the letter, which was stunning.”

Although the letter did not pertain much to basketball, Siegrist’s unique relationship with Pennefather has added more context to what surpassing her scoring record would represent.

“I couldn’t have even imagined that I would have the success that I’ve had in my time at Villanova for this to even be possible,” said Siegrist. “It’s really a blessing from God.”

Regardless of where Siegrist ultimately winds up on the list, becoming the Wildcats’ all-time record scorer was never something she envisioned when she arrived at Villanova. Instead, all Siegrist wants is to “leave the program in a better place than it was when I started.”

Siegrist is well on her way to doing that, as the Wildcats (17-7, 11-4 Big East) have won 14 of their last 16 games and have hopes of making a first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018.

“One day, you just want to be somebody that other players look up to and think ‘I want to play like you.’”