2021-22 was a breakout season for Maddy Siegrist and Villanova. Next season could be even better

Entering the 2022-23 women’s basketball season, eyes will be on the surging Villanova Wildcats.

In her second season with the Wildcats, Big East coach of the year Denise Dillon led Villanova (24-9, 15-4 Big East) to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and a spot in the Big East championship game. As a No. 11 seed, Villanova topped No. 6 BYU 61-57 in the Big Dance but ultimately came up short against No. 3 seed Michigan the following round, losing 64-49.

Villanova was dominant over the second half of its schedule, winning 21 of its last 25 games. During this stretch, the previously overlooked Wildcats emerged as an opponent to fear. With the entire roster expected to return minus forward Brianna Herlihy, led by superstar Maddy Siegrist, the 2022-23 Wildcats have the opportunity to be a force not only in the Big East, but on a national scale.

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After two seasons at Villanova, Siegrist, a 6-foot-1 forward, took her game to another level as a junior, tearing apart Big East defenses on a nightly basis with her scoring ability. The junior averaged 25.3 points per game and finished as the nation’s second-leading scorer behind only Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.

The forward also was a central figure in Villanova’s win over UConn on Feb. 9, putting up 17 points against the Huskies, and brushed elbows with history by pouring in 42 points — two shy of the school record — two days later against Marquette. In all, Siegrist topped the 30-point plateau nine times in 27 games played, averaged 9.3 rebounds per game, and shot 34.6% from three-point range.

Siegrist emerged this year as a household name in women’s college basketball and has another year of eligibility left to solidify herself in the school’s record books. As this year’s Big East player of the year, Siegrist will look to defend her crown in 2022-23 and should be a preseason All-American pick. Dillon noted that Siegrist worked hard last summer on her midrange game, ball handling, passing, and defense, all areas in which she flourished this season.

“I think Maddy started understanding her game and what she was capable of in so many aspects,” Dillon said. “Not just being a prolific scorer, but contributing on both ends of the floor in all ways possible.”

This season was the first time the Wildcats appeared in the tournament since 2018. But they quickly showed that they were not satisfied in just taking part, upsetting No. 6 seed BYU behind 25 points from Siegrist to advance to the second round. What is needed next year for Villanova to not only return to the NCAA Tournament, but make a deep run in it?

The experience on this largely returning team will be paramount. Villanova graduates only Herlihy (10.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 3.1 apg), but she will leave a big hole to fill.

“People get so caught up in looking at the numbers, and they may think ‘OK, Villanova’s just losing one in Brianna Herlihy,’ but they have no idea the impact she’s made in her time here,” Dillon said. “As Brianna went, her motor, it carried this team.”

Luckily for Villanova, its younger players already have shown comfort in key roles. One such player was freshman point guard Lucy Olsen, who played with great control in her debut campaign. In 33 games (all starts), Olsen averaged 7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in nearly 30 minutes per game. Dillon says she plans to utilize the former Miss Pennsylvania Basketball as more of a scorer next season and play her off the ball at times.

To cover the post and fill the hole Herlihy leaves, sophomore Lior Garzon will be key. This year, she contributed 13 points and four rebounds per game. According to Dillon, the Wildcats may make a shift and go with three guards, and play a more mobile game with Garzon and Siegrist in the post.

“I know we have some young players who’ve got some experience this year and now understand what the intensity of this level entails,” Dillon said. “So I’m looking for them to step up and play.”

If these returning players do step up in 2022-23, Villanova could be a team to be reckoned with, even beyond the Big East. Despite losing the veteran leadership of Herlihy, the well-coached Wildcats have the talent and cohesiveness to overcome that departure and build on a breakout 2021-22 season. Herlihy, for one, sees big things ahead for her former teammates.

“I think all of them are going to step up,” Herlihy said. “They’ve seen a lot, and that will definitely help them mature. I hope they accomplish everything we accomplished and more. I mean, I know they have the heart, the talent, everything for it.”

Villanova may have snuck up on people in 2021-22, but with almost everyone back, led by Siegrist, next year promises major expectations and excitement on Lancaster Avenue.