Lucy Olsen embraces the ‘opportunity’ to follow Maddy Siegrist as Villanova’s leader

For collegiate programs to get national attention, they often need a star. Villanova women’s basketball had that star last season.

Maddy Siegrist, an All-American and the Big East player of the year, led the nation in scoring with 29.2 points per game and helped the Wildcats to a 30-7 record and a Sweet 16 run.

But Siegrist declaring for the 2023 WNBA draft — and being taken third overall by the Dallas Wings — left a void for head coach Denise Dillon.

Enter Lucy Olsen. Before going to Villanova, the junior team captain grew up in Montgomery County, where she was the all-time leading scorer, boys and girls, at Spring-Ford High School with 1,699 points. Olsen was a two-time first-team All-State player and a four-time first-team Pioneer Athletic Conference honoree, and was also named 2021 Miss Pennsylvania Basketball.

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During her freshman season, Olsen started all 33 games, averaging 7.0 points and 2.7 rebounds. She was named to the Big East all-rookie team.

Olsen gained more notoriety during her sophomore season, when she started all 37 games and averaged 12.4 points and 4.1 rebounds in 33.1 minutes. She earned second-team all-Big East and first-team all-Big 5 accolades.

And now Olsen will step into an even bigger role as all eyes are on her to become the new No. 1 for the Wildcats.

“I think it’s something Lucy embraces,” Dillon said. “It’s something she was looking to step into. She always has strived for more, and now [she has] a set opportunity to continue to do what she does.”

After two years of racking up achievements, and much anticipation of her new role, Olsen was named to the preseason all-Big East first team.

“I like to think of it more as an opportunity,” Olsen said. “I’m happy I was voted [first-team preseason all-Big East], and yeah it could be pressure, but I think it’s more motivation to prove everyone right. To just keep working hard and see what else I can accomplish.”

Last year, Olsen’s job was easy with Siegrist on the court.

“I just found her, and she really racked up my assists because she was just at the basket every time,” Olsen said.

With Siegrist gone, Olsen has new expectations for herself, expectations she plans on meeting by playing her own game, rather than simply being the next Siegrist.

“No one’s going to be a Maddy Siegrist,” Olsen said. “But we can learn from her work ethic, how hard she played, we can take those things from her. ... I don’t need to score all the points, but [I need to] help find the scoring opportunities for everyone.”

On the court, Olsen knows that as the point guard, her role looks different from Siegrist’s. Olsen is the creator for the Wildcats, and she finds comfort with the ball in her hands.

“It’s cool that I’ve worked this hard to get here,” Olsen said. “Now that I have the opportunity in front of me, I want to try and step into that, but … it’s not going to happen without all my teammates playing well, too. And I feel like because we have so many threats, it’ll help me find opportunities to become that scorer.”

Although Olsen is slated to be the new No. 1, Dillon and her Wildcats are emphasizing the importance of the team, rather than relying on a single superstar.

“All five of us on the court are going to be threats at all times, so we’re going to need everyone to step in and step up their role and be aggressive,” Olsen said. “We’re not going to have Maddy scoring 40 points a game; a lot of us are going to have to split that.”

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Alongside Olsen for the 2023-24 season are seniors and fellow captains Bella Runyan and Maddie Burke, along with preseason All-Big East second-teamer Christina Dalce, who averaged 7.3 points and 7.9 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per game. After being named Philadelphia Big 5 most improved player last season, Dalce is expected to grab more rebounds and play a larger role along with Olsen in the absence of Siegrist.

“I think we have a lot of people that can step up at any moment,” Olsen said.

Villanova will look to Olsen not to replace Siegrist but to simply create.

“I don’t think I need to score a certain amount of points,” Olsen said. “I just want to win games.”

Olsen and the Wildcats will begin their 2023-24 campaign with an exhibition game against Jefferson on Wednesday, followed by their season opener Nov. 10 against Portland.