Villanova ready for Sweet 16 & Maddy Siegrist up for player of the year

Greenville, SC: The Villanova Wildcats’ road to the Final Four in Dallas makes a stop in Greenville, SC as the Wildcats will be taking part in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2003. The Wildcats made the Sweet 16 with wins over Cleveland State & Florida Gulf Coast – both games were held at Finneran Pavilion.

Villanova coach Denise Dillion was asked if any team in the Big East resembles anything that Miami does & her response: 

They’re going to pressure us. Their intensity on the defensive end creates a lot of offense for them, so just being prepared for that. Short turnaround, but having the conversations. And then just scoring threats in different areas. They’re shooting the ball well, so it’s not just about them taking it off the dribble or getting the post entry. They’re shooting the ball really well. So just focusing on defensive concepts. Who to compare? I think you have to go more with some personnel, more player-wise. I think some of the pressure that we have seen from — Luce was saying Muhl, which she has faced with that point position, she’s going to handle. And then the inside presence of I’d say Morrow from DePaul, just how dominant the post action is. You go more with some of the personnel that they’ve seen as opposed to just an all-around team that we face in the Big East.

Villanova Coach Denise Dillion

The stars of the Villanova team are Maddy Siegrist & Brooke Mullin with how they have handled the pressure of making the sweet 16.

Brooke said, “It’s an exciting experience, but you just try to focus in on your team and what you can control. If there’s a lot of outside noise, you just have to stay focused with your teammates and the coaches.”

Maddy said, “I think it’s like such a balance when you get here. You want to have fun
and stay focused at the same time. And I think we’ve had the mentality all year, one game at a time, and just try to keep that.”

The Wildcats got a nice sendoff from Campus on Wednesday for the Sweet 16.

Maddy Siegrist is getting national attention:

Maddy Siegrist is a Finalists for the Naismith Trophy (which is for player of the year) along with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark,  South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston and Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley.

Before the Wildcats left for the Sweet 16, Maddy Siegrist was asked about being a finalist for the Player of the year.

Head Coach Denise Dillion would also give her take on Maddy Siegrist being named a finalist for the player of the year.

The Wildcats will do battle with the Miami Hurricanes at 2:30 PM on ESPN for the right to move on to the Elite 8. The winner of this game will do battle with the winner of LSU vs Utah on Sunday at 7 PM.