VILLANOVA, Pa. – Lou Lopez Sénéchal scored 22 points, including a crucial rainbow jumper late in the fourth quarter, to lead No. 6 UConn to a 60-51 win over Maddy Siegrist and No. 14 Villanova on Saturday.
Dorka Juhász added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Aaliyah Edwards had 13 points and 14 boards for the Huskies (24-4, 16-1 Big East).
Siegrist, the nation’s top scorerHe had 21 points for the Wildcats (23-5, 14-3). Villanova lost just his second contest in his last 16 – both against the Huskies. Lucy Olsen added 13 points for Villanova.
The game was tight for the first three quarters; The Huskies went into the last quarter 44-39. Sénéchal hit two free throws and then blasted a 3 off the top of the key to give UConn their widest lead to that point, 49-39, with 8:55 left. UConn extended their lead to a game-high 52-40 when Juhász’s fastbreak layup hung up from Sénéchal with 7:44 left.
The Wildcats came back and scored the next 10 points over 3:49 to make it 52-50 at 3:55 to play on Olsen’s drive. The Huskies committed four of their 22 turnovers during the Villanova Sprint, which saw Siegrist and Olsen score back-to-back 3-pointers.
Edwards ended UConn’s 4:39 scoring drought with a layup to make it 54-50. Then Sénéchal hit her shot from close range to give the Huskies a five-point lead that proved to be ample buffer.
FULL HOUSE
At least 100 fans lined up outside 1.5 hours before the game started, and fans crowded into the pavilion to celebrate only the second sell-out in Villanova women’s basketball history. The student section was packed and rocking at the tipoff, and the national television cameras focused on what was happening on and off the field.
SIEGRIST’S STAR
Most of the cameras and eyes were on Siegrist, the 6-foot-2 senior from Poughkeepsie, New York, who competed nationally in scoring (29.4 ppg) and had a hot hand in her last two contests. Siegrist followed a school and conference record 50-point performance last Saturday against Seton Hall with 39 points in a win over St John’s on Wednesday. In those two competitions, Villanova’s all-time top scorer made 35 shots from 52, including 7 from 13 3-point shots, while adding 21 rebounds.
Siegrist showed off her inside and outside scoring chances in a strong first quarter in which she made 5 of 7 shots and scored 10 points. She followed a nifty layup after a backdoor cut with a 10-foot baseline fadeaway during a first-quarter sequence. But the Huskies mostly kept them at bay from that point, and Siegrist finished 8 of 22 from the field, including 1 of 5 from 3-point range. Her score matched her season low, for the third time this season she has hit 21.
BIG PICTURE
UConn: The Huskies are in prime position for their 29th Big East regular-season title with three games remaining. UConn will be looking for its ninth consecutive conference tournament title and 28th overall title, followed by a run for its 11th national title.
Villanova: Siegrist and the Wildcats have three games left in the regular season and will likely have to go through UConn again to win the Big East tournament.
TRAINING ROOM
UConn: Azzi Fudd (right knee) missed her 11th contest in a row.
NEXT
UConn: Hosts St. John’s on Tuesday.
Villanova: host DePaul on Tuesday.
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