When No. 9 seed Miami defeated No. 1 Indiana on Monday, No. 4 Villanova suddenly became slight favorites in the Sweet 16. But when the ball tipped Friday afternoon, it was clear that Miami came to play.
The Hurricanes stunned the Wildcats early, taking a 13-point halftime lead that provided a cushion for the late push from Villanova. The Wildcats regained the lead in the fourth quarter, but Miami made just enough winning plays to escape with a 70-65 victory and end Villanova’s historic run.
The Wildcats were led by senior forward Maddy Siegrist, who finished with 31 points, 13 rebounds, and five steals. Siegrist extended her NCAA-record 20-point streak to 36 games and moved into second place all time for single-season scoring with 1,081 points.
“Maddy is everything she’s been advertised [to be],” Miami head coach Katie Meier said. “And we really pride ourselves on our defense, and the only thing I can kind of brag about is it took 29 shots for her to get 31 points.”
Siegrist’s 8-of-29 shooting performance marked the only time she was held below 30% from the floor this season. Miami forced Siegrist off her line and threw double teams at her when possible.
Sophomore forward Christina Dalce had another strong day inside with 13 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.
Miami was led by Jasmyne Roberts, who finished with 26 points and nine rebounds. Roberts was a problem for the Wildcats all game, as they did not have an answer for her in one-on-one matchups. Destiny Harden joined Roberts in double figures with 15 points and nine rebounds.
For the first 20 minutes, the Hurricanes’ pressure flustered the Wildcats and gave them a 46-33 halftime lead. Miami picked up on Villanova’s guards full court, slowing the Wildcats down and forcing them out of a rhythm.
Villanova was wasting almost 10 seconds each possession just bringing the ball up the floor and getting into its offense, which forced rushed shots and careless mistakes.
On the other end, Villanova did not look like the team that holds opponents to less than 60 points per game as it gave up a season-high 46 points in the first half.
“Well, it was just the isolation, the one-on-one attacks,” Villanova head coach Denise Dillon said. “We weren’t doing a good job containing the basketball, and I thought we were doing a worse job of being in help position. … They took full advantage of some of the one-on-one coverage.”
After Miami pushed the lead to 21 within a minute of the third quarter, Dillon called a timeout, and her team came out of it with a different look.
“It’s been our message from day one, you’re going to battle until the end no matter what the outcome is,” Dillon said. “This team has always responded to that.”
Villanova slowly chipped away using full-court pressure and disciplined halfcourt defense. Over the final 5 minutes, 17 seconds of the third quarter, the Wildcats went on a 14-0 run to get within six points entering the final 10 minutes.
Villanova took its first lead of the second half with 5 minutes, 31 seconds remaining, and it was back and forth the rest of the way. But Villanova missed multiple looks down the stretch, and Miami capitalized at the free-throw line to close out the victory.
“I’ll tell you, we’ve won a lot of games with similar looks,” Dillon said. “[Siegrist] wants the ball. Everybody knows who we’re looking for. She would always take those shots, and we wouldn’t question those calls at all.”
Siegrist has been the backbone of this team all year. Her record-breaking season led Villanova to one of its best seasons in program history, but for her teammates and coaches, it’s her effect off the court that they appreciate most.
“Anyone that knows [Siegrist] knows that she’s just an amazing person,” junior Bella Runyan said. “She comes from an amazing family ... she doesn’t just see us as teammates. She puts us first as best friends. And I’m just so honored I’ve been able to play on the same team as her, learn from her. Sometimes I forget that one of my friends is, like, an All-American.”
“When you leave your mark on people as Maddy did, there’s nothing greater,” Dillon said, fighting back tears. “I think that is by far the greatest accomplishment as a student-athlete where you can be recognized just as being an authentic person as opposed to just a great athlete. She’ll continue to impact the world in whatever she does.”
The “whatever she does” is the biggest question facing Villanova’s program at the moment. Siegrist has one year of eligibility left, but she currently is projected by ESPN as a No. 5 pick in the WNBA draft on April 10.
While the emotions from Runyan, Dillon, and Siegrist herself in the postgame press conference on Friday indicate that this was the last time she will put on a Villanova uniform, Siegrist still has a big decision to make.
“I’ve got to talk to my parents and stuff like that after [this],” Siegrist said. “But, I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to have played here. So many good people, and it’s really about the people. Take the basketball part out of it, the memories and the people are something that I’m going to cherish forever.”
