Women’s Hoops Heat Check is back with Cole Huff and Mitchell Northam. Part 1: Standout Players can be read here. Part 2: What we loved last week is here. Part 3: Things we hated over the last week and the most notable moments. Part 4 looks ahead to the top matchup this weekend.
Iowa State vs. Villanova
I feel like I keep writing about Villanova forward Maddy Siegrist in this column, but it’s not without merit. The Wildcat is still one of the nation’s leading scorers at 27.4 points per game, and she leads the nation in offensive win shares with 4.5 so far this season, and she’s fourth in PER, according to HerHoopStats. Villanova is 9-2 and Siegrist is a huge reason why.
On Sunday, the No. 25 Wildcats will face one of the toughest opponents they’ll see all season, when they meet No. 14 Iowa State in a neutral site contest in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Cyclones are 7-2 and powered once again this season by All-American forward Ashley Joens, who is averaging 19.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. The two-time Cheryl Miller Award-winner poured in 22 points in her last outing.
This matchup gets the ESPN treatment at 3:30 p.m. EST. A win for Villanova could give it some major confidence heading into Big East play.
