Basketball seasons, especially those conducted by a program with a long and proud history, have a certain familiar rhythm to them. From the official start of practice in September to the final whistle in March, comfort is derived from a granite-solid structure.
 
For 41 seasons, that cohesion was a way of life in the Villanova Women's Basketball program. Guided by the only coach it had ever known, Harry Perretta, observers inside and outside the program knew exactly what to expect each time the Wildcats took the floor. And that consistency produced 20 seasons of 20 or more wins and 765 total victories to that point.
 
So as practice began for the 2019-20, there was no reason to contemplate otherwise. For though the roster was inexperienced and, in some ways unproven, nothing else at Villanova had changed.
 
Until it did.
 
On Oct. 30, Harry Perretta told his team that the 2019-20 season would be his last as head coach. The energy and emotion poured into a program he had built from scratch had begun to take a physical toll.
 
"It's time," he said.
 
The news became public later that day. Praise for Perretta came in from across the nation, from prominent coaching peers to former players and campus colleagues. The outpouring of support focused not merely on his coaching acumen – formidable by any measure – but on the integrity with which he had led.
 
Inside the Davis Center locker room, the emotions engendered by this were more complicated. A fierce pride showed up quickly, a determination to help make the '19-20 campaign a fitting sendoff for a man they revere and a senior class of Mary Gedaka, Bridget Herlihy and Cameron Onken that had given selflessly to the program. There was also an understanding of why it had to be this way. At different points, they had seen the fatigue in Perretta.
 
"I was kind of expecting it at some point," stated sophomore guard Sam Carangi. "You could kind of feel it coming to an end."
 
"We all love Harry, so it was a hard thing to hear," added guard Kenzie Gardler, a redshirt freshman.
 
Yet there was also a bold face reality for the non-seniors on the roster. A change was approaching and there could be no guarantees of what that might portend for the individuals whose Villanova career would extend beyond spring 2020.
 
"I was upset," stated Maddy Siegrist, another redshirt freshman. "When you choose a college, you really don't plan on a coaching change."
 
"I was definitely nervous," added Gardler.
 
"There was uncertainty," said Carangi. "We knew how well respected the program and Villanova are and that this would be a national search. There were rumors of some big-time people being interested."
 
The initial anxiety soon gave way to more reassuring thoughts. First and foremost, was the fact that Perretta will serve in an advisory role to Director of Athletics Mark Jackson for the 2020-21 season.
 
"Harry told us, 'I'm going to be around, I'm not moving, I'll be at some practices,'" Siegrist stated. "That was comforting."
 
There was also that matter of motivation. Rather than the continuation of extending the familiar, this group would have the opportunity to carve its own niche in the program's history. They made it their purpose to write an upbeat ending to one of the great coaching careers in the game's history.
 
Of course, words wouldn't make it so. The preseason BIG EAST poll, selected by the league's coaches, forecast the Wildcats to finish in a tie for fifth with Providence. Villanova then stumbled out of the gate, dropping its first three games of the season before recording a win at Fordham on Nov. 17.
 
Slowly, though, the tenets that had served the 'Cats so well for generations – sharing the basketball, working to locate a good shot, valuing possession – once again came to the fore. Villanova began to find its footing in December in Big Five play – it would ultimately claim the City Series crown - and by the time the conference season began, the 'Cats were once again a threat.
 
Siegrist – who would go on to become the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and a first team all-conference pick – played a large part in that. So too did Gedaka and the rest of the upperclassmen.
 
"We rallied together," Carangi said. "I thought we really accomplished what we set out to do."
 
One of the recurring themes of BIG EAST play were the tributes Perretta received from host schools.
 
"It was really cool to see that," Siegrist stated. "Everywhere we went, the schools went out of their way to honor Harry. He pretended he didn't like it, but I'd tell him it was OK to enjoy it. He's a legend. He deserved it."
 
Villanova entered a pivotal weekend in late February with an 8-6 league mark. On Friday night, the 'Cats would host second place Marquette at Finneran Pavilion. Sunday afternoon, they would welcome first place DePaul ahead of a celebration of Perretta's career once the final horn sounded.
 
"We knew how good those teams were," stated Carangi. "But we also felt like we had been right there with both of them the first time we had played them in January."
 
Villanova knocked off Marquette 61-47 on Feb. 21 as seniors Gedaka (21 points) and Herlihy (18) combined for 39 points. That set the stage for a Sunday that Perretta has since described as "a Disney movie". With more than 80 former players and coaches on hand, the Wildcats outscored the Blue Demons 43-28 in the second half on their way to a 76-58 triumph at the Finn.
 
"I just remember Mary telling us in the huddles – 'we are not losing this, we are not losing this'," Carangi says. "It was awesome."
 
Siegrist recalled looking at the scoreboard with just more than three minutes to play and the 'Cats in control with a 15-point lead.
 
"Harry's coaching likes it's a one-possession game," Siegrist says. "I was saying to my teammates, 'we are going to win this. There aren't enough possessions left for them to come back.'"
 
"There is no other word for it than magical," added Gardler.
 
Villanova closed out the regular season with a 17-12 mark and tied for third place in the BIG EAST at 11-7. At the BIG EAST Tournament in Chicago, it outlasted Xavier 64-59 in overtime in its opening round battle before falling in a rematch to Marquette in a Sunday quarterfinal. It then returned home to await its next game, a likely WNIT date.
 
Then, on a March afternoon, came word that the 2019-20 NCAA season was over, in deference to the novel COVID-19.
 
"It's a global pandemic and we understand that," Gardler says. "We have to do our part in this."
 
"Even now, it's hard to process," notes Siegrist. "It's a global thing, much bigger than basketball. Everyone's season ended suddenly, not just ours."
 
And yet, there are friends and teammates – Gedaka, Herlihy, and Onken – whose careers ended without notice.
 
"There's a moment in every season when you realize it's coming to an end," Siegrist explains. "As athletes, we're all used to having that. You have a chance to reflect in that moment. Unfortunately, our seniors didn't get that. They had no idea when we lost to Marquette that it would be their last time wearing the uniform. That's tough."
 
With word that Villanova was closing its campus and shifting to online studies on March 16, the Wildcats' student-athletes and staff dispersed to their homes. That brought the looming question to the foreground: now what? Perretta and his staff kept in close contact with the team, but they could offer no special insight into what impact the pandemic might have on the process of hiring the next coach – or that individual's identity.
 
"I tried not to think about it during the season, but of course you do," Siegrist says. "I would talk to my parents about it. I knew Villanova would put a great search together. We just didn't know how all this would impact everything."
 
A few days later, Jackson shared with the group that the interview process had begun. Video interviews were underway. Then, on the morning of Friday, March 27, the news was officially delivered: Denise Dillon, Villanova Class of 1996, twelfth on the program's all-time scoring list and for the last 17 seasons the head coach at Drexel University, was named as Perretta's replacement.
 
That the introduction came via laptop screen mattered not. This wasn't merely a homecoming but a tribute to those lasting bonds that had been constructed over the previous four plus decades. Though this group of athletes was either not yet ready for nursery school – or, in some cases, born – when Dillon left Villanova in 2000 (she served as a Perretta assistant following graduation), most possess a link to the new head coach.
 
Gardler shares a high school alma mater with Dillon – both are products of Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Pa.
 
"I was super excited when I heard the news," states Gardler. "Two of my best friends played for Denise at Drexel. They adore her. I was just very relieved. It felt like God answered all my prayers."
 
Carangi has known Dillon all her life. Carangi's mother, the former Jen Snell, played with Dillon at Villanova and they have remained close. Carangi's aunt, Mary Beth, also played at Nova and was a Perretta assistant when the Wildcats upended No. 1 Connecticut to win the 2003 BIG EAST Tournament title.
 
"My final two choices for college were Villanova and Drexel," Carangi states. "It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. Villanova was my family's school and I loved Denise and Drexel. It was such a hard call to make.
 
"I'm really, really happy it turned out this way. I got to play for Harry and now I'll get the chance to play for Denise."
 
Siegrist is from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and doesn't have the kind of local ties to her new head coach that some of her teammates do. Yet she had seen enough to be instantly energized by the decision.
 
"I was thrilled," she states. "We played Drexel last season, so we all saw what a fantastic coach Denise is. She also spoke at the 50 Years of Women's Sports at Villanova (in 2018) and was phenomenal. You could tell she really understands what this program is about.
 
"The Villanova tradition is special. Every year we have 60 or 70 alums come back – this year it was more because of Harry, but it's strong every year. Denise gets that. She reveres Harry and understands what he means to the program. It's been a great transition even if it's a little weird because everything is being done by Zoom."
 
Dillon has said she plans to retain Associate Head Coach Joe Mullaney and Director of Operations Mimi Riley. The remainder of her staff will be announced in the coming weeks.
 
"We're so happy that Coach Joe and Mimi are staying," says Carangi.
 
When the Wildcats will be able to reconvene as a unit – or celebrate the contributions of the class of 2020 – remains an open question as it does for most of our nation. For now, the team has been getting to know Dillon via video calls and texts. Each player does the best they can to maintain conditioning through garage workouts, distance runs or – in Carangi's case – rehab from hip surgery.
 
The 2019-20 Wildcats record of 18-13 will be the final line of Perretta's storied career that concluded with 783 wins. To the casual reader, it may look not unlike the 41 seasons that preceded it, with a winning record and BIG EAST success (double digit league victories for the sixth time in the last seven seasons).
 
But from start to finish 2019-20 was its own distinct entity. It opened with news that an iconic coach was stepping aside and ended suddenly due to a global pandemic. Yet through those many months, with large unanswered questions looming, the pillars beneath it remained firm. A team and basketball family rallied to produce a fitting finale for its departing leader and now welcome home an old friend with a proven track record of teaching success to guide its future.
 
"It was an unusual year," Gardler notes. "But we were determined to make it a good one. Now, we can't wait to be together again and get going with Denise."
 
"It," says Siegrist of an eventual return to campus with her teammates, coaches and fellow students, "is all that keeps me going."