ESTERO, FLA. – On the first day of competition at the 2022 Gulf Coast Showcase, the No. 23 Villanova Wildcats tallied an 83-80 win over the Belmont Bruins. With the victory, Villanova improves to 5-0 on the season, while Belmont falls to 1-4.
Villanova will now advance to the semifinal round on Saturday, Nov. 26, against the Baylor Bears. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.
The Wildcats led 15-12 with 3:22 to play in the opening quarter when they went on a 10-4 run to close the quarter and lead 25-16 after one. Sophomore guard Lucy Olsen led the spurt with five of the 10 Villanova points.
The story of the first half was Villanova's torrid shooting. The Wildcats were 21-of-29 from the field (72.4%) and 7-of-10 from three-point range (70.0%) in the game's first 20 minutes. Senior forward Maddy Siegrist was sensational in the first half with 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including a 2-of-3 effort from three-point range.
Belmont started the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run to erase an 11-point Villanova lead and tie the game at 68-68. Sydni Harvey highlighted the Bruin charge scoring 11 of the 13 points, including three field goals from behind the arc.
Villanova led 76-72 with 2:42 to play, when Harvey drained a triple to cut the Wildcat lead to 76-75. After each team failed to score on its next possession, Siegrist was fouled on a drive to the basket. She connected on both foul shots to give her team a 78-75 advantage with 2:09 to go.
Two Belmont free throws by Tuti Jones sliced the Villanova lead to 78-77, before Wildcat junior Bella Runyan made one-of-two from the free throw line. The Runyan foul shot gave the Wildcats a 79-77 advantage with 48 seconds on the clock.
On its next possession, Belmont had a chance to tie the game with 36 seconds left, but Nikki Baird was only able to make one-of-two from the line and Villanova led 79-78. Following two free throws by each team, the Wildcats held an 81-80 advantage at the nine second mark when Siegrist was fouled. Siegrist missed the first and made the second and Villanova led 82-80.
Belmont called timeout and advanced the ball to the front court where they got the ball to Harvey who drove to the basket and missed a running jump shot. On the ensuing rebound Bruin forward Tessa Miller was fouled going for the ball with 3.1 seconds to play. Miller missed the first and was forced to miss the second on purpose. Christina Dalce grabbed the rebound off the missed foul shot and was fouled with just 1.9 seconds remaining. After making the first, Dalce missed the second and time ran out before Belmont could get off any type of shot.
Siegrist led the Wildcats with 29 points, five steals and three rebounds. She was 10-of-15 from the field, 3-of-4 from three and 6-of-9 from the line. Olsen tallied 20 points, four assists and three rebounds. Junior Maddie Burke added 11 points.
Belmont was paced by Harvey with 24 points, while Jones and Destinee Wells had 16 points each.
In the win, Villanova was 30-of-54 from the field (55.6%), 9-of-18 from three-point range (50.0%) and 14-of-21 from the foul line (66.7%), while the Bruins shot 49.0 percent from the floor (25-o-51), 50.0 percent from behind the arc (10-of-20) and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe (20-of-28). Belmont owned a 29-26 advantage on the backboards.
NOTES: Villanova improves to 2-2 all-time in the Gulf Coast Showcase…Maddy Siegrist now has 56 career 20-point games, including five this season…The five steals by Maddy Siegrist ties the Gulf Coast Showcase record for steals in a game…The Wildcats improve to 5-0 in games away from home this season…Today was the first-ever meeting between Villanova and Belmont…Today was the fourth career 20-point game for Lucy Olsen…The Wildcats have made at least one three-point field goal in 586 consecutive games.
