2023–24 Villanova Wildcats women's basketball team

Intercollegiate basketball season
2023–24 Villanova Wildcats women's basketball
ConferenceBig East Conference
Record21–12 (11–7 Big East)
Head coach
  • Denise Dillon (4th season)
Associate head coachJoe Mullaney
Assistant coaches
  • Michelle Sword
  • Tiara Malcom
Home arenaFinneran Pavilion
Seasons
2024–25 →
2023–24 Big East women's basketball standings
  • v
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 10 UConn † 18 – 0   1.000 32 – 5   .865
No. 24 Creighton 15 – 3   .833 26 – 6   .813
St. John's 11 – 7   .611 18 – 15   .545
Villanova 11 – 7   .611 21 – 12   .636
Marquette 11 – 7   .611 23 – 9   .719
Georgetown 9 – 9   .500 23 – 12   .657
Seton Hall 8 – 10   .444 17 – 15   .531
Butler 6 – 12   .333 15 – 17   .469
Providence 6 – 12   .333 13 – 21   .382
DePaul 4 – 14   .222 12 – 20   .375
Xavier 0 – 18   .000 1 – 27   .036
† 2024 Big East tournament winner
As of March 30, 2024
Rankings from AP poll

The 2023–24 Villanova Wildcats women's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by 4th-year head coach Denise Dillon, play their home games at the Finneran Pavilion and are members of the Big East Conference.

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the season at 30–7 and 17–3 in Big East play to finish in second place. They advanced to the championship game of the Big East women's tournament where they lost to UConn. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Women's Tournament as a 4th seed in Greensboro region 2 where they defeated Cleveland State in the first round and Florida Gulf Coast to advanced to the sweet sixteen for the first time since 2003 where they lost to Utah to end their season.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason left
Anahi-Lee Cauley 5 G 6'0" Sophomore Windsor, CT Transferred to William & Mary
Brooke Mullin 15 G 5'11" Senior Langhorne, PA Graduate transferred to Drexel
Maddy Siegrist 20 F 6'1" Senior Poughkeepsie, NY Graduated/2023 WNBA draft; selected 3rd overall by Dallas Wings

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous
school
Denae Carter 25 F 6'0" Junior Philadelphia, PA Mississippi State

Recruiting

There were no recruiting classing class of 2023.

Recruiting class of 2024

US college sports recruiting information for 2024 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jasmine Bascoe
PG 		Milton, ON King's Christian Collegiate 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 91
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2024 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023.

Roster

2023–24 Villanova Wildcats women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Zanai Jones 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Jr Hudson Catholic Jersey City, NJ
G 2 Abby Jegede 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) RS Fr King's Christian Collegiate Toronto, ON
G 3 Lucy Olsen 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Spring-Ford Royersford, PA
G 4 Kaitlyn Orihel 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Archbishop Wood Newtown, PA
F 10 Christina Dalce 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr Rutgers Prep Edison, NJ
F 13 Brynn McCurry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Sparta Sparta, NJ
F 14 Megan Olbrys 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Norwood Norwood, MA
F/C 21 Kylie Swider 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Sr Tabor Portsmouth, RI
G 23 Maddie Burke 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr Central Bucks West Doylestown, PA
F 25 Denae Carter 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr St. Basil Academy
Mississippi State 		Philadelphia, PA
G 32 Bella Runyan 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Sr Moorestown Friends Moorestown, NJ
G 34 Maddie Webber 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Fr South Fayette Sparta, NJ
F 43 Annie Welde 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Cardinal O'Hara Bridgeville, PA
G 44 Maggie Grant 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Archbishop John Carroll Downingtown, PA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

[1]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2023*
7:00 p.m. 		Jefferson W 69–42 
  –      –      –    Finneran Pavilion 
Villanova, PA
Regular season
November 10, 2023*
9:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Portland W 64–42  1–0
  20 – Olsen   8 – Dalce   5 – Olsen  Chiles Center (733)
Portland, OR
November 12, 2023*
4:00 p.m., P12N 		at Oregon State L 56–63  1–1
  24 – Olsen   9 – Runyan   4 – Runyan  Gill Coliseum (3,775)
Corvallis, OR
November 19, 2023*
2:00 p.m., FloSports 		Temple W 90–62  2–1
  40 – Olsen   18 – Dalce   4 – Runyan  Finneran Pavilion (2,185)
Villanova, PA
November 21, 2023*
7:00 p.m., FloSports 		Holy Cross W 63–53  3–1
  14 – Olsen   13 – Runyan   4 – Runyan  Finneran Pavilion (1,345)
Villanova, PA
November 26, 2023*
12:00 p.m., ACCN 		at Wake Forest W 74–65  4–1
  21 – Olsen   12 – Dalce   5 – Tied  LJVM Coliseum (760)
Winston-Salem, NC
November 30, 2023*
7:00 p.m., FloSports 		Richmond W 67–57  5–1
  30 – Olsen   15 – Dalce   5 – Runyan  Finneran Pavilion (2,241)
Villanova, PA
December 3, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Columbia L 75–77  5–2
  33 – Olsen   13 – Dalce   8 – Runyan  Levien Gymnasium (1,024)
New York, NY
December 5, 2023*
7:00 p.m., FloSports 		Penn W 68–62  6–2
  18 – Dalce   17 – Dalce   3 – Olsen  Finneran Pavilion (1,141)
Villanova, PA
December 9, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Saint Joseph's
Holy War 		L 67–73  6–3
  32 – Olsen   11 – Dalce   2 – Tied  Hagan Arena (863)
Philadelphia, PA
December 11, 2023*
7:00 p.m., FloSports 		Princeton L 58–61  6–4
  21 – Olsen   12 – Dalce   4 – Olsen  Finneran Pavilion (1,119)
Villanova, PA
December 16, 2023
6:00 p.m., BEDN 		at St. John's L 46–51  6–5
(0–1) 		 16 – Runyan   5 – Olsen   6 – McCurry  Madison Square Garden (12,720)
New York, NY
December 21, 2023*
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at La Salle W 74–60  7–5
  23 – Olsen   11 – Dalce   7 – Runyan  Tom Gola Arena (612)
Philadelphia, PA
December 30, 2023
2:00 p.m., BEDN 		Xavier W 86–45  8–5
(1–1) 		 31 – Olsen   9 – Olsen   4 – Tied  Finneran Pavilion (2,341)
Villanova, PA
January 3, 2024
7:00 p.m., BEDN 		at Seton Hall W 50–45  9–5
(2–1) 		 13 – Orihel   12 – Dalce   5 – Olsen  Walsh Gymnasium (845)
South Orange, NJ
January 10, 2024
11:30 a.m., BEDN 		Georgetown W 53–51 OT 10–5
(3–1) 		 28 – Olsen   9 – Olsen   2 – Tied  Finneran Pavilion (1,059)
Villanova, PA
January 13, 2024
7:30 p.m., BEDN 		at Butler W 65–54  11–5
(4–1) 		 18 – Webber   13 – Dalce   6 – Olsen  Hinkle Fieldhouse (777)
Indianapolis, IN
January 17, 2024
7:00 p.m., BEDN 		No. 22 Marquette W 66–63  12–5
(5–1) 		 37 – Olsen   14 – Dalce   5 – Olsen  Finneran Pavilion (1,643)
Villanova, PA
January 21, 2024
12:00 p.m., CBSSN 		No. 21 Creighton L 49–63  12–6
(5–2) 		 29 – Olsen   9 – Dalce   3 – Olsen  Finneran Pavilion (2,651)
Villanova, PA
January 24, 2024
7:00 p.m., BEDN 		at Providence L 76–82 OT 12–7
(5–3) 		 20 – Webber   14 – Dalce   5 – Tied  Alumni Hall (827)
Providence, RI
January 28, 2024
2:00 p.m., FS1 		at DePaul W 95–64  13–7
(6–3) 		 24 – Olsen   6 – Tied   9 – Olsen  Wintrust Arena (1,555)
Chicago, IL
January 31, 2024
6:30 p.m., SNY 		No. 11 UConn L 60–81  13–8
(6–4) 		 15 – Olsen   4 – Tied   4 – Tied  Finneran Pavilion (4,109)
Villanova, PA
February 3, 2024
2:00 p.m., BEDN 		Seton Hall W 69–41  14–8
(7–4) 		 21 – Olsen   9 – Dalce   10 – Olsen  Finneran Pavilion (2,881)
Villanova, PA
February 10, 2024
3:00 p.m., FOX 		at Marquette W 55–52  15–8
(8–4) 		 19 – Olsen   10 – Dalce   3 – Olsen  Al McGuire Center (1,639)
Milwaukee, WI
February 13, 2024
11:00 a.m., BEDN 		at Georgetown W 62–47  16–8
(9–4) 		 33 – Olsen   8 – Olsen   3 – Tied  McDonough Gymnasium (632)
Washington, D.C.
February 17, 2024
4:00 p.m., BEDN 		Butler L 52–55  16–9
(9–5) 		 21 – Olsen   14 – Dalce   6 – Runyan  Finneran Pavilion (3,059)
Villanova, PA
February 21, 2024
7:00 p.m., BEDN 		Providence W 68–58  17–9
(10–5) 		 30 – Olsen   8 – Dalce   7 – Runyan  Finneran Pavilion (1,109)
Villanova, PA
February 24, 2024
4:00 p.m., FOX 		at No. 21 Creighton L 69–79  17–10
(10–6) 		 26 – Olsen   13 – Dalce   5 – Olsen  D. J. Sokol Arena (2,188)
Omaha, NE
February 28, 2024
7:00 p.m., SNY 		at No. 10 UConn L 46–67  17–11
(10–7) 		 15 – Orihel   6 – Olsen   3 – Tied  Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,299)
Storrs, CT
March 3, 2024
5:00 p.m., FS1 		DePaul W 68–66  18–11
(11–7) 		 31 – Olsen   10 – Olsen   5 – Runyan  Finneran Pavilion (2,619)
Villanova, PA
Big East Women's Tournament
March 9, 2024
2:30 p.m., FS2 		(4) vs. (5) Marquette
Quarterfinals 		L 48–50  18–12
  22 – Olsen   11 – Dalce   2 – Tied  Mohegan Sun Arena 
Uncasville, CT
WBIT
March 21, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		(1) VCU
First Round 		W 75–60  19–12
  29 – Olsen   6 – Burke   7 – Runyan  Finneran Pavilion (851)
Villanova, PA
March 24, 2024*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		(1) (4) Virginia
Second Round 		W 73–55  20–12
  30 – Olsen   15 – Dalce   6 – Runyan  Finneran Pavilion (1,315)
Villanova, PA
March 28, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		(1) (3) Saint Joseph's
Quarterfinals/Holy War 		W 67–59  21–12
  16 – Tied   10 – Dalce   6 – McCurry  Finneran Pavilion (2,415)
Villanova, PA
April 1, 2024*
2:30 p.m., ESPNU 		(1) vs. (1) Penn State
Semifinals 		      Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
APRVRV*———Not released
CoachesRVRV*———

*The preseason and week 1 polls were the same.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Villanova Women's Basketball Official Schedule :: Women's Basketball". Villanova.com.
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