NOVA’S MADDY SIEGRIST DRAINS 50, YEAR’S MOST FOR MEN OR WOMEN!

By Harry Allison

Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist scored 50 points — the most this season in Division I women’s or men’s basketball — on 20-of-26 shooting from the field in a 99-65 victory over the Seton Hall Pirates.

Siegrist set the single-game Big East scoring record and she’s also now the career scoring leader in Big East games (1,550 points).

The 6-2 senior forward is leading Division I women in scoring (29.1 points per game) this season while shooting 53.6%. Earlier this season, she became Villanova’s career scoring leader and Saturday she also set the program’s single-game record. Both marks previously belonged to Shelly Pennefather. Siegrist now has 2,571 points in her Villanova career.

WHATTTTT 😂😂 2k numbers https://t.co/HehWoJLACn

— Collin Gillespie (@Colling1021) February 11, 2023

Siegrist passed the Boston College Eagles’ Sarah Behn, who played from 1989 to 1993 and had 1,546 points, for the league career record. Siegrist’s 20 made field goals is also a Big East record, passing the 19 by Kathy Finn of the Providence Friars, set Feb. 11, 1984, against the Syracuse Orange.

Siegrist said the most points she had scored before was 45 while in high school. Saturday, she said she didn’t quite feel it was going to be a special day until the second half, when after making a contested fadeaway, “I thought, ‘Well, maybe it’s working for me. Maybe I’m getting a little bit going.'”

Siegrist played 32 minutes and was 4 of 6 from 3-point range and 6 of 8 from the foul line. She added 10 rebounds — her 13th double-double of the season — and had two assists and two steals. No. 15 Villanova moved to 22-4 overall and 13-2 in the Big East.

Siegrist was projected as the No. 11 pick by the Dallas Wings in ESPN’s most recent WNBA mock draft. She said she will wait until after the season to decide if she will declare for the draft or return for a fifth season because of the COVID-19 waiver.

“Right now, I’m just trying to make I go into every game giving everything I’ve got,” Siegrist said.

The moment @20sMaddy became the new all-time leading scorer in @BIGEASTWBB 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 for regular season conference games ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cTHXkepgg3

— Villanova WBB (@novawbb) February 11, 2023