The Guru Report: Villanova Comeback on Miami Sputters Near End as Siegrist Likely WNBA Bound

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

GREENVILLE, S.C. – If misery loves company, both 4^th-seeded Villanova and 2^nd-seeded Utah had had agonizing shareable endings to their outstanding seasons here Friday afternoon and night at the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Greenville 2 Regional Semifinals in the Bon Secure Wellness Arena after reaching the Sweet 16 levels of the tournament.

 

For the Wildcats of Philadelphia’s Main Line suburb, their suffering came in several bursts playing the Cinderella 9^th-seeded Miami Hurricanes, who had shocked top-seeded and second ranked Indiana on a last second shot Monday night in the Hoosiers’ Arena in the Midwest.

 

Senior Maddy Siegrist, the nation’s top scorer with a 29.2 average, continued to amass points and break records but at far less efficiency than she had in the previous 36 games, and Villanova’s vaunted defense was the most porous it had been all season, save playing the vaunted Big East rival sixth-ranked UConn Huskies, who are seeded second in the Seattle 3 Regional and play third-seeded Ohio State Saturday afternoon at 4 on ABC-TV.

 

Just under a minute into the third, Villanova (30-7) was in a 21-point hole at 54-33 to Miami (22-12), when the plunge began to level out.

 

Still, a three-ball from Miami’s Karla Erjavec made it 57-37 with 5:17 left in the third.

 

Suddenly, with coach Denise Dillon calling for full court pressure, the wheels of progress began to move the Wildcats way, Miami missing shots and making turnovers and Villanova was off on a 14-0 run with Siegrist providing points to cut the deficit.

 

“Well, the message, and it’s been our message from day one, is you’re going to battle to the end no matter what the outcome is,” Dillon said. “You’re always going to fight. The team has always responded to that.”

 

From inside the response, Bella Runyan said, “I think we started dictating on defense and we were saying we were letting them get whatever they wanted. We have to dictate, defensively. 

 

“And we did just that. We came up with steals, we came up with rebounds, one-and-done. Strung together stops. What helped us get back in the game was heart.”

 

Near the end of the third quarter, only six points separated the two teams and everyone who had been at the incredible fourth quarter comeback in early January on St. John’s began to think, might it be happening again?

 

Mullin’s three with 7:08 left in regulation sliced a six-point deficit in half and then Siegrist followed in the paint with a driving lay-up and it was 59-58, a game again, with 6:14 left.

 

Less than a minute later Siegrist canned two from the line and Villanova was in front 60-59 but Destiny Harden’s three got it back for the Hurricanes but Dillon’s troops would not quick.

 

For the next several minutes, the differential swung back and forth, in one sequence Christina Dalce came up from a scramble for two.

 

Jasmyne Roberts hit two foul shots for Miami then Lucy Olsen scored for Villanova and a 65-64 lead with 49 seconds left. 

 

But then the dream of a first Elite Eight appearance since 2003 began to recede.

 

Roberts made an old fashioned three-point play for a 67-65 advantage with 38 seconds left.

 

Siegrist missed a shot, she’s made in the past, Miami got to the line, going 1-for-2 68-65.

 

Siegrist missed in the paint with 12 seconds left, Roberts with the rebound and two shots from the line. 

 

The score said 70-65, Siegrist scooped up a loose ball and went for a hail Mary shot that didn’t drop.

 

The horn went off and just like that the magic that had begun the first week with Siegrist’s shot to beat a then-ranked Princeton on the road to get Villanova in the poll was no more.

 

The greatest season, save the 2003 team that went one more round, with the greatest player, was to be wrapped up in the history books.

 

Siegrist, a consensus first-team All-American, finished with 31 points, 13 rebounds, and five steals. Dalce scored 13 and grabbed five rebounds, and Olsen had eight points.

 

For Miami, Roberts had 26 and nine boards, while Harden scored 15 and she also had nine rebounds as the Hurricanes head for their first Elite Eight.

 

Dillon offered some regret on not going earlier to go to the pressure that keyed the comeback.

 

“My mistake,” she said. “We should have in the first half shown some more of the pressure, th press, bur you think a team that’s quick like that (Miami) can take advantage.

 

“But again, just waited a little too late to make that run.”

 

There was no second guessing from Siegrist, who had trouble at times with her emotions, or Dillon on the selection of the missed shots with the game in the balance.

 

Siegrist had 97 points in her three tournament games. Her 1,081 seasonal points were second in NCAA Division I history, behind 1,109 from Washinggton’s Kelsey Plum’s 1,109 points,and her 20 or more points in all 37 games is unmatched. Her career total of 2,896 is unmatched in the city among women and exceeded only by La Salle’s Lionel Simmons among local males.   

 

Memories of Oregon’s Sabrini Ionescu after a tough Final Four loss to eventual champion Baylor and declaring unfinished business and putting the WNBA on hold began to suggest, perhaps Siegrist might do likewise.

 

Tuesday is the day those with WNBA aspirations must renounce their remaining extra year of collegiate eligibility.

 

Siegrist will likely be in Dallas for the Women’s Final Four to collect some awards.

 

But the wish of her returning to an almost full roster in 2003-04 from this season quickly began to fade, though Siegrist indicated she’ll have discussions with her parents.

 

“No announcement has been made,” Dillon said, herself trying to keep her own emotions in check. “But I think we are aware what’s going on. I think the emotion is just the sense of – like I said to the team, you got that close. You gave yourselves a chance. You got back.

 

“It’s just more the sting of not finishing the job today and advancing. This team, any opportunity I get to talk about them, I’ll take because they’re so special. They’re extremely special,” Dillon continued.

 

“The end, it’s so quick, and I think that’s just the feeling we all have right now. And Maddy, especially, because, yeah, some big decisions need to be made at this point. You want the season to keep going so you don’t have to make those big decisions.”

 

Several WNBA sources said they expect Siegrist to be headed their way, though minds can change.

 

And in the locker room here, afterwards, Siegrist said to ESPN, “You know, this was a good way to go out. Making this round with this team, it was really special.

 

“I couldn’t be more happy to play with this group,” said the native of Poughkeepsie, projected in the top five of next month’s draft in New York on April 10.

 

“I got to Villanova and just wanted to be good enough to play here,” she told M.A. Voepel.  “A lot of things that happened, I never thought could have happened.

 

“Trying to put it in perspective now is tough, but I’m really proud how far I came, and I’m proud of my career.”

 

Missed Foul Shots Cost Utah

 

As for misery being company, that came in the second game after Villanova was beaten.

 

In a back-and-forth contest, second-seeded Utah (27-5), ranked eighth in the final AP poll after being as high as a best-ever second, lost to third-seeded LSU (31-2), ranked ninth and coached by Hall of Famer Kim Mulkey, who after coming from Baylor, has had the Tigers in the top five.

 

“Doing this in three years is unheard of,” Mulkey said, crediting the transfer portal.

 

The Tigers from the South won 66-63, in part from four foul shots near the end made by Alexis Morris, who scored 15 points behind Ladazhia Williams’ 24 and six rebounds.

 

Angel Reese, who fouled out near the end, had 17 points and 12 rebounds for LSU, while with Utah, Gianni Kneepkens scored 20, and Isabel Palmer scored 15, and Alissa Pili, a transfer from Southern Cal, scored 14 with five rebounds.

 

However, at the end with the game in the balance, LSU leading 64-63, Jenna Johnson missed a free throw. Utah got the rebound and she missed again with another chance on the line.

 

Miami and LSU will meet on Sunday night at 7 p.m., the winner advances to the Women’s Final Four next weekend in Dallas.

 

In the Greenville Regional 1 here Saturday, top-ranked, unbeaten and reigning champion South Carolina (34-0) on a 40-game win streak will play fourth seed UCLA (27-9) at 2 p.m. on ESPN after third seed Notre Dame (27-5) and second seed Maryland (27-6) meet at 11:30 a.m.

 

Winners meet Monday night.

 

On Friday night, in Seattle Regional 4 fifth-seed Louisville (26-5) beat eighth-seed Mississippi 72-62 ending the Rebels’ season at 25-9.

 

Hailey Van Lith scored 21 for the winning Cardinals. 

 

Marquesha Davis and Myah Taylor each got Ole Miss 19 points.

 

In the other game in Seattle 4 at the Climate Pledge Arena second seeded and third round Iowa beat Colorado 87-77 

 

Iowa and Louisville will meet Sunday at 9 p.m. on ESPN.

 

Caitlin Clark scored 31 for the Hawkeyes for the win over the Buffaloes.

 

And that’s the report.