PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Villanova University women’s basketball team is getting ready for the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats will host Cleveland State in the first round on Saturday.
Villanova is 28-6 this season and a 4-seed in the tournament. They advanced to the final of the Big East Tournament but lost to UConn.
Cleveland State is 30-4 and the champion of the Horizon League.
Villanova head coach Denise Dillon said Cleveland State has a lot of players who “are capable of putting the ball in the basket in different aspects.”
“The inside-outside game, off the dribble, creating shots for their teammates,” she said. “But the biggest thing is what you see from them is a match-up zone, and we have not faced many possessions of zone this year.”
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On defense, Villanova holds its opponents to 58 points a game.
The Wildcats are led by the nation’s leading scorer, senior Maddy Siegrist, who averages 28.9 points per game.
Villanova is in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Last season, they beat BYU in the first round but lost to Michigan in the second.
Dillon said her team has to maintain focus in order to have NCAA success.
“Continue to stay true to who we are and stay focused on our defense and continue to really challenge yourself to rebound,” she said. “Defense can keep us in the game. rebounding can separate you a little bit.”