Villanova’s Seigrist makes more history as All-American
Maddy Siegrist added another first to her already overflowing resume. So what else is new?
The senior forward became the first player in Villanova women’s basketball history to be named first-team All-America when she received that honor from the Associated Press and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Wednesday.
She was a third-team USBWA All-American last season.
Joining Siegrist on the first team are South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, the 10th player to earn first-team honors three times from the AP, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, LSU’s Angel Reese and Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes.
Those five players also earned first-team honors from the USBWA. Drexel’s Keishana Washington earned honorable mention from both organizations.
“Maddy is an All-American in every sense of the word and she is truly deserving of this honor,” Villanova coach Denise Dillon said. “On the court, the numbers she has put up this year are staggering. To lead the country in scoring and score 1,000 points in one season is amazing. We are so proud of Maddy becoming the first Associated Press All-American in program history.”
Siegrist is closing out a recordbreaking career. She leads the country in scoring (28.9 ppg); the 984 points she has scored this season is fifth all-time in Division I history. She needs 16 points to become the fifth player to score 1,000 points in a season. She has scored at least 21 points in every game this season.
The 6-2 senior forward is the alltime leading scorer in Villanova history, male or female, with 2,799 career points and the top scorer in Big East women’s history with 1,693 points. She is second in Philadelphia Division I history, male or female, behind La Salle’s Lionel Simmons (3,217).
This season, Siegrist was named Big East Player of the Year for the second year in a row and also the conference’s Scholar Athlete of the Year. With her leading the way, the Wildcats are 28-6, ranked No. 10 in the latest AP poll and a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The ranking is the highest in program history.The seed is the second best.
The Wildcats were selected to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Villanova plays No. 13 seed Cleveland State at 5 p.m. Saturday. No. 5 Washington State takes on No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast in the opener at 2:30 p.m. The winners meet Monday for a chance to go to the Sweet 16.
Siegrist is a candidate for several national awards. She is one of 15 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, given to the top player in the country, one of 10 finalists for the Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year, and one of five finalists for the Katrina McClain Award as the top power forward in the country.