In basketball, it’s no secret that shooters have one job: shoot. And when a shooter isn’t knocking down their shots, they still only have one job: keep shooting. 

That’s exactly what the women’s basketball team did in Wednesday’s commanding 73-54 win over Marquette (14-8, 7-6 Big East). 

For the Wildcats (19-4, 10-2 Big East), their star shooter, senior Maddy Siegrist, struggled to put up points at the start of the game. 

After forced shots, a turnover and three missed jumpers in the first quarter, Villanova’s all-time leading scorer finally scored her first basket of the night just one minute into the second quarter. After she sank that one, it was smooth sailing for the Wildcats from there.

“We needed to play more Villanova basketball,” head coach Denise Dillon said. “We were trying to force some things or plays individually, so I’m just staying patient within our offense to get clean looks.” 

Villanova then went on to put up 24 points in the second quarter, going on a 22-2 scoring run over the Golden Eagles. Siegrist chipped in 14 of those points, ending the game with 24 points.  

At the start of the second half, the Wildcats were sitting with a comfortable 20 point lead, but they still had to maintain their lead and protect home court. 

“They’re figuring out how much potential they have as a collective unit,” Dillon said. “They’re looking forward, they’re allowing us to coach them.” 

The third quarter kicked off with the Golden Eagles bringing some life back to the court as they started to put up points. However, regardless of the newfound energy, it wasn’t enough to stop the juggernaut that the Wildcats have been at the Finneran Pavilion all season. The Wildcats are 8-1 on their home court this year.

Whenever Marquette sunk a shot, the Wildcats returned the favor on the other end of the court, continuing to maintain their dominating lead. Towards the latter half of the quarter, the Wildcats extended the lead to 23 points, ending the third ahead, 56-35. 

The fourth quarter of the game kicked off with sophomore forward Christina Dalce getting her second double-double of the season, tying her career-high of 13 points. 

“It’s my team for sure,” said Dalce on her new-found confidence. “Everything they say to me, I know they’re trying to help me… and I’m very hard on myself so it does relax me.”

While Siegrist and Dalce had impressive stat sheets tonight, they weren’t alone in their double-digit efforts. Sophomore guard Lucy Olsen put up 16 points herself, chipping in with six assists as well.

After a solid home victory, the Wildcats will now head to Indianapolis to take on Butler (7-15, 2-11). The last time these teams met was January 8, when Villanova pulled away with a 10 point victory over the Bulldogs.