On Tuesday, May 7, Villanova women’s basketball announced that guard Marie-Denise Ntambue officially signed with the program.
Ntambue first announced her commitment to Villanova back on Feb. 16 on her Instagram account.
The 5-9 guard is from Crestwood Preparatory School in Toronto, Ontario. Ntambue has also been a part of the Canada Elite program, a member of the Under Armor Association.
“[Ntambue] being a backup point guard early until she gets that confidence,” head coach Denise Dillon said to The Villanovan. “I think your best teams are when you have multiple people on the floor who are comfortable handling the ball as well. So you talk about having some size inside and mobility with your bigs in your four or five. I like to see our guards having a two-point guard mentality. That’s some good basketball.”
She is one of the four incoming high school recruits for the women’s basketball team. The other three include McDonald’s All-American nominee Kennedy Henry, Elise Bender and Brooke Bender.
All four high school recruits have officially signed with the program as of May 7.
Villanova only lost one player to the transfer portal this offseason, rising junior guard Maddie Webber, who transferred to the University of Illinois. The team also had five players graduate with no remaining eligibility.
Natambue will join a roster that includes rising sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe, also a Canadian native. Bascoe was named the Big 5 Freshman of the Year and was named to the Big East All-Freshman team.
The Wildcats picked up two players from the transfer portal to fill out their roster: Notre Dame transfer Kylee Watson and Iowa State transfer Kelsey Joens.
Villanova has one remaining open roster spot, but it is yet to be announced who will fill it.
