Siegrist breaks all-time scoring record

Jan 21, 2023 - 5:41 AM

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Maddy Siegrist had lit up scoreboards and carried the ‘Cats all throughout her career, so entering this season it wasn’t a matter of if she would break the record, but rather, when she was going to become Villanova’s all-time leading scorer.

That moment finally came on Friday night, as she dropped a game-high 23 points in the Lady ‘Cats 73-57 victory over Creighton in Omaha.

She needed just 18 points to surpass 1987 graduate Shelly Pennefather’s mark of 2,408 points, and she comfortably cleared the mark on the road. Siegrist now has 2,414 career points and counting.

Siegrist officially nabbed the record with a jump shot at the 6:32 mark of the fourth quarter.

Siegrist only needed 103 career games to set the record, while Pennefather amassed her high-scoring total in 117 games. She was also the fastest player in program history to reach the 1,000-point club, reaching the mark in her 50th career game during her sophomore year.

Friday marked her 21st 20-point game of the season. She entered Friday night averaging a nationwide-best 28.8 points per game. Siegrist is also active on the glass, averaging 9.7 boards per game. She has 963 career rebounds, which is second all-time in Villanova women’s basketball history.

The Villanova men’s basketball all-time leading scorer record belongs to Kerry Kittles, racked up 2,243 points throughout his time with the Wildcats, before going onto enjoy an eight-year NBA career with the New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers.

No basketball player that has ever set foot at Villanova University — men’s or women’s — has scored more than Siegrist. She’ll continue to add to her record with the 10 remaining regular season games and however many postseason games the Wildcats will get.

She is also on pace to break the Philadelphia Big 5 women’s basketball scoring record, which belongs to 2001 Penn graduate Diana Caramanico (2,415 career points), as well as the Philadelphia City 6 women’s basketball record, which belongs to 2010 Drexel graduate Gabriela Marginean (2,581 career points).

Siegrist could also potentially become the Big East women’s basketball conference-play scoring record-holder, which includes Big East regular season conference games only. Siegrist currently has 1,370 career regular season game points against Big East opponents and is in pursuit of Sarah Behn, a 1993 Boston College graduate, who set the mark at 1,546 points.

In past years, Siegrist was named the Big East Freshman of the Year in 2020, and the Big East Player of the Year last season. She is also a three-time all-conference pick, and was a third-team All-American last year.

The Wildcats are 18-3 overall, and 9-1 in Big East play. They resume action on the road on Sunday, Jan. 29 at UConn. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.