WBB West Coast Road Trip Recap | Lucy Olsen’s Amazing Start to the Season
Written by David Szczepanski on November 16, 2023
To start their 2023-24 campaign, Villanova split the first two games of the season on their West Coast Trip.
Villanova vs. Portland
In their regular season opener, the Wildcats played Portland in some late-night hoops on Friday. Villanova scored 18 points in the first quarter and 15 points in the second quarter to lead Portland, 33-14, at halftime.
The Wildcats made 12 of their 33 shots in the first half; however, they struggled from behind the arc. They made just 3 of their 12 threes.
Villanova extended their lead against Portland in the second half to easily defeat the Pilots, 64-42. Lucy Olsen led the Wildcats with 20 points and five assists. Maddie Burke and Bella Runyan also scored double-digits in points in Villanova’s win. In 26 minutes of game action, Christina Dalce scored nine points and accumulated eight rebounds. The Wildcats finished with a 41.9% shooting percentage from the field. In their first game without Maddy Siegrist, Villanova converted 4 of their 18 shots from behind the arc.
The Wildcats held Portland to a 33% shooting percentage from the field and 12.5% from three. Villanova started their season on a positive note in Portland.
Villanova vs. Oregon State
To continue their West Coast road trip, Coach Dillon and Villanova traveled to battle Oregon State. The Wildcats started the first half with some good offensive plays and defense. Villanova led Oregon State, 29-28, at halftime. However, the Wildcats struggled in the second half. Oregon State outscored Villanova, 35-27, in the second half to defeat the Wildcats by a final score of 63-56.
Once again, Lucy Olsen led all scorers with 24 points and six rebounds. Christina Dalce scored eight points with seven rebounds. Bella Runyan was just 1-6 from the field, but she had nine rebounds against the Beavers.
Oregon State had three players with at least ten points: Raegan Beers, Kelsey Rees, and Talia Von Oelhoffen. Oregon State had 11 turnovers, but outrebounded Villanova, 46-32. The Wildcats only made 2 of their 17 three-point attempts.
The Wildcats now return to the East Coast for a Philadelphia rivalry matchup against Temple at 2pm on Sunday at the Finn.
Villanova’s 3-point Struggles
Lucy Olsen has been amazing to start the season for Villanova by averaging 22 points per game, but the Wildcats must find a way to improve their bench scoring and shoot the ball better from behind the arc. Obviously, Maddy Siegrist had a major positive impact on Villanova’s three-point shooting, so it will probably take some time for the Wildcats to find their way from behind the arc.
Looking Ahead: Villanova vs. Temple
Temple has won two of their first four games. The Owls defeated Delaware State, 109-43, in their season opener at home. Temple then split their next two games against Georgetown and Bucknell before losing to #23 Ole Miss, 80-63, last night.
WXVU will have live coverage of Sunday’s game beginning at 1:30pm with pregame coverage followed by tipoff at 2pm from the Finn.
