No. 5 UConn women to face one of the top players in the country in matchup with No. 21 Villanova, Maddy Siegrist

Less than a week after blowing out DePaul and Aneesah Morrow, UConn women’s basketball will face another one of the best players in the country on Sunday.

The No. 5 Huskies (19-2, 11-0 Big East) will take on the No. 21 Villanova Wildcats (18-3, 9-1 Big East), led by Big East preseason player of the year Maddie Siegrist, at the XL Center.

Siegrist leads the nation in scoring, averaging 28.5 points per game for the Wildcats in her senior season, along with 9.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists. She’s responsible for 40.4% of Villanova’s scoring output (70.6 points per game) herself. The next closest player, guard Lucy Olson, is averaging 12.3 points per game and no other player on the roster averages double-figure scoring.

The 6-foot-1 forward is shooting 53% from the field, 40.5% from 3-point range and 85.2% from the free-throw line. Siegrist has recorded at least 30 points on nine different occasions this year, with her season-high of 41 coming against Temple on Nov. 20. She recently broke Villanova’s all-time leading scoring record as well, up to 2,410 career points.

The Huskies will look to slow Siegrist down similarly to how they did with Morrow, holding the DePaul forward to 20 points on 8 of 26 (30.7%) shooting. Aaliyah Edwards, a bonafide star in her own right, was a big reason why with her play on defense. The UConn forward put up 23 points (on 10 of 13 shooting), 10 rebounds and four assists herself that night as well.

Edwards followed that performance up with 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a 84-67 win over longtime rival Tennessee on the road this past Thursday. She’s scored at least 20 points in each of the last four games and is averaging 17.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists per game while shooting 62.2% shooting from the field for the Huskies this season. Now she’ll have another chance to make her presence felt against a top player in Siegrist.

“She’s an All-American. How else could we sustain what we’re doing up to this time?” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said of Edwards earlier this month. “I said (to Aaliyah), ‘You gotta be dominant every night. Not just for the younger players’ sake or for our sake, but for your sake of where you want to go. This is your junior year now, if you don’t do it by now it’s not going to get done. If you’re not there right now, it’s not gonna get done.’ And she’s there. She’s there.

“I mean, I know Maddie Siegrist is probably the conference player of the year because that son of a gun is damn good and she has a huge impact on Villanova. And I think Aaliyah has that similar impact on us.”

Sunday’s matchup will not only pit the two of the best players in the country against each other, but also the two best teams in the Big East. UConn is undefeated in league play and sits in first place, while Villanova holds the second-place spot.

The Wildcats’ only loss in conference play came against then-No. 13 Creighton, 67-46, in their Big East opener on Dec. 2. They’ve suffered just two other defeats this season, with both coming to ranked squads at neutral sites. They fell to then-No. 21 Baylor, 75-70, in the Gulf Coast Showcase on Nov. 26 and then dropped a 74-62 result to then-No. 14 Iowa State at the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena on Dec. 18.

Villanova hasn’t lost a game since falling to the Cyclones, currently on a nine-game win streak. With their win over the Volunteers, the Huskies are riding a 12-game win streak. UConn, still shorthanded with eight players, is in the midst of a stretch of five games in 11 days, while its opponent hasn’t taken the court since a 73-57 win at Creighton on Jan. 20.

Not only will the Wildcats be much more well-rested, but they proved they’re capable of knocking off the Huskies last season. UConn, ranked No. 8 at the time, suffered a 72-69 loss to Villanova at the XL Center on Feb. 9, 2022. It was the program’s first regular-season loss to a conference opponent since 2013.

The Huskies made up for that loss in the Big East tournament, dismantling the Wildcats 70-40 in the championship game, and on Sunday they’ll have a chance for redemption in the same building where they suffered the defeat.

What to know

Site: XL Center

Time: 2 p.m.

Series: UConn 39-18

Last meeting: No. 6 UConn 70, Villanova 40 in Big East tournament on March 7, 2022

TV: CBS Sports Network; Jason Horowitz and Julianna Viani

Streaming: CBS Sports App

Radio: UConn Sports Network on 97.9 ESPN