# Villanova Wildcats women's basketball

The Villanova Wildcats women's basketball team represents Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States.

## History

The school's team currently competes in the Big East, where it has competed since the 1982–83 season. The women's basketball team began competing in 1969–70 under coach Liz Cawley, obtaining a 4–6 record in its inaugural season, and an 8–5 record and its first winning season the following year.
Harry Perretta coached the team starting in 1978. In the fall of 2019 it was announced that Perretta's 2019–2020 season would be his last season coaching the Wildcats after a 42-year tenure with the program. He was honored at the team's last home game of the 2019–2020 season at Finneran Pavilion.
The Wildcats are currently coached by Denise Dillon.
On January 20, 2023, Maddy Siegrist became the Wildcats' all-time leading scorer, breaking Shelly Pennefather's record. She also led the nation in scoring in 2022–23 and earned Big East Player of the Year in two consecutive seasons.

## Yearly record

Statistics overview :
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Liz Cawley (1969–1970) ||||||
| 1969–70 | Liz Cawley | 4–6 | | | |
| Liz Cawley: | Liz Cawley: | 4–6 (.400) | | | |
| Jane Sefranek (1970–1975) ||||||
| 1970–71 | Jane Sefranek | 8–5 | | | |
| 1971–72 | Jane Sefranek | 9–3 | | | |
| 1972–73 | Jane Sefranek | 10–5 | | | |
| 1973–74 | Jane Sefranek | 10–4 | | | |
| 1974–75 | Jane Sefranek | 14–6 | | | |
| Jane Sefranek: | Jane Sefranek: | 51–23 (.689) | | | |
| Joan King (1975–1978) ||||||
| 1975–76 | Joan King | 7–7 | | | |
| 1976–77 | Joan King | 6–11 | | | |
| 1977–78 | Joan King | 15–7 | | | |
| Joan King: | Joan King: | 28–25 (.528) | | | |
| Harry Perretta (1978–1980) ||||||
| 1978–79 | Harry Perretta | 17–8 | | | |
| 1979–80 | Harry Perretta | 20–5 | | | |
| 1980–81 | Harry Perretta | 22–6 | | | |
| 1981–82 | Harry Perretta | 29–4 | | | AIAW Final Four |
| Big East Conference (1982–2020) ||||||
| 1982–83 | Harry Perretta | 14–15 | 4–4 | T-4th | |
| 1983–84 | Harry Perretta | 22–7 | 6–2 | T-1st | |
| 1984–85 | Harry Perretta | 21–9 | 12–4 | T-1st | |
| 1985–86 | Harry Perretta | 23–8 | 12–4 | T-2nd | NCAA second round |
| 1986–87 | Harry Perretta | 27–4 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA First round |
| 1987–88 | Harry Perretta | 20–9 | 11–5 | 2nd | NCAA First round |
| 1988–89 | Harry Perretta | 18–12 | 11–5 | 2nd | NCAA First round |
| 1989–90 | Harry Perretta | 9–19 | 1–15 | 9th | |
| 1990–91 | Harry Perretta | 12–17 | 4–12 | 8th | |
| 1991–92 | Harry Perretta | 11–17 | 7–11 | T-3rd | |
| 1992–93 | Harry Perretta | 15–13 | 10–8 | T-4th | |
| 1993–94 | Harry Perretta | 13–14 | 7–11 | T-6th | |
| 1994–95 | Harry Perretta | 19–9 | 13–5 | 2nd | |
| 1995–96 | Harry Perretta | 21–7 | 13–5 | 3rd (3rd BE6) | |
| 1996–97 | Harry Perretta | 14–14 | 8–10 | T-6th (5th BE6) | |
| 1997–98 | Harry Perretta | 19–10 | 12–6 | T-4th (T-2nd BE6) | WNIT 1st Round |
| 1998–99 | Harry Perretta | 14–14 | 9–9 | T-6th | |
| 1999–00 | Harry Perretta | 15–15 | 7–9 | T-6th | WNIT 1st Round |
| 2000–01 | Harry Perretta | 22–9 | 11–5 | T-4th | NCAA second round |
| 2001–02 | Harry Perretta | 20–11 | 12–4 | T-3rd | NCAA second round |
| 2002–03 | Harry Perretta | 28–6 | 12–4 | T-3rd | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2003–04 | Harry Perretta | 23–7 | 12–4 | T-2nd | NCAA second round |
| 2004–05 | Harry Perretta | 19–12 | 10–6 | T-4th | WNIT 1st Round |
| 2005–06 | Harry Perretta | 21–11 | 9–7 | T-6th | WNIT Quarterfinals |
| 2006–07 | Harry Perretta | 8–21 | 2–14 | 16th | |
| 2007–08 | Harry Perretta | 17–16 | 5–11 | T-11th | WNIT Round of 16 |
| 2008–09 | Harry Perretta | 19–14 | 12–4 | T-4th | NCAA First round |
| 2009–10 | Harry Perretta | 14–16 | 3–13 | 15th | |
| 2010–11 | Harry Perretta | 12–19 | 3–13 | T-13th | |
| 2011–12 | Harry Perretta | 19–15 | 6–10 | T-10th | WNIT Round of 16 |
| 2012–13 | Harry Perretta | 21–11 | 9–7 | T-6th | NCAA First round |
| 2013–14 | Harry Perretta | 23–9 | 12–6 | T-3rd | WNIT 2nd Round |
| 2014–15 | Harry Perretta | 22–14 | 12–6 | 3rd | WNIT Round of 16 |
| 2015–16 | Harry Perretta | 20–12 | 12–6 | T-2nd | WNIT 2nd Round |
| 2016–17 | Harry Perretta | 20–15 | 11–7 | 4th | WNIT semifinals |
| 2017–18 | Harry Perretta | 23–9 | 12–6 | 3rd | NCAA round of 32 |
| 2018–19 | Harry Perretta | 19–13 | 9–9 | 4th | WNIT 2nd Round |
| 2019-20 | Harry Perretta | 18-13 | 11-7 | T-3rd | N/A |
| Harry Perretta: | Harry Perretta: | 742–467 (.614) | 322–264 (.549) | | |
| Denise Dillon (Big East) (2020–Present) ||||||
| 2020-21 | Denise Dillon | 17-7 | 9–5 | 5th | WNIT Quarterfinals |
| 2021-22 | Denise Dillon | 24-9 | 15-4 | 2nd | NCAA round of 32 |
| Denise Dillon: | Denise Dillon: | 41 -16 | 24-9 | | |
| Total: | Total: | 825–521 (.613) | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||

## Postseason results
### NCAA Division I

| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1986 | #7 | First Round Second Round | #10 La Salle #2 Rutgers | W 60–55 L 58–85 |
| 1987 | #6 | Second Round | #3 NC State | L 67–68 |
| 1988 | #8 | First Round | #9 Wake Forest | L 51–53 |
| 1989 | #11 | First Round | #6 Old Dominion | L 41–66 |
| 2001 | #5 | First Round Second Round | #12 Drake #4 NC State | W 66–58 L 64–68 |
| 2002 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8 Pepperdine #1 Oklahoma | W 67–46 L 53–66 |
| 2003 | #2 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | #15 St. Francis (PA) #7 George Washington #6 Colorado #1 Tennessee | W 51–36 W 70–57 W 53–51 L 49–73 |
| 2004 | #7 | First Round Second Round | #10 Ole Miss #2 Purdue | W 66–63 L 42–60 |
| 2009 | #8 | First Round | #9 Utah | L 30–60 |
| 2013 | #9 | First Round | #8 Michigan | L 52–60 |
| 2018 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8 South Dakota State #1 Notre Dame | W 81–74 (OT) L 72–98 |
| 2022 | #11 | First Round Second Round | #6 Brigham Young #3 Michigan | W 61–57 L 49-64 |
| 2023 | #4 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #13 Cleveland State #12 Florida Gulf Coast #9 Miami (FL) | W 76–59 W 76-57 L 65-70 |

### AIAW Division I

The Wildcats made one appearance in the AIAW National Division I basketball tournament, with a combined record of 2–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1982 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Miami (OH) Delta State Rutgers | W, 69–61 W, 87–72 L, 75–83 |