City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2025-26 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 4. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season, click here.)

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The Villanova women’s basketball program played deep into March for the second season in a row in 2024-25.

While a trip to the semifinal of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament was something to celebrate, it also showed coach Denise Dillon her squad may not have reached its potential during the regular season.

“I think they maybe learned a little too late how important each and every game is, having that focus and understanding,” Dillon recently told CoBL in a phone interview..

“The big message that we tried to hammer home in the summer was to be ready to go, the willingness to learn a little faster,” she added.

Dillon had a new-look group last season as she replaced her top two leading scorers and four of the top six members of the 2023-24 rotation. The Wildcats mixed in four transfers and a handful of freshmen on their way to a 21-15 (11-7 Big East) campaign.

There’s quite a bit of turnover once again heading into 2025-26, but for the first time in three seasons, the Wildcats return their leading scorer — sophomore Jasmine Bascoe.

Bascoe averaged 16.2 ppg, 4.3 apg, and 4.5 rpg as a freshman to earn All-Big East first team and rookie team honors. She played with Team Canada in the FIBA U19 World Cup this summer and heads into her sophomore campaign ready to take another step in her game.

“Jaz has been a basketball junkie,” Dillon said. “Any time she has, she’s here in the office, she’s up on the court. She’s learning through film and repetition. I think a big leap for her is continuing to recognize pace and tempo. She has some good speed to her, but she’s going to be marked. So knowing how to set things up for herself and her teammates is going to be a game changer this season.”

The Wildcats will be without a few familiar faces this season. Maddie Webber (13.3 ppg) transferred to Illinois, while five others from the rotation graduated, including Central Bucks West grad Maddie Burke (6.4 ppg).

Senior forward Denae Carter, a Saint Basil grad, is one of two returning starters along with Bascoe. Carter started her career at Mississippi State, where she played in 28 games as a freshman before tearing her ACL.

After transferring to Villanova, she sat the entire 2023-24 campaign due to injury and finally made her Wildcats debut last season as a junior as she averaged 8.6 ppg and a team-high 6.5 rpg. Carter went into this offseason fully healthy, and the Wildcats are expecting her to blossom into one of their stars as a result.

“It was the first time really in her career where she was able to work on player development as opposed to the rehab piece, and it’s certainly paid off,” Dillon said. “She’s coming in with confidence.”

Another local product, Ryanne Allen (Archbishop Wood), averaged 4.8 ppg and 2.3 rpg off the bench last season after starting her career at Vanderbilt. Sophomore guard Dani Ceseretti played in 30 games as a freshman last season. Sophomore 6-3 forward Rachel Wirts is another who could see her role expand after seeing action in six games last season.

Junior 6-1 forward Brynn McCurry, who played in 28 games during her freshman campaign in 2023-24, should provide a boost as she returns from injury.

“High expectations and standards,” Dillon said. “You want to be better than you were the previous year, and that’s how we’re approaching this season.”

Villanova brought in some experience through the transfer portal in the form of graduate 6-4 forward Kylee Watson (Notre Dame) and junior guard Kelsey Joens (Iowa State).

Dillon lauded Joens as a player who knows her role and can shoot the lights out. She averaged 5.3 ppg and shot 43.8 percent from 3-point range for the Cyclones last season. Watson is in her sixth year of college basketball, coming off a season-long injury in 2024-25. Watson averaged 6.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, and 1.1 bpg in her two seasons at Notre Dame, and Dillon thinks she can bring even more to the table for the Wildcats, like stepping outside and knocking down shots.

Joens made NCAA Tournament appearances in both years at Iowa State. Watson was part of two NCAA Tournament teams at Oregon, including a Sweet 16 run in 2021. She played on two more Sweet 16 squads during her first two years at Notre Dame before missing all of last season with an injury as the Irish made another Sweet 16 run.

Reserves Annie Welde (Cardinal O’Hara) and Maggie Grant (Archbishop Carroll) are the only holdovers from the Wildcats’ last NCAA Tournament team in 2023, so the hope is that Joens and Watson’s experience rubs off on their teammates.

“I think that is why it’s so important to take advantage of the portal and having a player like Kylee Watson who was in the tournament every year and knows what playing at that level everyday means,” Dillon said. “Her addition has certainly helped with some of the younger ones, getting them to know what it’s all about.”

Along with the new faces, the Wildcats will likely work several youngsters into the rotation again. Westtown grad Kennedy Henry, a 6-foot wing, brings a two-way game that fits seamlessly into what the Wildcats like to do.

Canadian guard MD Ntambue brings an edge on the defensive end, and Brooke Bender, a 6-foot-1 forward, adds more perimeter shooting.

“Yes, the freshman, we want you to be patient, but whether it’s more time with film that we’re doing, or classroom work with them, conversations, and not entirely on the court so they are processing a little quicker,” Dillon said. “I think that was an edge that we missed out on (last year). It took us a little too long to get going last year.”

Dillon’s Villanova teams have won 20-or-more games in four straight seasons, following up NCAA second round and Sweet 16 runs with runner-up and semifinal finishes in the WBIT.

The Wildcats are looking forward to making a push toward March again this winter.

However, this time they hope it’s the big dance.

“This is my 23rd year. You know when a team has it or doesn’t have it,” Dillon said. “You can’t pinpoint exactly what that is. It’s a sense and a vibe they carry amongst themselves and this group, they have it. So we have to guide them and put them in the right positions and we need to be healthy. But I’m really pleased with the overall mentality and the effort that they’re showing early in this new season.