Villanova Freshman Kennedy Henry Fitting in With Tight-Knit Wildcats

Villanova Women’s Basketball freshman guard Kennedy Henry didn’t have any time to get her feet under her at the college level. 

Injuries to key contributors like Brynn McCurry and sixth player Ryanne Allen meant that Henry led the team in minutes over the first four games of the season. She’s averaging 9.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game this season, contributing on both ends of the court and playing a key role in the resurgent Wildcats’ 13-3 start. 

Villanova head coach Denise Dillon spoke to Henry’s versatile impact after the Wildcats’ Jan. 1 win over Creighton, which saw her post a team-high 19 points and six rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting. Dillon said Henry’s success stems from an iron-sharpens-iron mentality she developed as a recruit.

“You have to recognize, she’s a stat-filler. She just impacts the game in all ways. We see that at practice, see it at games, but going back to the recruiting process, I’d walk into open gym and Kennedy would always challenge herself to pick up the best player on the other side,” Dillon said. 

“It didn’t matter: post player, perimeter player, shooter, so just that versatility. I think she has it, certainly, on the offensive end, and that shows why she fits Villanova basketball. But the biggest piece is on the defensive end. When a freshman comes in with that mentality, obviously, there’s a reason why they’re on the court from the start.”

Defense to Offense

Henry said that the Wildcats, who force an average of 16.6 turnovers per game and average 21.0 points off those plays, place a premium on turning defense into offense.

“Our team thrives off defense, so me playing defense I feel like that excites our team, so that leads us to play Villanova Basketball on the offensive end: we just got a great stop, now we want to capitalize on it, so I feel like that allows us to go score,” Henry said.

“Getting stops, getting rebounds, getting blocks just fuels me, even if I’m not scoring, even if I’m not shooting the ball, it makes me feel like I’m doing something for my teammates and helping them in the best way I know I can. If I’m missing shots, I know I can get a steal, I know I can rebound the ball, I know I can play defense well and that has nothing to do with my productivity on offense.”

Wildcats Gelling

Henry also credited her teammates for the confidence they’ve shown in her to start her college career, helping her warm up to the speed of the Division I game.

“My teammates have so much confidence in me along with my coaches. They just keep telling me to keep shooting, whether I miss, whether I make it, it’s just ‘keep shooting’ and to not give up,” Henry said. “They know how good I am, and their confidence in me helps me build my own personal confidence, so I can’t thank them enough for sticking in my corner and being beside me.”

Henry added that Villanova plays as a team on both sides of the ball, a tight-knit group that knows how to find the open player — they’re averaging 28.4 made field goals per game, more than two-thirds of those coming off assists (19.4 per game) — or how to step up on defense if someone has trouble with their assignment. 

“Ultimately my teammates found me, I didn’t get those shots by myself. So credit my teammates because we all play defense, we all help each other, we trust in each other,” Henry said. “If I get beat I trust my teammates to help me.”

Henry said that relationship began before she enrolled. Meeting with her future teammates helped bring her to the Wildcats, as did her interactions with the Villanova coaching staff. She also mentioned the prestige of a Villanova diploma as something that helped secure her choice. 

“The school as a whole. Villanova, the networking. There’s life after basketball and I like to pride myself on having a balance,” Henry said. “But ultimately just being around the coaches and being around my teammates, I’m happy, and that helps me play well.”