Villanova Women’s Basketball Veterans Returning to Form

Freshman athletes have helped shoulder a disproportionate load for Villanova Women’s Basketball to start the 2025-26 season as veterans like Ryanne Allen, Brynn McCurry and Kylee Watson deal with or continue to work their way back from injuries. As those veterans return to form, it could unlock a new dimension to this Wildcats team.

McCurry led the charge for Villanova against JMU on Nov. 16, picking up 18 points and seven assists. Then senior Ryanne Allen shined against Temple in the Wildcats’ Big 5 opener on Saturday, Nov. 22, sinking 5-of-6 three-point shots off the bench for a game — and career — high 19 points. 

After the game, Dillon said that Allen’s example helped build up the rest of the team’s confidence.

“Ry was a great spark off the bench to knock down some threes, and it becomes contagious. Once some of those shots fall others want to get a look, and we were looking for everybody,” Dillon said. “I think what I was most pleased with was the assists. You have 27 assists on 35 field goals, that’s impressive, that’s good team basketball…when the ball is moving it’s really hard to guard five people out there on the court when everyone feels that they’re a threat.”

Six of those assists came from Allen. She described how seeing the Owls adjust to keep her away from the basket helped open up lanes for her teammates, allowing her to shift from a bucket-getter to a distributor.

“Once they take away me I know I have the ability to get my teammates open. So just looking for other people if I’m not there,” Allen said.  “It was cool to be able to get a few involved, see them knock down shots and see their confidence grow.”

Flipping the Switch

Dillon said she can see her team starting to learn to play together, and her veteran players coming into their own provides one example of that cohesiveness. Villanova blew out Temple 88-58. Beyond the gaudy assist numbers, they also scored 26 points in transition, forced 19 turnovers and received 38 points from their bench.

“Obviously with every group it takes time, it takes experience, we’re getting more of those games under our belt. And just hope this team is starting to recognize it, what they’re capable of doing and continue to work on it,” Dillon said.

“You can’t replace experience. Our freshmen were trying to learn on the fly, and you’ve never been in these situations… I think they [Wildcats’ veterans] have flipped the switch of recognizing their responsibilities and taking some of the freshmen under their wing and bringing them along.”

Allen gave an example of her leadership leading into the game against the Owls, saying that she used Villanova’s loss to Temple in the Big 5 Championship Game last year as motivation for the younger players, reminding her teammates who were there for the game how it felt and describing those emotions to the players who weren’t there to experience it yet. 

“That was a tough loss last year, so even this week in practice, reminding them about that loss,” Allen said. “Wow we wanted to get that back was a huge emphasis for us, especially losing on our home floor and not wanting it to happen again.”