The No. 20 BYU women’s basketball team had a goal at the beginning of the season to reach the Final Four of the Ncaa Tournament. Four of the team’s seniors came back this year partly to help the Cougars get there.
But Maddy Siegrist and Villanova’s suffocating defense had other plans.
The Cougars lost 61-57 to the Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich. The loss ends the season for the Cougars, who earned the sixth seed in the tournament.
The Cougars started the game 13-2, but started the turning the ball over at a high rate. The Wildcats took advantage of that and caught all the way up. The game was close from there.
Siegrist, the NCAA’s second-leading scorer, struggled in the first half but got going afterwards. She scored nine 19 points in the second half and ended with 25 points.
Cougars senior guard Paisley Harding led her team with 21 points.
This story will be updated.
