The Big Five women’s hoops went global this summer

The Saint Józefa AND Villanova women’s basketball teams vary greatly in makeup.

While the Hawks returned to the lineup for the 2023-24 season and only welcomed three new freshmen, the Wildcats made several changes in the offseason.

The programs have one thing in common: Head coaches Cindy Griffin and Denise Dillon decided it was the perfect time to tour overseas.

NCAA rules allow college basketball teams to tour abroad once every four yearsduring the holiday season. The Hawks chose to play in Croatia, while the Wildcats went to Italy.

Both coaches were counting on earlier trips abroad, but the Covid-19 pandemic thwarted their plans.

Dillon spoke to Villanova about an overseas tour shortly after being hired in 2020. She was hoping to go on such a tour while stars like Maddy Siegrist and Brooke Mullin were in the band, but the timing “wasn’t right.”

“It’s a very extensive journey where we have to get everything in place, so we were able to pull it off last summer and it worked out really well, having so many new players, and (it was) the last year for Kaitlyn Orihel and Maddie Burke.” ah, Dillon said. “So everything worked for a reason.”

Griffin said she knew she wanted to make the trip with her current Hawks core, but their 2021 season tournament to the Bahamas, when the main players were newcomers, didn’t work out.

“For student-athletes, students have the opportunity to go abroad for a semester and study abroad, but in basketball we can’t do that because we are a two-semester sport,” Griffin said. “So just give the players the opportunity to experience a different culture, compete against a different competition, and at the same time make lifelong memories with their teammates.”

St. Joe’s is largely the same team as last season, but the summer has allowed Griffin to look at different combinations on the field.

“We know who we are from last year, but every year is different, right? We can’t assume we’re the same team even though we return 11 of our 13 players,” Griffin said. “We don’t want to take anything for granted and at the same time start to integrate younger players and make them feel comfortable playing and contributing to the game.”

While St. Joe’s went to Croatia and Villanova to Italy, another Big Five women’s team, Pennhe did both this summer and had three tries along the way. Head coach Mike McLaughlin said the Quakers decided to travel for the first time in six years after the Ivy League allowed freshmen to travel for the first time.

“In the past, they had to be students in school before they could be athletes,” McLaughlin said. “This summer, that restriction was lifted, which allowed our freshmen to go.”

The trip allowed for team building to begin, which was an advantage as Penn welcomed six new freshmen this season.

“It brings the players together. It helps them get to know each other a little bit off the court because there’s a lot of time off the court on these trips,” McLaughlin said. “It can only help you move forward, right? Because when we started, the players already understood each other, not only on the pitch, but also off it. And it really helped grow this group a lot faster than I could have expected, which was a lot of fun.”

Villanova’s departure allowed the younger Wildcats players to cool down after the first game against the Spanish All-Star Team, which they lost 65:55. They won the next two games, against ASD Basketball Sisters and Riga Stradins University, ending the tour 2-1.

“The Spanish All-Star team had a lot of older women. I think the oldest member of the team was 38, so that was pretty cool,” Burke said. “These were the first games we played together in Italy with this completely new team. I mean, that’s something that a lot of people might say they did. So being able to do that was amazing.”

The Hawks won their games against the Croatia All-Stars and Croatia Select. They trained before the trip “like the A-10 championship,” senior guard Mackenzie Smith said.

“We were fortunate to be able to participate in 20 hours (of practice) during the summer,” Smith said. “I know a lot of teams can’t do it and wouldn’t want to do it, but I think we made the most of the time we had together. It really prepared us and I think it will only benefit us in the future.”

Even off the field, Smith saw how the camaraderie she built with her teammates allowed them to engage in what Griffin and Smith said was their favorite activity: ziplining. Smith said both she and Griffin were apprehensive on their way to the top, but just like on the court, Griffin coached her players through it.

“It was like we were in the game,” Smith said. “She said, ‘You’ve got it, Mac. One by one we will go through this. It’ll be great. I felt very coached at this point. “

Griffin believes the group’s support encouraged everyone to take part in something they otherwise wouldn’t have done.

“No one forced anyone to do anything. And they just said, “Yes, I’m brave.” I am brave. I’ll do it,” Griffin said. “It really gave me a lot of encouragement, courage and support.”

The same goes for the Wildcats, who experienced most of their team building outside of any games or practices.

“You always talk about team-building strategies and try to tie them into your schedule,” Dillon said. “When you do something like this, there is nothing better than going abroad, the trip itself, which allows you to really have the opportunity to disconnect from distractions and spend quality time together.”

Burke added: “We got to go to dinner together and go on all these trips together, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. So being able to do that definitely brought us closer.”

One of Burke’s favorite experiences was a private tour of the Vatican and meeting with the Reverend Jack Flynn, a Villanova alumnus, to learn more about the Augustinian tradition and the history of the Augustinians and Villanova.

“Really having Villanova connected to this journey for our returning players and for our new players to really experience Villanova’s history has been incredibly special,” Dillon said.