Denise Dillon

Last updated

Denise Dillon
Current position
TitleHead coach
Team Villanova
Conference Big East
Record89–35 (.718)
Biographical details
Born (1973-09-22) September 22, 1973 (age 50)
Playing career
1992–1996 Villanova
Position(s) Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1997–2001 Villanova (assistant)
2001–2003 Drexel (assistant)
2003–2020Drexel
2020–presentVillanova
Head coaching record
Overall418–246 (.630)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
WNIT (2013)
3 CAA regular season (2009, 2018, 2020)
CAA Tournament (2009)
Awards
3× CAA Coach of the Year (2005, 2009, 2018, 2019)
Big East Coach of the Year (2022)

Denise Dillon (born September 22, 1973) [1] is the head women's basketball coach at Villanova.

Contents

Career

She returned to her alma mater from Drexel, where she was the program's most successful coach since it moved to Division I in 1982–83. She had been at the helm of the Dragons program since 2003, and was named the 2005, 2009, 2018, and 2020 CAA Coach of the Year. [2]

Dillon guided the Dragons to the 2009 CAA Championship and a berth in that year's NCAA tournament. The star of that team was Gabriela Mărginean, a junior at the time who would go on to become the all-time scoring leader in the history of Philadelphia area collegiate women's basketball. Following that championship season, Dillon steered the Dragons to four-consecutive WNIT appearances, the program's first-ever postseason victory in the 2012 WNIT over Fairfield, and the 2013 WNIT championship. [3]

From 1993 to 1996, she was a star basketball player at Villanova University. She earned three All Big-East honors at Villanova. She became just the 12th player in school history to score 1,000 points. She later served as an assistant on the Wildcats basketball team from 1997 to 2001. For her playing career, Dillon was enshrined in the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame, [4] the Villanova Wildcats Hall of Fame, [5] and her native Delaware County, Pennsylvania Athletics Hall of Fame. [6]

On March 27, 2020, it was announced that Dillon would become the head coach of Villanova's women's basketball team, taking the helm from coach Harry Perretta after his 42nd season with the team. [7]

In 2022, Dillon was named the Big East Coach of the Year. The team was picked to finish 5th in the preseason polls, but the team ended up in second place behind the University of Connecticut. [8] Dillon's Villanova Wildcats earned an invitation to the NCAA women's basketball tournament, and upset sixth-seeded BYU in the opening-round behind 25 points from Maddy Siegrist. [9]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Drexel (Colonial Athletic Association)(2003–2020)
2003–04Drexel 10–187–11T–7th
2004–05Drexel 19–1012–63rd
2005–06Drexel 15–149–9T–6th
2006–07Drexel 10–214–149th
2007–08Drexel 18–1213–5T–3rd
2008–09Drexel 24–916–21st NCAA First Round
2009–10Drexel 17–1411–7T–4th WNIT First Round
2010–11Drexel 19–1310–8T–5th WNIT First Round
2011–12Drexel 19–1412–63rd WNIT Second Round
2012–13 Drexel 28–1013–53rd WNIT Champions
2013–14Drexel 15–169–7T-3rd
2014–15 Drexel 20–1114–42nd WNIT First Round
2015–16 Drexel 19–1413–5T–2nd WNIT First Round
2016–17 Drexel 22–1111–73rd WNIT Second Round
2017–18 Drexel 27–816–2T-1st WNIT Second Round
2018–19 Drexel 24–914–42nd WNIT First Round
2019–20 Drexel 23–716–2T–1st Postseason cancelled due to COVID-19
Drexel:329–211 (.609)200–104 (.658)
Villanova (Big East)(2020–present)
2020–21Villanova 17–79–55th WNIT Quarterfinals
2021–22 Villanova 24–915–42nd NCAA Second Round
2022–23 Villanova 30–717–32nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2023–24 Villanova 18–1211–7T–3rd WBIT
Villanova:89–30 (.748)52–19 (.732)
Total:418–246 (.630)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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References

  1. ↑ "Women's Basketball". NCAA. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Denise Dillon – Women's Basketball Coach". Villanova University. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Drexel Dragons Win 2013 WNIT Championship". womensnit.com. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Philadelphia Big 5 | Hall of Fame". www.philadelphiabig5.org. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Villanova Sweeps List of 2004 Big Five Hall of Fame Inductees". Villanova University. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Basketball". Welcome to the Home of the Delaware County Athletes Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Official: Villanova announces Denise Dillon as Women's Basketball Head Coach". Women's HoopDirt. March 27, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  8. ↑ Elvin, Gus. "Villanova's Maddy Siegrist named Big East Player of the Year, Denise Dillon wins Coach of the Year". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  9. ↑ "No. 11 Villanova women knock off No. 6 BYU 61–57". ABC News. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
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