Facing foul trouble and significant mismatches in the paint, West Virginia was forced into moving outside the perimeter and eventually slumbered through the second half as No.,”
Following its recipe for success, the Marquette women's basketball team continued to overpower and overwhelm in the post during its Big East opener.
Facing foul trouble and significant mismatches in the paint, West Virginia was forced into moving outside the perimeter and eventually slumbered through the second half as No. 24 Marquette fended off the Mountaineers 74-50 Wednesday night at the Al McGuire Center.
Owners of a seven-game winning streak, the Golden Eagles (8-1, 1-0) held a plus-19 differential on the backboards and are 7-0 when out-rebounding opponents.
"I think it's every coach's goal to step on the court and out-rebound your opponent," head coach Terri Mitchell said. "We were very aware that West Virginia in the last five games had out-rebounded by 14 rebounds. So we talked a lot about that in the last two days."
This week, the Golden Eagles cracked the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season on the heels of a 16-point road victory against Rice on Sunday. Their 74-point output was the most points allowed by the Mountaineers this season.
Marquette got a heavy contribution from forward Christina Quaye, who led all scorers with 18 points.
The starting backcourt of Krystal Ellis (13 points) and Erin Monfre (12 points) also had solid games.
Monfre had two clutch three-pointers in a first half during which there were three lead changes. Her second make with 9:13 left put Marquette ahead for good at 22-19.
While the Golden Eagles grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, which led to 14 second-chance points, Svetlana Kovalenko was at the forefront of the glass attack with nine boards. Quaye chipped in with eight.
"Our team did a good job of getting the ball inside, and I think everybody's not selfish," Quaye said. "It could've been any way."
West Virginia had major shooting woes from behind the arc, shooting an abysmal 9.1 percent (2-of-22). To make matters worse, both its star players – Olayinka Sanni and Chakhia Cole – fouled out.
As a result, the Golden Eagles twice swelled their lead to 24 points and never trailed in the second half.
The Mountaineers (5-4, 0-1) did pressure the Golden Eagles into a season-high 24 turnovers.
"They did a tremendous job of denying us," Mitchell said. "They were coming around our post players and getting steals."
Ellis, who was named to the Big East honor roll this week, spent a portion of the game on an exercise bike because of cramps she suffered after a collision early in the first half with a West Virginia player.
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