With a 66-57 loss to Nebraska in the first round of the 2005 WNIT on March 17, the women's basketball team ended its season with an overall record of 18-12.
The 12-3 mark that Marquette registered at the Al McGuire Center was negated by struggles on the road; the team won just five of 12 away games, including a 2-5 mark in Conference USA.
The Golden Eagles' regular season began with five straight wins at home in which they held each of their opponents under 70 points. In a game that spoke volumes about its defense, Marquette defeated Toledo, 67-28, on Nov. 24.
Hitting the road was another story. The team dropped its first two of three on the road at Wisconsin-Green Bay and Iowa. While the team was able to win at Rhode Island, it committed a combined 28 turnovers in its two losses.
Notre Dame, ranked No. 7 in the nation at the time it traveled to Milwaukee to take on the Golden Eagles, snapped Marquette's undefeated record at the McGuire Center. Jacqueline Batteast hit a three-pointer as time expired to give Notre Dame a 50-47 victory.
Batteast's last-second three overshadowed the efforts of sophomore center Christina Quaye, who finished the game with 20 points and eight rebounds.
After a home victory over St. Bonaventure and splitting two games at the Surf n' Slam Classic in San Diego, Marquette welcomed No. 19 DePaul to the McGuire Center to open up C-USA play.
Senior Lesley Juedes took over for the Golden Eagles, hitting five of nine threes en route to a career-high 21 points and leading the team to a 63-57 victory over DePaul. Juedes was named C-USA Co-Player of the Week for her efforts.
The team then split its next home series, losing to Charlotte but defeating East Carolina, setting the trend of inconsistency that would dominate the rest of Marquette's conference season. The Golden Eagles were able to win two games in a row on just two more occasions in conference action.
After their split versus the Carolinas at home, the Golden Eagles hit the road for the first time in the conference season and split its weekend games, defeating Southern Miss on Friday before losing to Tulane on Sunday.
The Golden Eagles returned home to sweep a home series versus South Florida and Alabama-Birmingham, but all momentum from those wins disappeared the next week when they lost to Cincinnati and Louisville on the road.
In a must-win homestand versus C-USA heavyweights Texas Christian and Houston, the Golden Eagles swept the games and sent Juedes and fellow senior Monica Frede out with a win on senior day when they defeated Houston, 68-57.
The team finished the regular season by dropping two of its final three on the road, losing to Memphis and DePaul while defeating St. Louis.
After defeating UAB in the first round of the C-USA Tournament, the team fell to second-seeded Louisville in the second round.
For their efforts this season, Kieger and Quaye were named All Second Team Conference USA.
Kieger led C-USA in assists with 6.3 a game and finished the year averaging 12.0 points a game. Quaye was the team's leading scorer averaging 15.5 points per game and its leading rebounder averaging 7.0 a game.
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on March 31 2005.