The Marquette women's basketball team used a stifling defense and a huge size advantage to easily handle the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers 67-46 in its second and final exhibition game Monday night at the Al McGuire center.

Although no one scored in double figures, a number of Golden Eagles came close. Krystal Ellis and Jocelyn Mellen each poured in nine points, while Angel Robinson finished with eight points and two rebounds. The freshman frontcourt tandem of Jessica Pachko and Georgie Jones each took advantage of big minutes, finishing with seven points apiece.

While the Rangers were able to hang with Marquette early due to the 3-point shooting of Amanda Gibson (eight points) and Jadee Rooney (13 points), Marquette's pressure forced them into many hurried shots near the end of the shot clock.

Coach Terri Mitchell emphasized that, although it was an exhibition game, she is using these games to determine who will be ready to defend come Saturday's season opener against Oral Roberts.

"Your defense creates your offense," Mitchell said. "If your offense isn't there you better be a great defender. Right now I'm playing 14 players, but I'm not playing all 14 come Saturday (the season opener vs. Oral Roberts). I'm just trying to give players experience, get them on the court."

Mellen started off hot for the Golden Eagles, scoring all nine of her points and grabbing all but one of her five rebounds in the first half. She committed her fourth foul, however, just over a minute into the second. That's when the combination of Pachko, Jones, and Paige Fiedorowicz took over.

After a Rooney hoop brought the Rangers within 10 just seven minutes into the half, a basket and two free throws from Fiedorowicz, and two free throws from Jones were followed by five straight points in just over a minute by Pachko. The 11-0 Marquette run sealed the fate of the Rangers.

Overall, the Rangers were no match for the size and athleticism of the Golden Eagles, as Marquette out-rebounded UW-Parkside by a margin of 42-27, including a 19-8 advantage on the offensive glass.

Pachko attributed the success of the interior play to the increasing familiarity among the post players.

"Our posts are finally getting to know each other, and we're looking for each other now," Pachko said. "We've just got to keep pounding it inside because we're so strong. We may not have the height that other teams have, but we're so strong and smart and know how to use our strength."

While Marquette wasn't perfect in its first two exhibition games, junior guard Janelle Harris said that the team is focusing on kicking off the season Saturday on a high note.

"We had our droughts, but as a team we've just got to keep it up and encourage one another," Harris said. "When we feel one of those droughts we need to pull it together and communicate more. We're trying to get all the nervous bugs out of the way right now, but we're really excited about the season."