After a dominating 89-58 victory over Western Michigan on Sunday, the Marquette women's basketball team is off to its first 4-0 start since the 2004-'05 season.

However, with a combined record of 2-9, its early season competition hasn't exactly presented a challenge.

That changes this weekend, as Marquette will host three of the top women's basketball programs in the country in the round-robin style Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Classic at the Al McGuire Center.

The tournament, which will begin Friday night and last until Sunday afternoon, will feature a loaded field. Gonzaga, who has started the season 5-0 and defeated Marquette early last season, will be the Golden Eagles first opponent on Friday.

Rounding out the field will be No. 16 Virginia, who already has a victory over perennial powerhouse Tennessee under its belt, and Utah, who owned a 27-5 record last season. Marquette will take on Virginia on Saturday and conclude with the Utes at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Coach Terri Mitchell said that the caliber of the tournament is exactly what Marquette needs to get ready for the grind of the Big East season.

"I think we chose this field for a reason," Mitchell said. "We know that the Big East is the best conference in country. What better way is there to get us prepared than to play three awesome teams?

"I think this weekend will be a huge challenge for us. We understand what we've done so far and how hard we've worked, and we hope that will kick in for us this weekend."

Senior guard Krystal Ellis said that while the Golden Eagles' first four victories came over smaller teams, the team still received valuable game experience.

"We've been playing some OK teams, so the games that we're about to play will show us where we're at and where we need to be," Ellis said. "All games help us prepare for the Big East."

These match-ups will definitely do that, as all three opponents Marquette will face made it to the postseason last year. Virginia (2-1) and Utah (1-1) both earned berths in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, with the Cavaliers bowing out in the second round to Old Dominion and Utah suffering a first-round loss to Purdue.

Despite the level of competition, Mitchell said that hosting the tournament will be a huge boost for her squad.

"It'll be great to be at home," Mitchell said. "We've had a lot of success here, and we're hoping a big crowd comes. We're hoping the community steps up and comes out and supports us and gives us the extra advantage, because that's what being at home is—having the crowd behind you."

While the season is still early, the Golden Eagles have maintained a theme of fast-paced tempo and suffocating defense to crush opponents.

In the second game of the season versus Sacred Heart, Marquette dominated the transition game, outscoring the Pioneers 35-5 in fast break points. Only one team, Oral Roberts, has even shot better than 40 percent from the field against the Golden Eagles.

Sophomore forward Paige Fiedorowicz attributed the early success to simply team cohesion.

"We've just been working together," Fiedorowicz said. We've been using fast breaks to get momentum, and I think we have a lot of really good chemistry. It feeds off of practice, and we work really hard in practice."