With such a young team – half of the roster is comprised of freshmen – head coach Terri Mitchell stressed how important it will be for her young talent to learn as they go.,”Whether Krystal Ellis plays this weekend or not, the goal will be the same for the women's basketball tea—to improve.

With such a young team—half of the roster is comprised of freshmen—head coach Terri Mitchell stressed how important it will be for her young talent to learn as they go.

"I'm committed to giving a lot of people experience," Mitchell said. "I think a very young team is understanding the consistency that it takes to win."

The juniors and seniors on the team may be outnumbered, but they know the freshmen can't do it on their own.

"Our upperclassmen are really good role models, and they've helped us a lot," said freshman forward Paige Fiedorowicz. "Like just getting used to everything and pushing us in practice…I think it helps a lot and during the games it carries over."

The Golden Eagles hold a 3-2 record, including the Nov. 17 victory over then-No. 25 Wisconsin. Another weekend brings another in-state rival as the team will be traveling to Wisconsin-Green Bay (2-1).

Marquette will seek its first road victory of the season after losing at Oregon and Gonzaga last week. Ellis did not play in either of those contests.

So far this season, Ellis is averaging 21.5 points and four assists, offensive numbers that were sorely missed in the team's two losses. The Golden Eagles averaged just 60.0 ppg 16 points below their average in their three wins.

Mitchell said Ellis is on a day-to-day basis with her sprained right knee and that there could be worse things than playing without the junior guard for a few games.

"Eventually, whenever Krystal comes back, we're going to be a better team because of it," Mitchell said.

Since Ellis went down, freshman point guard Angel Robinson has increased her scoring average by nearly four points per game and had a career-high eight assists in Monday's win over William & Mary.

Robinson's maturation has come at a necessary time with Ellis being out, but Mitchell knows it could have more long-term benefits.

"I've seen her look to score more," Mitchell said. "I think when Krystal's in the game she kind of concedes to her. Whenever Krystal comes back we're going to have two very, very good scorers on the court at the same time at that penetrating guard position."

Robinson has been getting the job done on the defensive end all season long, averaging 3.6 steals per game, which is second among all Big East players.

As a team, Marquette leads the Big East at 14.8 steals per game.

If Ellis does not play this weekend, the Golden Eagles' backcourt will have its hands full.

Green Bay has an experienced starting backcourt that consists of junior Kati Harty and senior Kayla Groh. So far this season, they have combined for 27.7 points and five assists per game.

Marquette will have the advantage when it comes to depth with a bench that is averaging 23.8 points per game, compared to just 14.6 for the Phoenix.

“