The Marquette Golden Eagles women’s basketball team moved to 4-0 this season by defeating the Monmouth Hawks 56-41.
The game was dominated by defense, as the Golden Eagles managed to hold the Hawks to 21 points in the first half and 20 in the second. They were also able to force 18 turnovers off the Hawks, including 11 steals.
“The identity of our team is to not let other teams settle and just get in a routine. So we just threw random traps in, play teams in different ways. Anything we can do to get a point guard thinking is important,” said coach Terri Mitchell.
The team got off to a slow start after an emotional win against Michigan less than 48 hours earlier. The Golden Eagles lost the lead three minutes into the game and didn’t get it back until there were three-and-a-half minutes left in the half.
“You always want to protect your team from emotional letdowns, and I felt like tonight it took us a while to get going,” Mitchell said. “But I don’t want to say that it was all us. I give credit to the way that Monmouth came after us.
“At halftime we just collectively decided that we knew we needed to play better as a team and we just put our heads into it. Shooting percentage went way up in the second half.”
Senior guard Angel Robinson agreed it was a tale of two halves.
“In the first half we didn’t play well, we fell behind,” Robinson said. “In the second half we had to make the decision to collectively come together and play hard and correct our mistakes.”
The Golden Eagles came out of the locker room firing, scoring 32 points and eventually expanding the lead to 18 with 2 minutes left.
“At halftime I didn’t yell. I didn’t get emotional. If I get uptight, then they are going to be uptight,” Mitchell said. “I guess at the end of the day you are happy that a game is 40 minutes.”
The team was led in scoring by Robinson and senior guard Tatiyiana McMorris, who scored 12 points and 11 points, respectively.
The game also saw major contributions from freshman guard Gabi Minix, who scored eight points in a season-high 21 minutes.
“I think Gabby gives us the extra ball handler that we need. She is able to find gaps, and she is an excellent passer,” Mitchell said. “There were times when I thought she could have shot more, but that’s okay. She has that point guard’s mentality where she is always looking for the open player.”
Marquette faces Wisconsin on Wednesday.
