Upsets have been a theme in Marquette Basketball this week, only this time the Marquette women’s basketball was on the wrong side of things. The Golden Eagles fell 66-64 to the Providence Friars.
The Friars came into Friday’s game just 1-8 in BIG EAST play, while the Golden Eagles were third in the conference with a record of 7-2. In addition, Marquette won five straight contests against Providence, including a 79-74 win on Jan. 4.
With 2:47 left to go in the game, Marquette was down 64-58. Then Erika Davenport hit a pair of three throws to put the game within four. Then with 0:57 left, Amani Wilborn pulled up and hit a jump shot from the free-throw line to put the Golden Eagles within two. Finally, Marquette tied the game up off of a Davenport post up with 0:36 remaining. However, that would be the last bucket Marquette would score, as Jovana Nogic hit a jumper from just inside the 3-point line to put Providence ahead and secure the win.
Marquette had no defensive answer for Jonvana Nogic, who came into Friday’s game with the second highest 3-point shooting percentage in the BIG EAST. Nogic connected on seven of her eleven attempts from beyond the arc and finished with a team-high 27 points.
Nogic started the game hitting all four of her threes. Providence used that momentum to go up 24-17 at the end of the first quarter.
Marquette bounced back in the second, outscoring Providence 20-9. The Golden Eagles finished the half shooting 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, three of which came from McKayla Yentz. Still, Marquette only held a 37-33 lead at half.
The Golden Eagles opened the third quarter on a 5-0 run and eventually extended their lead to 10, but Nogic returned to the game after sitting most of the second quarter in foul trouble, which reignited the Friar offense. She went on to score 15 points in the half and ended up leading her team’s comeback to take down Marquette.
The Golden Eagles are back in action on Sunday at Creighton at 1:05 p.m.
