After downing the Seton Hall Pirates 97-84 Saturday, Marquette remains undefeated at home (6-0) and moves to 2-0 in the BIG EAST.
It was a hot start for the Golden Eagles as they racked up 31 points in the first quarter, 16 of which came off turnovers. Marquette forced nine turnovers without committing any in the first quarter.
However, Seton Hall was able to stay close with efficient scoring. The Pirates shot 70 percent from the field in the first half, on 19 of 27 shooting and entered halftime trailing 50 to 47.
Junior Erika Davenport played a big role for Marquette, scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds on her way to recording her fourth double-double of the season.
Davenport, who is more of a low post player, had a few plays where she grabbed the rebound on the defensive end and took it end to end for a basket, which made head coach Carolyn Kieger happy.
“We have been talking to Erika about expanding her game and becoming more of perimeter threat,” Kieger said. “To see her be able to do that is only going to propel our team in the future.”
“I feel like me being able to push the ball helps get our offense going,” Davenport said. “Sometimes it is better that I can take it myself and push the tempo rather than having to stop, slow down, and find a guard.”
Fellow junior Allazia Blockton poured in a game-high 29 points, tying her season high. She did so while shooting 10 of 12 from the field.
Guard Natisha Hiedeman struggled offensively, going just 4-of-15 from the floor, but Kieger praised her defensive effort.
“Natisha did an awesome job setting the tone for us.” Kieger said. “I think she got eight deflections in the third quarter alone.”
In the second half, Seton Hall was unable to maintain the efficiency that kept them close in early, shooting just 45 percent in the second half.
Marquette won the turnover battle 22-9 and out-rebounded Seton Hall 46-23, which led to the Golden Eagles taking 20 more shots than the Pirates.
“We got together after the Notre Dame game and said that rebounding was going to be one of our huge focuses,” said Keiger. “In our first two games since then we have dominated the boards, so obviously as a coach I’m very happy about that.”
However, none of those were the numbers that really stood out to Kieger.
“My favorite stat of the night was 27 assists to nine turnovers,” Keiger said. “If we can keep sharing the ball like that, and take care of it, we are going to be pretty hard to beat.”
Marquette (8-5) will look to remain undefeated at home when they host the DePaul Blue Demons (10-4) Thursday, January 4 at 7 p.m. CT.
