A season-high 26 points from junior guard Natisha Hiedeman and a late surge of offense led Marquette to a 90-69 win over Villanova Friday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center.
“Everybody was just doing their part,” Hiedeman said. “We had a gameplan going in and we just executed it very well.”
Despite the one-sided final scoreline, the game was a back-and-forth affair early on and had 10 lead changes in the first half.
Marquette received a balanced scoring effort across the board. Seven different Golden Eagles recorded at least one field goal in the first half alone. As a result, Marquette entered the halftime break with a 39-34 lead.
Villanova kept it close for a while, but Marquette never surrendered the lead in the second half.
The Wildcats made it a one-possession game, trailing 52-50 with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter. However, Marquette responded with a 13-2 run extending early into the fourth quarter.
“I’m really proud of our team’s adjustments,” head coach Carolyn Kieger said. “I saw a lot of growth and maturity in that second half. That’s two games in a row where our team has responded and regrouped. It’s good to see growth at this time of year.”
Hiedeman attributed the win to her team’s pace of play.
“We know when we play fast, we’re a hard team to guard.” Hiedeman said. “Turning the jets on, that’s really what propelled us to win this game.”
Marquette outscored Villanova by 14 points in the final quarter. Hiedeman scored a game-high 26 points while hitting 10 of 14 shots from the field, and 3 of 6 from downtown. Twenty-two of those points came in the second half alone.
“She was in the zone,” Kieger said. “We know when (Hiedeman) is in the zone, we have got to get her the ball. 10 for 14 and 26 points in 24 minutes, I don’t know how much more efficient you can be.”
Fellow juniors Danielle King, Erika Davenport and Allazia Blockton all had big nights for Marquette as well.
Danielle King scored 15 points and a game-high eight assists, and the 5-foot-4 point guard collected seven rebounds as well.
Davenport and Blockton were big in the points column as well, scoring 16 and 15 points respectively. They also controlled the boards, as Davenport grabbed eight rebounds and Blockton corralled six.
“On any given night one of our players can go off for 30,” said Kieger. “I don’t know how many teams in the country can say that. I love our versatility. I love that we share the ball. I love that we had 20 assists to only eight turnovers. I think that’s when we are at our best.”
The Golden Eagles remain in second place in the conference behind DePaul with just three games remaining on the conference schedule.
Next up, Marquette (18-8, 12-3 BIG EAST) will host Georgetown (11-13, 6-8 BIG EAST) on Sunday at 2 p.m. Central time. The game will also be televised on FOX Sports Wisconsin and BIG EAST Digital Network.
