The Marquette women’s basketball team opened its first game in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament with a dominating 100-52 win over Montana State University Friday night at the Al McGuire Center.
Senior guard Danielle King scored 11 points, which was enough to reach the 1,000-point mark in her collegiate career. The team roared on the bench when King drained a 3-pointer that officially put her in the 1,000-point territory.
“It was kind of like a relief. It was a lot of pressure on everybody,” King said. “My teammates kept telling me, ‘You got four more points.’ … I know my teammates were going to be more excited than me.”
The Golden Eagles are the only Division I program to have five 1,000-point scorers currently on the roster. Head coach Carolyn Kieger acknowledged the team’s selflessness as a huge part of the feat.
“That’s a testament to who they are as people and teammates,” Kieger said. “You see that they get more excited when they’re sharing the ball than when the score, and that’s a sign of great teammates and a great culture.”
That selflessness was on display Friday night, racking up 24 total assists.
“My favorite stat is the 24 assists,” Kieger said. “The way our team is playing unselfish basketball makes me, as a coach, really proud.”
The Golden Eagles finished the game with a 12-4 advantage in steals and a 47-34 advantage in rebounds. Defensively, Marquette held the Bobcats to 26 percent in shooting.
“Defensively we held them to 26 percent, which is where we (have) spent a lot in the offseason trying to improve,” Kieger said. “When I see us making mistakes defensively, I see them hold each other accountable, which (shows) growth and maturity.”
Golden Eagles came out firing on all cylinders and dominated from start to finish. Allazia Blockton lead the team scoring 23 points. She went 10 of 12 on the night in field goals. Five other Marquette players finished in double-digits.
“We always talk about being lions,” King said. “We are on the hunt instead of being the hunted, and we focus on coming out with that punch.”
Marquette shot 56 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc Friday.
Since falling in an exhibition to Grand Valley State University, a Division II program, the Golden Eagles have responded with scoring 90-plus points in their first two games while holding their opponent to an average of 52 points per game.
The Friday win was not the only good news for Marquette. Milwaukee Academy of Science star Shemera Williams committed to Marquette Friday afternoon. ESPN ranked Williams 54th in the country.
The Golden Eagles will look to continue their early season success versus either Northern Iowa or Delaware. Tipoff for Marquette’s second WNIT game is set for 1 p.m. at the Al McGuire Center.
