Erika Davenport notched her 1,000th rebound in No. 8 Marquette women’s basketball’s 59-52 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas.
“It makes me excited,” senior forward Erika Davenport said. “I know a lot of great players have been through here, so I’m just having a good time (embracing) it.”
Davenport is only the fourth player to get 1,000 rebounds in program history. She also earned a career-high 23 rebounds in the Golden Eagle’s victory.
“She’s got a killer mentality. That’s what I love about Erika (Davenport),” head coach Carolyn Kieger said. “When that shot goes up, I know she’s going to go after it with everything she has.”
Davenport has recorded double-doubles in five of Marquette’s last seven games. She finished Friday with six points.
Marquette came away with the win although Georgetown remained within two possessions of the Golden Eagles for most of the game, but the Hoyas missed six of their last seven shots to end the game.
“(The win) definitely feels good. We know Georgetown is a great team, so any win for us is a good win,” Davenport said. “Obviously we had to dig deep, but I’m just happy we came out with the win”
The Golden Eagles improved their record to 11-0 in BIG EAST play and 20-3 overall. Friday night’s win also extended Marquette’s winning streak to 11 games.
The Golden Eagles’ offense struggled against Georgetown’s zone defense. The team shot 10 for 25 from the 3-point line and 22 for 55 from the field.
“I kept waiting for us to pull away a little bit. I don’t think we got our momentum, or as we call it, our juice,” Kieger said. “We were really stagnant, and hopefully we can figure out what that was and solve it.”
The team’s 59 points were the second-lowest point total in a game this season. Their lowest total was 55 points against the No. 25 Miami Hurricanes in November.
Senior guards Natisha Hiedeman and Allazia Blockton combined for just 11 points on 4-for-19 shooting. Danielle King, Amani Wilborn and Isabelle Spingola each tied for the team-high in points with 12.
“I liked how gritty we were. We didn’t play great, we didn’t give our best effort, but we came away with the W, and that’s what is important this time of year,” Kieger said. “That’s the biggest difference between this year and last year… it’s our depth. That gives me a lot of confidence down the stretch.”
Kieger said she was impressed with Spingola and her movement on the court. Spingola shot 4 for 5, and all four shots were 3-pointers.
For the Hoyas, Dorothy Adomako, the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week, scored a team-high 17 points on 6-for-18 shooting.
Marquette is now just one win away from clinching a first-round bye in the 2019 BIG EAST Tournament.
“I don’t think we’re thinking about clinching anything right now,” Kieger said. “We’re taking it one game at a time.”
The Golden Eagles face BIG EAST foe Villanova on Sunday at the Al McGuire Center at 2 p.m.
