A poor night of shooting led to No. 11 Marquette women’s basketball losing at home for just the second time this season with a 61-57 loss to Butler.
The Golden Eagles shot just 7 for 28 from beyond the arc and 20 for 62 overall. The team’s 57 points Friday night were the second-lowest total they have posted all season.
“We were very stagnant,” head coach Carolyn Kieger said. “We didn’t make adjustments. We weren’t a senior-led team tonight. We played very immature, and I have got to do better, they have got to do better. Everybody has got to lock in right now.”
Three MU players posted double-digit point totals. Senior guard Allazia Blockton led the way with 14 points on 6-for-14 shooting. Redshirt sophomore Lauren Van Kleunen and senior guard Danielle King both had 10.
Erika Davenport suffered a lower-body injury in the third quarter. Her status still remains unclear after howling in pain on the Al McGuire Center floor. Van Kleunen took her place and finished with a double-double.
“She was the spark of tonight, and we need her to do that,” Kieger said. “She had a lot of enthusiasm, and she made tough plays. If she can keep playing like that, I think that great things are going to happen for her.”
Marquette only made one 3-pointer in the second half on 11 attempts.
“They made us shoot, and we couldn’t shoot tonight,” Kieger said.
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles amassed only 10 points in transition.
“We gotta play better against the zone, we just have to,” Kieger said. “We had only 10 points in transition… ten. What that tells me is that we are not working hard enough, and we don’t want it bad enough.”
For Butler, senior forward Tori Schickel led the way with 19 points on 9-for-19 shooting. She was among three other Butler players who finished the night with double-digit point totals.
“The best thing of the night (for Van Kleunen) was she had four blocks on Schickel,” Kieger said. “She played personnel really well, and played with a lot of confidence.”
MU and Butler were tied at 57-57 with 46 seconds remaining, but a Schickel layup and a couple well-timed free throws allowed the Bulldogs to pull off the upset.
Marquette’s record has now fallen to 22-5 on the season and 13-2 in BIG EAST play.
The loss tonight puts Marquette’s hopes of playing host to the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in question.
Marquette plays its final regular season home game Sunday against Xavier Musketeers at 2 p.m.
“(Sunday) could be the last game that the seniors ever play in this arena,” Kieger said. “We got to bring it.”
