Last season, South Dakota State posed no issue for the veteran Golden Eagles, as Marquette women’s basketball trounced the Jackrabbits 91-52 in the season opener at the Al McGuire Center.
But with almost an entirely new team this year, it was a far closer matchup Tuesday night before Marquette emerged with a 65-58 victory.
South Dakota State led for most of the first quarter, forcing four turnovers on Marquette’s first four possessions. But the Golden Eagles held the Jackrabbits from scoring for the final 2:26 of the frame. It resulted in a 15-15 tie at the end of the quarter.
South Dakota State started the second quarter on a 7-0 run, but Marquette played stout defense and outscored the Jackrabbits 14-7 after that to take a three-point lead at halftime.
The Golden Eagles then maintained their lead in the third quarter despite the Jackrabbits shooting 67% in the period.
The fourth quarter was tight throughout, but Marquette held SDSU without a field goal for almost seven minutes and made all of its free throws in the final minutes to secure a close road win.
Marquette is now 4-0 all-time against the Jackrabbits.
Junior guard Selena Lott led Marquette with 15 points and four assists. Sophomore forward Chloe Marotta added 14 points, while first-year forward Camryn Taylor totaled nine points and eight rebounds. First-year guard Jordan King contributed nine points, five rebounds and four assists.
Redshirt senior forward Tagyn Larson led the Jackrabbits with 22 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Paiton Burckhard totaled 12 points, and senior guard Rylie Cascio Jensen added six points, three rebounds and four assists.
Marquette (8-2) returns to the Al McGuire Center Saturday to face the Belmont Bruins at 2 p.m.
This story was written by Dan Avington. He can be reached [email protected] or on Twitter at @danavington.
