The Marquette women’s basketball team improved to 11-3 in BIG EAST play after defeating the Providence Friars 73-52 thanks to a well-rounded offensive performance from the Golden Eagles Saturday afternoon.
After losing back-to-back games for the first time in the Megan Duffy era last week to UConn and DePaul, the Golden Eagles got back to their winning ways with two commanding wins this week against Butler and Providence.
MU was in control for the entire game and came out of the gates on fire, as they started things on a 15-0 scoring run and never looked back.
Marquette had a very well-balanced scoring attack throughout the game, as four Golden Eagles finished in double-digit scoring and the team was led by some key contributions coming from the bench.
Marquette’s leading scorer, senior guard Selena Lott, did a little bit of everything on the afternoon and tallied 14 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Jordan King also had 14 points on 4-for-9 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, one rebound shy of her career-high.
Sophomore guard Taylor Valladay was a key contributor off the bench for the Golden Eagles as she tied her career-high with 12 points on a 6-for-9 shooting performance from the field. Valladay has had an increased role on the team this year and is settling in as a reliable option for Duffy to bring in off the bench when needed.
MU was very efficient shooting the ball, as the team shot 50% from the field and 62.5% from 3-point land. Despite turning the ball over 17 times, Marquette did a great job of forcing Providence turnovers and turning them into easy points in transition. The Golden Eagles had 15 fast break points and only allowed the Friars to score two for the entire game.
Marquette was also very effective on the defensive side of the ball, as the Golden Eagles held the Friars to just 38% from the field. MU also won the rebounding battle 38-23, the 47th time in 50 games where the team outrebounded their opponent since the start of the Megan Duffy era.
Providence was led by junior forward Mary Bakersville, who had a game-high 19 points on an efficient 9-for-13 from the field. She also had six steals. Senior guard Kyra Spiwak was the only other Friar who scored in double digits, posting 15 points while going 3-for-6 from three.
The Golden Eagles (14-4, 11-3 BIG EAST) now improve to 10-1 on the road this season with their only loss coming against Seton Hall back in January after the team returned from their one-month pause due to positive COVID-19 tests within the program.
Marquette will now return home next week for a matchup against Villanova on Friday night at the Al McGuire Center. The Golden Eagles defeated the Wildcats 95-77 back on Jan. 27 in a game where Marquette tied its season-high in scoring. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Central Standard Time and FloHoops will provide streaming coverage.
This story was written by Sam Arco. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @sam_i_am119.
