After defeating the Xavier Musketeers Friday, Marquette women’s basketball hosted the Butler Bulldogs Sunday at the Al McGuire Center.
Despite poor shooting a season-low 29.9% from the field, the Golden Eagles pulled out a 59-45 win for its second win of BIG EAST play.
Here’s a breakdown of the win:
Game MVP: Lauren Van Kleunen
Graduate student forward Lauren Van Kleunen led the team with 15 points, going 5-for-17 from the field, while adding nine rebounds.
“She is great for us day in and day out,” junior guard Jordan King “Tonight she got off to a slow start and she was able to find her way through some of those rebounds and put backs. That was a big piece to our game today, the offensive rebounds and the second chance points.”
Marquette women’s basketball head coach Megan Duffy said, during her three years at the helm of the program, Van Kleunen has been a big contributor in the Golden Eagles wins.
“She has won us a lot of games, including helping today. Her longevity here and who she is as a young women on and off the court, we are so proud of her and I know she has a lot of great games ahead of her” Duffy said. “Thought she had a much better fourth quarter today and made some nice baskets for us when we needed it.”
Key Stats:
- Marquette had 17 offensive rebounds and 17 defensive rebounds.
- Butler shot 38.1% from the field while Marquette shot 29.9%.
- Butler had one steal, while Marquette had 15 steals.
- The Bulldogs began the second half with a 11-0 run to tie the game at 34-34.
- Marquette scored 21 points off of Butler’s 26 turnovers.
Notes:
- Marquette caused 26 turnovers, while having four. This was the first time since 2019 where Marquette had less than 5 turnovers.
- King finished with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and a career high six steals.
- Sophomore guard Rose Nkumu finished with three points and three assists.
- Graduate student guard Karissa McLaughlin finished with 15 points, three assists, and one rebound.
Quote of the Day:
With her start today, Van Kleunen tied the Marquette program record for career games played, appearing in her 134th contest donning the Blue and Gold.
“When you’re here for five and a half years your bound to be playing a lot of games,” Duffy said.
Next Up:
Marquette (5-2, 2-0 BIG EAST) will head cross town and face crosstown rivalry University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Wednesday at 7 pm CST.
This article was written by Kelly Reilly. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @kellyreillyyy
