Marquette women’s basketball pick up its 15th win of the season Sunday afternoon defeating the St. John’s Red Storm by a score of 70-65 at Carnesecca Arena.
“I’m so proud of our team,” Marquette head coach Megan Duffy said in a statement. “In that fourth quarter, we knew it was going to be a flat-out battle. Overall, there was a lot of grit by both teams. I loved our execution down the stretch in getting a few big stops.”
It was a slow start for Marquette’s offense, as St. John’s jumped out to an early 11-6 lead following senior guard Kadaja Bailey’s basket at the 5:16 mark. The Golden Eagles then responded with a 6-0 run to take a three point lead with 1:33 to go in the frame.
Behind sophomore forward Liza Karlen’s eight points in the first quarter, Marquette took a 20-16 lead into the second frame.
Despite shooting an efficient 50% from the floor and 40% from the 3-point line in the second quarter, St. John’s trailed by two at halftime with Marquette heading into the locker room with a 36-34 lead.
After marking a season-high 35 points on Friday against DePaul, Marquette held St. John’s junior guard Leilani Correa to just eight first half points.
Starting out the second half, Marquette stormed to a 40-32 lead after baskets from junior guard Jordan King and graduate student forward Lauren Van Kleunen on its first two attempts.
St. John’s defense kept them in the game as the Red Storm held the Golden Eagles to just seven more points in the frame. Offensively, the Johnnie’s sparked a 8-0 run to tie the game at 40-40 with 5:05 left to go in the frame.
Red Storm senior forward Rayven Peeples cut the Marquette lead to 47-46 heading into the final stanza after driving through the lane for the layup with 52 seconds left.
The teams traded blows in the fourth quarter, with neither one able to create a lead more than two. With 1:37 remaining, senior forward Danielle Cosgrove hit a 3-pointer to give the Red Storm a 63-62 lead.
Graduate student guard Karissa McLaughlin then responded with a jumper to put Marquette back up by one, 64-63. The Golden Eagles would pull away with the 70-65 road victory after going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line down the stretch.
On offense, Marquette shot 42.9% from the field on the afternoon while St. John’s shot 50%.
It is the first time since Jan. 27, 2021 that five or more MU players scored in double-figures in the same contest.
McLaughlin led the way with 18 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals on the afternoon. Both Karlen and Van Kleunen added 14 points a piece while senior forward Chloe Marotta and King both contributed 10 points.
Along with her 14 points, Karlen put a balance stat line together once again with eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals.
As for St. John’s, Correa finished with a team-high 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Marquette finished with 21 assists on 29 made shots, including 10-for-12 in the second half.
With the win, the Golden Eagles extends its winning streak to four games.
Marquette (15-5, 8-3 BIG EAST) will now return home to host Providence Feb. 4. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. CST tip-off on FloSports.
This article was written by Ava Mares. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @avamaresMU.
