A slow offensive start and an inability to stop No. 25 Creighton from racking up the scoresheet spelled disaster for the Marquette women’s basketball team Sunday evening.
The Golden Eagles left D.J. Sokol Arena 10-6 and 3-4 in Big East play after losing 68-42 to the Bluejays behind junior guard Lauren Jensen’s 19 points, three rebounds and five assists.
In what has been a pattern in losses as of late for Marquette, the Golden Eagles started the game going down 7-0 early, with junior guard Morgan Maly scoring all of the Bluejays’ points. Marquette did not get on the board until the 6:15 mark of the first quarter when junior guard Rose Nkumu hit a deep jumper.
Rose hits the long two!#MUWBB pic.twitter.com/zu3nab7xNs
— Marquette WBB (@MarquetteWBB) January 8, 2023
The momentum stayed with Creighton for the rest of the quarter, which ended in a 20-6 lead for the Bluejays.
Maly and Jensen ended the frame tied with seven points, leading all scorers.
The second quarter began with a 3-pointer from first-year guard Kennedy Townsend to give the Bluejays a 23-6 lead over the Golden Eagles. Marquette was unable to gain any momentum, scoring only eight points in the quarter, six of which came from senior forward Chloe Marotta.
The half finished with an 8-0 Creighton run to secure its 35-14 lead heading into halftime. The Golden Eagles shot 24.1% compared to the Bluejays’ 51.7%.
Junior forward Emma Ronsiek led all scorers with 10 points, shooting 4-for-5 from the field and 1-for-1 from beyond the arc. She also picked up three rebounds.
The second half was more competitive as Creighton outscored Marquette by five points through the final two quarters, but it was not enough.
Senior guard Jordan King opened the second half hitting a deep 2-pointer, which Creighton responded to by going on an 8-0 run behind two 3-pointers and a jumper.
Marquette showed some life by hitting its first 3-pointer of the game when King pulled up from deep at the 1:13 mark of the frame, but the Bluejays closed it out with a 49-27 lead.
Creighton outscored Marquette 14-13 and shot 42.9%, while the Golden Eagles shot 33.3%.
The final quarter saw a 3-pointer from first-year guard Kenzie Hare followed by a 6-0 run for the Bluejays heading into the final under-five media timeout of the game. Only Hare and Marotta scored points in the quarter for Marquette, which led to Creighton solidifying its win.
In the frame, the Bluejays scored 10 points off of turnovers compared to the Golden Eagles’ four.
Marotta led all scorers with 20 points, while only four Golden Eagles netted points. For the second consecutive game, junior forward Liza Karlen saw no action due to a mouth injury. It is unclear when she will play again.
The Bluejays scored 20 points off the bench while Marquette only scored five.
Marquette will travel back to Milwaukee to face Providence (10-7, 1-5 Big East) Jan. 14 at 2 p.m. CST.
This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached [email protected] or on Twitter @JackAlbrightMU.
