Marquette women’s basketball head coach Megan Duffy is undefeated at Alumni Hall. 

Last year, the Golden Eagles left Providence victorious, beating the Friars 57-51 behind 24 points from junior forward Liza Karlen. 

This year it was senior forward Chloe Marotta as Marquette (17-8, 10-6 Big East) defeated Providence (13-14, 4-12 Big East) 52-51 Wednesday night in Rhode Island despite a poor second half performance.

With the win, Duffy moves 4-0 on the road against the Friars. The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, sweep the regular season series.

Clutch from King

With an eerily similar feel to Marquette’s win at Butler, the Golden Eagles were able narrowly escape with a win, thanks to a big shot from senior guard Jordan King.

Down by two points, with 14 seconds remaining and two seconds left on the shot clock, King did what she does best; score a 3-pointer.

Keeping the ball from flying out of bounds, King stretched out, nabbed it, set her feet and drained the game-winning bucket.

JORDAN. KING. 🥶#MUWBB pic.twitter.com/pxOlBRPPNT

— Marquette WBB (@MarquetteWBB) February 16, 2023

The Friars would go on to miss two layups in a row, solidifying Marquette’s fourth road win of the season.

Statistical Leaders

Marotta and King combined for 41 of Marquette’s points on the night.

Marotta finished just short of her eighth double-double of the season with 26 points and nine boards.

King recorded another double-figure scoring game with 15 points. She also earned three rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes of action.

For the Friars, senior guard Janai Crooms and sophomore guard Nariah Scott both earned a double-digit point performance.

Crooms finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal. Scott also finished with 11 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the field and 1-for-2 from beyond the arc.

Seniors Start Hot

King and Marotta started the game on the front foot.

King opened the scoring, getting a transition bucket at the 9:35 mark of the first quarter to put the Golden Eagles up 2-0. Then Marotta joined the fun getting her own layup to make it 4-0.

King would continue to dominate, going on a personal 5-0 run behind a 3-pointer and layup to give Marquette an 11-4 lead.

The two would end the opening 10 minutes with all of the Golden Eagles’ 15 points, shooting a combined 6-for-12 from the field.

But the momentum carried over into the second frame as Marotta scored back-to-back layups, helping Marquette counter Providence’s successional 3-pointers.

Ending the half with a layup, Marotta finished the first 20 minutes of action with 16 points, 10 of which came in the second quarter.

A Sloppy Second Half

Down by 13 heading into halftime, Providence came out firing to start the final 20 minutes of play.

The Friars went on a 6-0 run to reduce the deficit to 14 points and force a timeout from Golden Eagles head coach Megan Duffy.

Then, King picked up her third foul at the 4:58 mark of the quarter and didn’t see the court for over five minutes.

Providence continued to keep up the scoring, going on an 8-1 run later in the frame, five of which came from the charity stripe.

Outscoring the Golden Eagles 19-15, the Friars went into the final 10 minutes trailing by nine.

Then the comeback really began.

The Friars went on a 5-0 run halfway through the fourth quarter to reduce their deficit to two points, making it a 48-46 lead for the Golden Eagles.

Then, thanks to a Kylee Sheppard 3-pointer, Providence went on another 5-0 run, giving it a 51-49 lead. That would be the last time the Friars scored in the game.

Providence held Marquette to a mere six points on a 2-for-13 shooting performance in the final frame, scoring 14 points themselves.

Up Next

Marquette will now return to Milwaukee to host St. John’s (19-6, 10-6 Big East) Saturday at the Al McGuire Center. The game will serve as the Golden Eagles’ Annual Alumnae Day. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. CST.