Marquette women’s basketball got its first ranked win of the season, beating the No. 23 Illinois Fighting Illini 71-67 Saturday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center.

Here’s what you need to know about the Golden Eagles’ win:

• Senior forward Liza Karlen led all scorers with 22 points while shooting 11-for-16 from the field.
• Four Marquette players (Jordan King, Rose Nkumu, Frannie Hottinger and Karlen) finished with at least 10 points.
• The Golden Eagles forced the Illini to turn the ball over 20 times, scoring 16 points off of those turnovers.

Decisive fourth quarter

Throughout the first three frames, the Golden Eagles and Illini had been trading buckets non-stop. However, the Golden Eagles found themselves up 56-50 heading into the last 10 minutes of play.

The start of the fourth quarter was no different, as the two teams continued to go back-and-forth until the 5:21 mark, when Karlen hit a mid range jumper to give Marquette a 64-61 lead. On Illinois’ next trip down the floor, Karlen stood in and took a charge, forcing the Illini to use a timeout and regroup.

They would do just that, scoring a bucket at the 3:26 mark to cut the Marquette lead to 64-63. However, clutch buckets from Karlen would give the Eagles a 68-65 lead with 1:28 to play.

Then, off a missed 3-point attempt by Illinois, King was called for an offensive foul, giving the Illini new life.

After a layup from fifth-year center Camille Hobby to cut the deficit to one, Illinois was forced to foul, sending King to the line for two free throws.

The Rockton, Illinois native would sink both shots from the charity stripe, putting Marquette up 70-67. Those free throws would prove to be the difference, as the Golden Eagles went on to win 71-67.

This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.