A Kenzie Hare 25-point performance can go a long way.

Could it have made some Boston College defenders to always keep an eye on her? Yes. Force Eagles head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee to (eventually) prioritize defending her over the other Marquette threats? Definitely. Keep a Boston College team at bay in a 73-65 Golden Eagles’ win in the Fort Meyers Tip-off semifinals? You bet.

Every single one of Hare’s points was crucial. From her first 3-pointer at the 4:13 mark of the second quarter to give Marquette a 23-22 lead all the way to her last 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to ice the game, the sophomore guard was a big part of the Golden Eagles’ win from start to finish.

She finished the night with two career-highs: one in points (beating her previous record of 23) and the other with six makes from beyond the arc — beating her previous record of five. She also collected three rebounds and dished out four assists in 37 minutes of play.

Pushing ahead 

By the end of the first quarter, the Golden Eagles were losing 16-12. They shot 3-for-15 from the field and 1-for-6 from the field. But then Hare made her mark.

On a night where she could do no wrong, the Naperville, Illinois native scored back-to-back 3-pointers to give Marquette a 26-22 lead in the second quarter. She finished the frame with a team-high nine points with perfect shooting (2-for-2) from beyond the arc to help the Golden Eagles to a 34-27 halftime lead.

During the third quarter, Hare two more consecutive 3-pointers, both of which were assisted by King, who then scored a layup of her own to mark an Marquette 8-0 run and 17-point lead.

After that, it was smooth sailing for the Golden Eagles, who would maintain a double-digit lead until the final basket of the game — a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Kayla Lezama — to secure the 73-65 win.

Demanding defense  

Going up against Boston College sophomore forward Teya Sidberry — who was coming off a career-high 22-point performance and averaging 14.6 points and seven rebounds per game — was always going to be a big matchup for Marquette.

And she made her presence felt immediately, scoring the first points of the game in under 30 seconds of play.

But after that, the Golden Eagles were able to mitigate her impact. Sidberry drew her second foul towards the end of the first quarter, and didn’t see the court for the entire second frame.

Once she came back in after halftime, Sidberry only got one more basket — a layup and-one in the third quarter — before being silenced for the final 17 minutes of play.

The Salt Lake City, Utah native finished with seven points on 3-for-7 shooting, her second-lowest scoring performance of the season.

Statistical leaders  

Along with Hare, three other Golden Eagles finished with double-digit points. Senior guards Jordan King and Rose Nkumu had 14 and 11 respectively and senior forward Liza Karlen finished with 10.

For Boston College, junior guard Andrea Daley scored a career-high 24 points, shooting 9-for-14 from the field, while also grabbing nine rebounds. Sophomore guard T’yana Todd was the only other Eagle to score double-digits, finishing with 12 points.

Up next

Marquette will play Arkansas in the Fort Myers Tip-off Shell Division Championship game Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST.

This article was written by Sophia Woods. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @SophiaWoodsMU.