Marquette wins Fort Myers Tip-Off, beats Arkansas 74-58

Trevor Hilson, Sports Audio Producer • November 25, 2023

Marquette women’s basketball holding the Fort Myers Tip-Off championship trophy after beating Arkansas 74-58. (Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics.)

Beating Arkansas in the Fort Myers Tip-Off Shell Division title meant more for head coach Megan Duffy than picking up her seventh holiday tournament victory. It marked Marquette women’s basketball’s best start with Duffy at the helm since she took the reins four years ago.

Behind another balanced scoring performance, the Golden Eagles (6-0) beat the Razorbacks (6-1) 74-58 Saturday at Suncoast Credit Union Arena to win the Fort Myers Tip-Off Shell Division championship.

“Extremely proud of just our overall effort,” Duffy said after the game. “Both nights defensively we were tremendous, locking into the game plan, making it very difficult for Boston College yesterday and then obviously Arkansas today.”

First quarter clamps

Marquette held Arkansas scoreless for five minutes in the first quarter, and up to graduate guard Makayla Daniels’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the frame, you could count the Razorbacks’ points on two hands.

Marquette opened the game with a 6-0 run within two minutes of play, at which point Arkansas called a timeout. Out of the break, the Golden Eagles extended their lead to 10-0, backed by six points from senior forward Liza Karlen. The Golden Eagles then went on a 7-0 run to close the opening frame with a 23-11 lead.

In the first 10 minutes of play, Karlen and senior guard Jordan King combined for 15 points. As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 10-for-19, dishing five assists on the 10 makes.

Tacking on

Later in the game, Marquette went on a 9-0 run over two minutes late in the second quarter thanks to five points from senior guard Rose Nkumu and four from junior forward Abby Cracknell. With the run, the Golden Eagles went into the halftime locker room up 19 points, 46-27.

Out of the break, Arkansas cut Marquette’s lead to 50-35, but the Golden Eagles responded with a 13-2 run of their own to extend their lead to 26 points.

Even though Marquette was outscored 18-11 in the final quarter, and Arkansas held it scoreless for most of the frame, the Golden Eagles went on to win the championship 74-58 in comfortable fashion.

Statistical leaders

Karlen finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, while King added nine points if her own. Graduate student forward Frannie Hottinger recorded her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Nkumu — who was named Tournament MVP — added 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting, dished out seven assists and added three steals. The four combined for 55 of Marquette’s 74 points.

“So proud of Liza Karlen, Rosa Nkumu, Jordan King, our vets, just really stepping up today on both sides of the ball,” Duffy said.

For Arkansas, first-year guard Talia Scott led the Razorbacks with 21 points, shooting 6-for-14 from the field and earning three rebounds in 36 minutes of play.