Marquette women’s basketball found a way to rally.

The visiting Seton Hall Pirates had more than double the Golden Eagles’ points early in the second quarter (33-15) and looked to poised to get the road game upset.

But the right players showed up when needed and Marquette found a way to come back, beating Seton Hall 68-62 Tuesday night at the Al McGuire Center.

“This win today is a complete team effort,” Marquette head coach Megan Duffy said. “Game plan sometimes goes out the window and you have to figure out a way to win. I was really proud of our kids for doing that today.”

Response to Pirate physicality

Just about everything that could have gone wrong in the first quarter for Marquette, did.

The Golden Eagles (20-6, 9-6 Big East) got pushed around in the paint, but also couldn’t defend from deep.

After one frame, Seton Hall (15-12, 7-9 Big East) held a 27-15 lead, shooting 11-for-16 from the field 5-for-7 from deep. In comparison, Marquette went 7-for-14 overall and 1-for-4 on 3-point attempts.

The second quarter was much different for the Golden Eagles, who outscored the Pirates 18-9 in the frame. Marquette held Seton Hall 0-for-3 from deep, going 4-for-5 on 3-pointers itself.

By the end of the game, it was the Golden Eagles who had shot the ball better (45%), while the Pirates ended 37.5% from the field. 

Karlen was looking for her teammates to just “shoot the ball” when in need of some points. 

“Seton Hall clogged the paint, so they had a really heavy gauntlet,” Karlen, who led Marquette with 23 points and tied a team-most 10 rebounds, said. “You try to get two feet in the paint and there’s four or five girls coming, so you want to kick the ball out.”

A crucial second half

The Golden Eagles kept the momentum going after flipping the switch.

Once senior guard Jordan King came back in the game — after sitting most of the second frame — and scored necessary points, capped off with a game-sealing 3-pointer to give Marquette a 68-61 lead with 1:17 left in the game. She finished with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

“I thought Jordan was good, making some timely shots for us down the stretch,” Duffy said. “She just rebounded the ball really well.” 

All the Golden Eagles shared a piece of the pie tonight — four different players finished with double-digit points — as they helped change the narrative of the game.

Hare sets a new record

In the third quarter, sophomore guard Kenzie Hare was able to find her way out and put her name on a new record for the Golden Eagles, breaking the program record for 3-pointers made by a sophomore. 

BANG! 😤

Kenzie has the most 3’s by a sophomore in program history 💥

76 and counting 📈#MUWBB | @kenzie_hare12 pic.twitter.com/jdDaaXdRPq

— Marquette WBB (@MarquetteWBB) February 21, 2024

“Kenzie is just a warrior, she continues to fight,” Duffy said. “What she’s doing consistently to help out is tremendous.” 

Hare finished with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting, also grabbing four boards and dishing four assists.

Up next 

The Golden Eagles will travel to Cincinnati to take on the Xavier Musketeers on Saturday, Feb. 24. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. 

This story was written by Raquel Ruiz. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @RaquelRuizMU.