The Marquette Golden Eagles (11-6, 3-3 Big East) fell to the Seton Hall Pirates (13-4, 5-1 Big East) 58-52 at the Al McGuire Center after taking a sucker punch in the second quarter.
The Pirates picked up their first win in the Al McGuire Center in program history, snapping a 14-game losing streak.
The Golden Eagles were outscored 23-9 in the second frame while going +8 in the scoring margin in the other three quarters.
Consuegra said the Pirates’ game plan was executed well, especially in the second quarter.
“Their game plan was effective, it’s no secret that we don’t make a lot of threes, it’s all over the scouting report,” Consuegra said. “The last couple of teams we’ve played have really tried to take the paint away from us.”
Since the start of conference play, Marquette had outscored opponents 172-134 in points in the paint. Seton Hall joined the UConn Huskies as the only two teams in Big East play to outscore Marquette on the interior, as both nearly doubled Marquette’s paint points in the respective road victories.
First-year guards Jada Eads and Ja’Kahla Craft were the Pirates’ right hook, combining for 14 points in the quarter. Eads led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting.
Yet, it was exterior shooting that kept Marquette in the contest late into the fourth quarter.
The Golden Eagles came out in the second half on an extended 11-3 run over five minutes starting with a pair of sophomore forward Skylar Forbes free throws at the 8:45 mark in the third quarter.
Consuegra said the run was a result of a change in effort.
“I thought Seton Hall came in and outworked us,” Consuegra said. “I really challenged our team to compete harder, and it took us a minute, but we started to compete.”
Forbes finished the game with nine points on 2-of-9 shooting and added seven rebounds. It was her lowest point total since the 64-62 loss at Bowling Green in December.
The Golden Eagles then made their first four three pointers in the fourth quarter, including two treys from senior guard Lee Volker, the second of which cut the Pirate lead to three with 2:33 to play.
Volker led all Golden Eagle scorers with 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Consuegra said the hot stretch was about taking what Seton Hall was giving them.
“We started to understand a little bit again of what they were doing anytime we got the ball in the paint,” Consuegra said. “We were seeing multiple defenders and when that happens, we have to be able to adjust.”
Volker’s triple was the last of Marquette’s scoring, as the Golden Eagles went 0-4 from the field in the final two-and-a-half minutes of play.
Up Next
Marquette has its bye week before traveling to Rhode Island to face the Providence Friars.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to reset,” Consuegra said. “We’ll continue to tweak things so that we can be able to score against these types of game plans and we’ll keep getting in the gym and keep getting our kids better.”
Tip-off is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, January 22nd.
This story was written by Trevor Hilson. He can be reached at [email protected] or @hilsontrevor on Twitter/X.
