It wasn’t Marquette’s (15-7, 7-4 Big East) best offensive night, as the Golden Eagles struggled to shoot the ball in the second half (7-for-28), but that didn’t matter because of the attitude Cara Consuegra brings to Marquette women’s basketball.
St. John’s (13-10, 3-8 Big East) gained momentum in the third quarter, winning it 17-9, but Marquette’s toughness never wavered, as it withstood a late Red Storm run to win 57-55 Wednesday night at the Al McGuire Center.
“That’s what I love about our team. We are tough and resilient,” Consuegra said. “One of our mantras is to thrive in adversity and to be built to do tough things.”
Shooting with Confidence
Early in the game, Marquette got the ball down low consistently, shooting 11-for-18 from two while tallying 16 points in the paint.
But St. Johns packed the paint in the second half as a countermove, making it difficult for the Golden Eagles to get inside.
“It was tough to get in the paint in the third quarter,” Consuegra said. “They played us very physical and made post entries difficult.”
As a result, Marquette was forced to take jump shots. The Golden Eagles took quality shots, but nothing seemed to fall in the second half.
“I thought we got good looks. The ball just wouldn’t go in for us,” Consuegra said. “I told them (the team) you have to shoot the ball confidently.”
That’s exactly why, with 1:42 to play, Olivia Porter hit a dagger deep ball to give Marquette a 57-51 lead.
“I’m really proud of her for having the confidence to knock down the open shot.”
Creating Extra Possessions
Marquette was forced to abandon its press Wednesday because of the Red Storm’s quickness, but it only forced 12 St. John’s turnovers.
The Golden Eagles coughed the ball up 15 times themselves. Since MU lost the turnover battle, rebounding was crucial in creating extra possessions.
The Golden Eagles rebounded 34.3 percent of their missed shots and 74.2 percent of the Red Storm’s misses, leading to a 35-31 edge on the glass.
“Rebounding is a key for us to win,” Consuegra said. “We know when we rebound, we win, and when we don’t rebound, we don’t win.”
Even though Marquette lost the turnover battle, they still had more scoring opportunities than St. John’s. The Golden Eagles had 50 shots (19-of-50) and 24 free throws (15-for-24) to the Red Storms 55 field goal attempts (20-for-55) and 11 free throw attempts (9-of 11).
“For us offensively, we were really up and down,” Consuegra said. “So, we have to be able to generate those extra possessions.”
Defending St. John’s Talented Guards
Lashae Dwyer (12.9 PPG) and Ber’Nyah Mayo (10.2 PPG) are both 5-foot-6 guards who have elite quickness and finishing skills.
“They are really tough to guard,” Consuegra said.
Wednesday, Mayo scored 13 points, and Dwyer dropped 10 points. But the Golden Eagles held them to 8-of-25 from the floor combined.
“Generally, keep them in front, try to wall them up, try to make them make tough shots over the top of us, Consuegra said. “We did that enough to win.”
Up Next
Marquette has three days off to rest after a physical game. The Golden Eagles return to action in Indianapolis to take on Butler at 1 p.m. CST on Sunday, February 9th.
This story was written by Max Mullin. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MullinMax
