It closely mirrored Marquette and Butler’s first matchup of the season in terms of intensity, but this one fell the way of the Bulldogs emerging victorious on their home floor, as the lead swung back and forth like a pendulum Sunday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Marquette women’s basketball (15-8, 7-5 Big East) had an opportunity to tie the game with 11 seconds left after Butler senior Sydney Jaynes spun around in the right side of the post and found the hoop to give the Bulldogs the two point advantage.
Junior guard Olivia Porter found sophomore forward Skylar Forbes in the paint, but Forbes’ shot rimmed in-and-out, taking an unfortunate bounce for the Golden Eagles. The Bulldogs (13-13, 3-10 Big East) secured the rebound, allowing themselves to snap their six-game losing skid.
Butler’s red-hot shooting from deep
Butler senior guard Kilyn McGuff, who had 18 points and 17 boards in the first meeting, had another career afternoon against the Golden Eagles. She posted 21 points (her personal best in Big East play and second-most points scored on the season), while also 5-for-6 from beyond the arc. Her three first quarter triples got the Bulldogs out to an early 14-6 lead.
First-year Lily Zeinstra finished with 15 points for the Bulldogs, shot 3-for-5 from downtown, with one of those 3-pointers coming in a critical spot, tying the game at 64 out of a timeout with just over 90 seconds left.
Butler stepped up in its 3-point shots to match Marquette’s inside scoring and defensive focus, shooting 47.8% from downtown, compared to its season average of 34%.
Golden Eagles show resilience and battle back
Due to Butler’s electric 3-point shooting start, Marquette found itself down 21-13 at the end of the first quarter. However, Marquette stuck to its identity of inside scoring and defensive stops, and sophomore guard Jaidynn Mason gave Marquette its first lead of the game with 4:27 left in the second quarter.
Junior guard Kennedi Perkins drove to the hoop on a halftime buzzer-beating layup to give Marquette a 35-34 advantage at the half, one of her three steals on the afternoon. The Golden Eagles kept their lead until the four-minute mark in the third quarter, where McGuff drained a 3-pointer out of the media timeout to give Butler a 45-42 lead.
Under Two-Minute Trouble for Marquette
Down by three at the end of the third, Jaynes and McGuff extended the Bulldogs’ lead to six at the 7:32 mark in the fourth, but the Golden Eagles weren’t ready to go away yet. Junior guard Bridget Utberg and Porter led Marquette on a five-point run in the middle of the fourth quarter to make it a one-point game with 4:48 to go.
Sophomore Riley Makalusky nailed a deep 2-pointer for Butler to maintain a three-point advantage, but junior forward Charia Smith and Porter hit a couple of prompt shots to give Marquette a 62-61 lead, with just under three minutes to play. Forbes added an inside basket to extend the lead to three, but Zeinstra’s shot gave the Bulldogs the momentum they needed to prevail on their home floor, with the shot following Butler head coach Austin Parkinson’s timeout with 1:37 left.
Jaynes ultimately hit the game winning layup, as Marquette was unable to capitalize on the other end. Four Golden Eagles finished in double figures, Forbes, Porter, senior Lee Volker, and sophomore Halle Vice.
Up Next
Marquette continues its two-game road stretch against Seton Hall on Feb. 12, (17-6, 9-3 Big East). The Golden Eagles fell in the first matchup on Jan. 15 in Milwaukee, where the Pirates prevailed 58-52. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CST.
This article was written by Mikey Severson. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MikeySeversonMU.
