Marquette women’s basketball needed to tap into that ‘extra degree’ on its senior night in its 77-65 win Wednesday night against Xavier to snap a four-game losing streak.
It didn’t come easy for the Golden Eagles, even trailing by four at the end of the first quarter. A couple of 3-pointers from junior forward Skylar Forbes and senior guard Bridget Utberg to close out the opening half, plus an even-keel third quarter gave Marquette a mirage of security.
In the blink of an eye, the Musketeers said not so fast and went on a lightning quick run. Spearheaded by two Golden Eagle turnovers after a 3-point play from senior guard Kennedi Perkins, Xavier trimmed its deficit down to just four points and forced Marquette head coach Cara Consuegra to swiftly call timeout just over a minute in the final quarter.
The Musketeers continued to grit and claw its way towards taking the lead, even whittling Marquette’s lead down to a single point with under five minutes left.
But just like a pot of water going from warm to boiling — as Consuegra coined ‘212 degrees’ back in the fall — Marquette channeled its second wind to go on a 22-11 scoring run throughout the homestretch of the game, led by 20 second half points from junior guard Halle Vice.
Two of Vice’s baskets gave just enough room to distance themselves from the Musketeers, turning their one-point leads into three-point advantages midway through the quarter as those kept the tide in the Golden Eagles’ favor, rather than spilling over.
“That second part of the fourth quarter, we made the types of extra degree plays that make a difference,” Consuegra said. “Bridget Utberg did a bunch of those rebounding, we got a transition bucket from Halle, those matter. Those are the types of plays that can win games in a really tough Big East matchup.”
It was a Vice layup that prompted a Xavier timeout as Marquette led by eight with just under three minutes left. Profiting off of a Muskie turnover, graduate student guard Lee Volker sank a corner three to put her stamp on senior night with over two minutes left; she tallied nine points in the fourth quarter alone.
Senior guard Jaidynn Mason led Marquette in assists with eight, and her and Vice racked up eight rebounds each.
“This day is not really about me,” Vice said. “I feel like it’s a big growth for me, getting out of myself a little bit, and I played for the seniors tonight with this program.”
The Musketeers would get as close as six points within the final minute, but free throw shooting proved timely. The Golden Eagles made all six of their attempts from the stripe in the last 40 seconds, plus another Vice layup, to cap off the evening as Consuegra made one last switch.
Finally, an all-senior Marquette lineup, with Ayuen Akot and Abbey Cracknell taking the floor for their first time on the evening and finishing their last regular season game on the Al McGuire Court in the blue & gold together.
“I love my teammates, my team is a big part of why I play basketball,” Vice said. “I love the team part of the game, they’re all so different from each other, but they all bring something so special to this team. I love playing, practicing and hanging out with them.”
This article was written by Mikey Severson. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MikeySeversonMU.
