Marquette University Athletics
Marquette University
Basketball Travelers (exh.)
Women's Basketball Suffers 77-71 Loss In Exhibition Opener
11/6/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 6, 1999
MILWAUKEE -- The Marquette women's basketball team made a forgettable 1999-2000 debut this evening with a 77-71 loss to the Soproni Postas Basketball Club of Hungary in the team's exhibition opener. The Golden Eagles clawed their way back from a 22-point halftime deficit but were hurt by 19 missed free throws and the loss of Abbie Willenborg.
"Whether it was nerves or expectations from our preseason rankings, we didn't come ready to play in the first half," Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell said. "We were paralyzed out there. And then, 19 missed free throws is certainly not acceptable."
Soproni Postas built a sizeable lead in the first half behind the hot shooting of Csilla Fodor, who tallied 15 of her game-high 23 points in the opening frame. Marquette countered with Willenborg, who put in 10 points and grabbed five boards in the first half. However, the rest of the Golden Eagles had trouble finding the bottom of the net, as Marquette shot only 22% in the first half. Conversely, Soproni Postas hit 59% of its field goal tries and took a 46-24 advantage into the break.
"Part of the first half was my fault," Mitchell said. "We were subbing a lot and changing defenses a lot, and we couldn't find a rhythm. Coaches need exhibition games, too."
Behind the hot hand of Kiesha Oliver, Marquette surged in the second half. The senior shooting guard collected all 15 of her points in the second half and spearheaded a more focused Golden Eagle defense after the intermission. Marquette cut the lead to five with just over nine minutes left despite the fact that Willenborg had left the game a minute earlier with an injured left knee. Marquette struggled at the line, though, going 10-31 from the charity stripe in the second half while the Hungarian squad drained 11 of 14 from the line to hold off Marquette.
"Our full-court defense, which we haven't practiced yet, helped us out in the second half," Mitchell said. "We have a mature team that realized it was do or die and they fought hard. We had some people step it up and we got to see how some people handled that situation with Abbie out of the lineup."
The biggest loss of the evening may be that of Willenborg, who got tangled up and fell to the court hard at the 11:14 mark with a strained left meniscus. The Preseason All-Conference USA selection will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of the injury. She finished the game with 18 points and seven rebounds.
The Golden Eagles conclude their preseason schedule with a game against Athletes In Action at the Milwaukee Arena on Wed., Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. (CT).
SOPRONI POSTAS 77, MARQUETTE 71
SOPRONI POSTAS (2-1)
Fodor 10-15 2-2 23, Ambrus 7-9 0-0 14, Biro 5-10 3-6 13, Delmis 0-1 8-8 8, Szenes 2-5 0-2 5, Bakai 3-8 0-0 6, Engleert 0-0 0-0 0, Hadarics 0-0 2-2 2, Ordog 1-2 0-0 2, Szemeredi 2-9 0-0 4. Totals 30-59 15-20 77.
MARQUETTE (0-1)
Willenborg 7-17 4-7 18, Oldenburg 2-9 4-9 8, Zawodny 0-5 4-4 4, Johnson 0-6 0-2 0, Oliver 5-10 4-7 15, Gales 1-2 0-0 2, Ristau 1-4 1-2 4, Williams 4-9 0-0 9, Bowman 2-6 1-2 5, Seffern 1-3 4-8 6. Totals 23-71 22-41 71.
Halftime - Soproni Postas 46, Marquette 24. 3-point goals-Soproni Postas 2-6 (Fodor 1-1, Delmis 0-1, Szenes 1-2, Szemeredi 0-2), Marquette 3-15 (Willenborg 0-1, Johnson 0-2, Oliver 1-1, Gales 0-1, Ristau 1-4, Williams 1-3, Bowman 0-2, Seffern 0-1). Fouled out-Soproni Postas (Ambrus, Biro). Rebounds-Soproni Postas 50 (Biro 10), Marquette 40 (Oldenburg 10). Assists-Soproni Postas 22 (Szenes 8), Marquette 9 (Johnson 5). Total fouls- Soproni Postas 28, Marquette 20. A-384.
