Marquette University Athletics
Golden Eagles Reach New Heights in Women's Basketball
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
May 20, 1999
Head Coach Terri Mitchell's Marquette women's basketball team flew through the 1998-99 season with a determination to take care of business. And that it did, earning a share of its first ever Conference USA regular-season championship and becoming the first team in the history of the program to both win 20 or more games, and qualify for the NCAA Tournament, in three consecutive seasons. Individual accomplishments were recorded along the way, but those were set aside as the Golden Eagles concentrated on team goals and rallied strong to the finish.
Under the guidance of third-year head coach Mitchell, the undermanned Golden Eagles became a tight-knit unit, knocking off a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in the season and working together to come back from an 0-2 league start to post a 21-8 overall record. Juniors Lisa Oldenburg and Abbie Willenborg once again led the way on the court for Marquette, with each of them garnering all conference accolades for the second-consecutive season. Willenborg was named to the All-C-USA First Team for the second straight season after leading Marquette with 16.8 points per game and pacing the league with 9.9 rebounds per game and 15 double-doubles (points-rebounds). Named to both the All-C-USA Second Team and the C-USA All-Tournament Team for the second consecutive season, Oldenburg was the only player in C-USA to finish among the league leaders in scoring (13.9 ppg), rebounds (8.6), steals (1.8 spg), field goal percentage (.562) and blocked shots (1.6 bpg). Both of the 6-2 juniors surpassed 1,000 career points during the season, with Willenborg concluding the year fifth on both the all-time Marquette career scoring list and the all-time Marquette career rebounding list.
Having all-conference caliber teammates such as Oldenburg and Willenborg to rely on helped Kristi Johnson's transition to the college game. The 5-6 freshman took over the point guard duties from day one and established herself as one of the up-and-coming players to watch in C-USA. Johnson averaged 8.4 points and 3.7 assists per game while ranking among the league leaders in both three point shooting and free throw percentage on her way to earning C-USA All-Freshman Team honors.
Also having a breakout season for the Golden Eagles was sophomore forward Heidi Bowman, who averaged 11.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Starting every game at the small forward spot after coming off the bench the previous season, Bowman was one of the most improved players in the league and concluded the year as one of the hottest shooters in the midwest. She paced Marquette by hitting 36% of her shots from beyond the arc.
Rounding out the start was shooting guard Keisha Oliver. The 5-9 junior made a smooth transition to shooting guard, opening the season-high 24 points at Loyola Chicago, and never looked back. Oliver averaged 10.0 points, 3.9 boards and 2.6 assists.
Corey Bronson and Meghan Sheehan provided the senior leadership and emotional backbone for a team that carried only 10 players on the active roster for a majority of the season. Both seniors had career years for the Golden Eagles and each stepped up to provide the extra rebound, pick or defense whenever they were asked.
The remainder of the roster was relatively young, but grew up fast in the competitive C-USA. Sophomore Ebony Williams and freshmen Kelly Auger and Sarah Zawodny each averaged over 10 minutes of playing time per game and turned in key memorable performances as the Golden Eagles strived for another trip to the Big Dance.
That trip was not an easy one for Marquette, but it was obviously fulfilling. Early-season victories over nationally-ranked Florida and rival Wisconsin had the Golden Eagles moving up the charts before they opened their league slate 0-2. Marquette rebounded to win 13 of its final 15 regular-season games and advanced to the C-USA Tournament semifinals with a dramatic, come-from-behind victory over Memphis in the quarterfinals.
Earning its highest seed ever, #8 Marquette battled #9 Kansas in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at West Lafayette, Ind. Competing down another player after losing Johnson to an injury midway through the first half, the Golden Eagles battled the nationally-ranked Jayhawks to a draw for a majority of the game. However, the physical Jayhawks wore down the Golden Eagles, winning 64-58.
The loss to Kansas, however, did nothing to diminish another record-breaking season for the Golden Eagles under Mitchell. Marquette continued to make a name for itself on the women's collegiate basketball scene and had their first taste of a league title, setting the stage for what should be an exciting 1999-2000 season.
