Marquette University Athletics
Marquette University
South Florida
Women's Basketball Doubles-Up South Florida
1/28/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2000
MILWAUKEE -
The Marquette women's basketball team raced out to an 8-2 lead in the opening moments and never looked back in shutting down Conference USA foe South Florida 82-41 tonight at the Milwaukee Arena. All three Marquette seniors reached dpuble-digits, led by Abbie Willenborg's 20, and the Golden Eagles out-rebounded the Bulls by 23 in sending South Florida to its eighth-straight loss. Marquette, which shot 52% on the evening, improves to 15-4 overall and 7-1 in the league. South Florida, which made only 13 field goals en route to 21% field-goal shooting, falls to 10-9, 1-7.
"Everyone had an enthusiasm and a passion for us out there tonight," Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell said. "Everyone took pride in all aspects of the game. It was good to see some of our other players get out there and do some different things for us."
After South Florida cut the Marquette advantage to three points (14-11) at the 11:55 mark of the first half, the Golden Eagles ran away from the Bulls, outscoring them 24-6 the rest of the half. Kiesha Oliver led the first half charge for Marquette with 11 points.
Marquette continued to build on its lead after the break as Willenborg and Oldenburg took over inside. Oldenburg finished the game with 16 points and seven rebounds and Willenborg added eight boards to her game high 20 points as the pair of seniors went 16-26 from the field. The duo also shut down South Florida's Monica Echeverria. The 5-10 senior center, who came into the game averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds per game, was held to four points and six rebounds. The Golden Eagles owned a 56-33 advantage on the boards and also blocked nine shots. Oldenburg and Willenborg each tallied three blocks. Oliver finished the contest with 15 points, while Heidi Bowman added eight. Freshman Aiya Shepard paced South Florida with 13 points, while classmate Lindsey Smith added nine.
"The coaches and players have re-committed themselves to winning a conference championship and tonight was the first step," Mitchell said. "We showed a lot of character bouncing back from the Memphis loss and we're looking to build some momentum for the stretch."
The Golden Eagles are back in the Milwaukee Arena again on Sun., Jan. 30, when they host Houston at 2 p.m. (CT).
MARQUETTE 82, SOUTH FLORIDA 41
SOUTH FLORIDA (10-9, 1-7) Stinson 0-7 0-0 0, Echeverria 1-6 2-4 4, Layne 2-9 0-1 5, D. Smith 0-3 0-0 0, Shepard 6-15 0-0 13, Leslie 0-0 0-0 0, Fairley 0-2 0-0 0, L. Smith 3-8 2-2 9, Lukic 0-2 2-4 2, A. Wilson 0-3 0-0 0, S. Wilson 0-3 0-0 0, Leggett-Smith 1-4 2-2 5, Teets 0-1 3-4 3. Totals 13-63 11-17 41.
MARQUETTE (15-4, 7-1) Oldenburg 7-14 2-2 16, Bowman 3-8 2-2 8, Willenborg 9-12 2-2 20, Johnson 2-4 0-0 6, Oliver 7-9 0-0 15, Nelson 1-3 1-2 3, Klug 0-2 0-1 0, Gales 1-6 0-0 3, Williams 1-2 3-6 5, Seffern 1-1 0-0 2, Zawodny 2-5 0-2 4. Totals 34-66 10-17 82.
Halftime_Marquette 38, USF 20. 3-point goals_USF 4-18 (Layne 1-6, Shepard 1-2, Fairley 0-2, L. Smith 1-4, S. Wilson 0-1, Leggett-Smith 1-3), Marquette 4-9 (Bowman 0-1, Johnson 2-3, Oliver 1-3, Gales 1-2). Rebounds_USF 33 (Stinson 7), Marquette 56 (Willenborg 8). Assists_USF 7 (D. Smith 4), Marquette 20 (Oldenburg 5, Oliver 5). Turnovers_USF 15, Marquette 14. Fouled out_None. Total fouls_USF 16, Marquette 16. Att_1,082.
