Golden Eagles Use Defense to Shut Down Sacred Heart

Dec. 21, 2002

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MILWAUKEE - Marquette held Sacred Heart with out a field goal for the first 13 minutes of the second half as it extended a seven point halftime lead to 26 points. Marquette (6-2) eventually won the contest, 76-49.

The MU defense allowed just two points in that span, keeping Sacred Heart (4-2) without a field goal in its first 22 attempts in the second half.

"We talked a lot at halftime about our defense," head coach Terri Mitchell said. "I was upset at the half and they came out with first in the second half."

While the Golden Eagle extended their lead with the defense, they had all but one player score as playing time was spread around. Sophomore Katie Alsdurf (Forest Lake, Minn.) led MU's balanced attack with 12 points. Senior center Rachel Klug (Cedar Grove, Wis.) followed that with 12 points and nine rebounds. Freshman center Dawneshia Smith (Milwaukee, Wis.) led the Marquette bench with nine points. Nicole Rubino led all scorers off the bench for Sacred Heart with 14 points.

"We want many people scoring," Mitchell said. "Rachel was so unselfish in trying to get others involved."

The success of the MU defense led to success on the offensive end. Marquette allowed Sacred Heart to hit just 28.1 percent of its shots, while MU shot a season high 52.0 percent. Marquette shot 54.2 percent in the first half. The Golden Eagles scored a significant chunk of their points near the basket, owning a 32-16 advantage in that category.

"So much of shooting is being ready to shoot," Mitchell added. "It was one of our goals to get in the paint. I thought we had an advantage there. We took a big step. This was an important win heading into the break."

The Golden Eagles return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 31. MU hosts 11th ranked Notre Dame at the U.S. Cellular Arena at 2 p.m.

- MU -