Marquette University Athletics
Golden Eagles No Stranger to Comebacks
1/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
It is not by plan, but three times this season it has happened. Marquette goes down by double-digits in the second half, only to rally back strong en route to victory.
On Dec. 6, the Golden Eagles (13-4, 4-2 BIG EAST) trailed by 17 against St. John's, with just under 18:00 to play and won by three - 60-57. Less than two weeks later, MU trailed by 10 points at home versus Wis.-Milwaukee, only to find a groove and win by eight.
And last time out - this past Saturday at West Virginia - Marquette pulled off a comeback for the ages...and the record book. Trailing by 21 points early on - at 23-2 - and then by 20 early in the second half, the Golden Eagles made a strong run and beat the Mountaineers, 80-75, on their home court.
Freshman Krystal Ellis scored 19 of her game and career-high 23 points in the second half, including connecting on 5-of-5 from the perimeter. For her efforts this past week, Ellis was selected as the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Monday. Three others tallied double-figures, as Danielle Kamm and Svetlana Kovalenko each tallied 14 points and Christina Quaye added 10. Carolyn Kieger had nine points and eight assists for the game, in which MU shot a season-best 56.8% from the floor - and almost 70% in the second frame.
"We're fighters. We believe no game is out of our reach until the 40 minutes are up." said head coach Terri Mitchell. "In the locker room at the half, we told the team that we believed in them."
"We did not play even close to our potential. Not to take away from the job that West Virginia did on us in the first half, but we did not play our game."
Mitchell added. "In the second half, we did a much better job with taking care of the ball, getting the shots we wanted. And the hot shooting from Krystal and Danielle certainly helped."
Ellis and Kamm combined to shoot 9-of-10 from three-point land in the second half, as their Marquette teammates consistently found them open beyond the arc.
"Our freshman are starting to understand that they are to be contributors, not participants." Mitchell explained. "And at West Virginia, Krystal had the hot hand. It's a real credit to our team and their selfless play that they kept feeding her and Danielle."
In the process of erasing the 21-point deficit, Marquette tied the second-best comeback, all-time, in NCAA Division I women's basketball history. In March of 2000, Oregon came back from being 22-down against Arizona to win. Earlier this month, Dartmouth came back from a 21-point margin to beat Siena in overtime.
Marquette will look to build off the momentum of the West Virginia win and attempt to win its fourth straight game tomorrow as it travels to Philadelphia for its first-ever meeting with Villanova.
The Wildcats (11-6, 2-4) are coming off a 65-55 loss to St. John's at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 21. Villanova trailed by as many as 16 points midway through the second half, but rallied to get within four points late in the game. So far this season, the Wildcats are 5-2 at home - including a 2-1 mark in conference play at the Pavilion.
Villanova is led offensively by Liad Suez-Karni's 15.9 points per game. The senior from Israel also leads the team with 46 three-pointers made. Jackie Adamshick (11.5 ppg) and Kate Dessart-Mager (9.3) round out VU's top scorers.
"They are different than any other team we have faced this season." said Mitchell. "Essentially, they play five guards and all five can shoot or take it to the basket. They're a very smart and disciplined team, so if you make a mistake, they will make you pay for it. We need to give their players, Harry Perretta, and their staff all the respect they deserve. They have a style of play and they use the clock very, very well"
Mitchell added, "We need to make sure we don't go down early."
But, if they do, know that it was not by design. And also know that the Golden Eagles will not panic. They've been there before.
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