Golden Eagles Fall at Louisville, 70-58

Feb. 23, 2006

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Jasmine McCullough scored 12 points and Carolyn Kieger 11 as Marquette dropped a 70-58 decision to Louisville at Freedom Hall tonight. It is the third straight loss to the Cardinals, dating back to last season in Conference USA play.

The Golden Eagles struggled out of the gate, missing their first nine attempts from the floor, as Louisville raced out to a 7-0 lead. MU got on the board on a Christina Quaye layup with 14:59 left in the half.

"It's tough to win on the road in the BIG EAST, let alone when you start off slow." said head coach Terri Mitchell. "We missed 10 layups in the first half, but you have to give Louisville credit on defense. They did a good job."

The Cardinals led 13-4 with 11:30 to go, before Carolyn Kieger knocked down a jumper from the foul line and Quaye added a triple, making it 13-9 with just under 10 minutes to play.

Louisville responded with six unanswered points of its own over the next two minutes, to take a 10-point lead (19-9) with 7:48 to go. They led by as many as 16 points - 28-12 - with 3:26 to play, but Marquette closed the half on a 6-0 push, making it 28-18 at the break. MU shot just 21.9% (7-32) and were outrebounded 27-19 in the first half. Kieger and Quaye each had five points.

Louisville started the second half scoring four quick points, but Marquette would quickly add four of its own as the two teams traded baskets for the first four minutes of play. Marissa Thrower converted a traditional three-point play with 15:50 to play, cutting the Cardinals lead to just nine - at 36-27.

But the Cardinals would counter, going on a 12-6 push to take a 48-33 advantage with 10:47 left in regulation. Marquette answered with another run - 10-4 - capped by two Tierra Shirley free throws, making it 52-43 with 7:24 to play. But that was as close as MU would get as Louisville would deliver its final run - a 14-8 push over the next four minutes - going up by 15 points (66-51) with 3:30 to play.

"We played even with them in the second half, but that's not enough to win. We made runs, they answered." said Mitchell.

Quaye had nine points and nine rebounds while Svetlana Kovalenko also added nine points.

For the game, Marquette shot just 35.6% (21-59) - including just 4-of-16 from the outside. They connected on 12-of-17 from the charity stripe (70.6%) and were outrebounded by the Cardinals, 39-33. They dished out 12 assists and committed 16 turnovers.

Next up for Marquette will be St. John's on Wednesday. The Golden Eagles downed the Red Storm, 60-57, on Dec. 6 at the Al McGuire Center.