Ellis Scores Career-High 29 in Marquette Loss in BIG EAST Tournament

March 4, 2006

HARTFORD, Conn. - Krystal Ellis scored a career-high 29 points as the no. 9 seeded Golden Eagles dropped a 68-46 decision to no. 8 Villanova in the quarterfinal round of the 2006 BIG EAST Championship this afternoon at the Hartford Civic Center.

Ellis - who a day earlier was selected to the conference's All-Freshman team - connected on 8-of-14 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from the perimeter. She connected on 9-for-10 from the charity stripe and also registered four steals.

"We're disappointed that we came out flat and did not represent Marquette in our first BIG EAST Championship." said head coach Terri Mitchell. "You have to give Villanova a lot of credit, they played great. We did not want to leave this early, but good luck to Villanova and the rest of the teams this weekend."

Both teams started slow out of the gate, offensively, connecting on just 5 of their first 21 shots combined. A Kamm jumper with 14:31 to go gave the Golden Eagles a 6-5 lead early on. But from there, Villanova's three-point accuracy - and Marquette's cold shooting - led to a 16-2 run over a nine-minute span, as the Wildcats took a 21-8 advantage. A steal and layup by Ellis with 4:24 to play in the frame ended the run.

On its next possession, Villanova would answer with its sixth trifecta, taking its biggest lead of the half at 24-10. But Marquette would close out the half with 10-4 push, paced by seven points from Ellis and capped by a three at the top of the key by Kamm. The Golden Eagles trailed 28-20 at the break. They shot just 8-of-27 from the floor (29.6%), including just 2-of-10 from the perimeter (20.0%). Ellis had 11 points while Kamm tallied seven points and seven rebounds in the first half.

"We talked a lot more about our offense than our defense in the locker room at the half." Mitchell said. "We only scored 20 points and shot under 30 percent."

Villanova began the second half on a 9-0 run through the first 3:41 of play, before Ellis converted a fastbreak layup after a steal. That score cut the Wildcats lead to 15 points, at 38-27. The freshman guard from Racine tallied the first 12 points of the half for the Golden Eagles. She connected on a three-pointer with 12:03 to play, which cut the deficit to 11 points (43-32).

But Marquette would get no closer, as Villanova went on a 16-0 run over the next five minutes, taking a 59-32 lead with 7:07 to play. VU led by as many as 30 points - at 68-38, with 2:36 in regulation. Of the 23 Wildcats field goals, 12 were from three-point land.

"We switched up our defense, between man and zone, but we just couldn't stop them from shooting from the outside." said Mitchell.

Danielle Kamm registered a double-double, with 10 points and 11 rebounds - including six on the offensive end. She also added two blocks in 29 minutes off the bench.

For the game, Marquette would shoot just 28.3% from the floor (15-53), including 31.6% from beyond the arc (6-19). The starting frontcourt of Christina Quaye, Svetlana Kovalenko, and Jasmine McCullough combined to shoot just 3-for-19 from the field. They committed 15 turnovers but won the battle of the boards, 37-32.

"Our post players did not score. They're our leading scorers and we're going to have trouble winning if they don't put it in." Mitchell stated.