No. 19/19 Golden Eagles Will Host Northern Iowa on Sunday

MILWAUKEE – The No. 19/19 Marquette women's will host Northern Iowa on Sunday, Nov. 11 in the quarterfinals of the Preseason WNIT. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. Central time at the Al McGuire Center.

Marquette (2-0) downed Montana State in the tournament's opening round on Friday night, 100-52 as senior Allazia Blockton led six Golden Eagles in double digits with 23 points. Classmate Amani Wilborn was a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor for 17 points, Natisha Hiedeman added 14, junior Isabelle Spingola connected for 13 points, while senior Danielle King and redshirt sophomore Lauren Van Kleunen each tallied 11 points.

King's 11 points helped her pass the 1,000- career point scoring plateau becoming the fifth player on the current roster to reach 1,000 points. Marquette is the only team to have five active players reach the milestone.

This is the second time that the Golden Eagles will participate in the Preseason WNIT after playing in the opening year, 1994 taking on Southwest Missouri State. Marquette is one of 16 teams in this year's field and one of eight remaining through the first round.

If Marquette wins they will face the winner of Miami/Hartford on Thursday, Nov. 15 at a site to be determined.

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PROMOS

Enjoy complimentary admission for veterans and active military members. Contact tickets office for tickets 414.288.4668 or claim at door on gameday

OPPONENT

NORTHERN IOWA (1-0): Northern Iowa defeated Delaware, 79-67 on Friday night to advance to the Preseason WNIT quarterfinals. Sophomore guard Karli Rucker led four Panthers in double digits with 25 points, while Megan Maahs recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ellie Howell and Abby Gerrits posted 15 points apiece. This was UNI's season-opener.

Northern Iowa owns a 4-2 record in the all-time series with Marquette. The two squads last met on March 22,2013 in the postseason WNIT first round where the Panthers walked away with a 61-59 victory at the Al McGuire Center.

WHAT THE TEAM IS SAYING
On reaching 1,000 career points…
"It was kind of a relief because there was a lot of pressure. Everybody, my teammates, kept telling me I had four more points, so it felt more like a relief that I finally made it for my teammates because I knew they were going to be more excited than me."

On Marquette having five 1,000-point scorers…
"I think it's special, the five that we have here. We are such an unselfish team and we know we have all of these weapons and we are so invested in each other and we make sure that the five of us show the culture to the younger group."

Danielle King
Senior Guard

STORYLINES:

Senior Danielle King reached the 1,000-career scoring mark with a three-point shot at the top of the key late in the fourth quarter of MU's win over Montana State. Marquette now has five, active 1,000-point scorers led by Allazia Blockton' s 1,816 career points. Natisha Hiedeman has 1,331, Erika Davenport is at 1,187, Amani Wilborn has 1,033 and King finished the game with 1,002. Marquette is currently the only Division I program with five, 1,000-point scorers. No. 1 Notre Dame has four active 1,000-point scorers with a fifth just 200 points from the milestone.
Allazia Blockton is poised to become Marquette's all-time scoring leader in the non-conference portion of the season, breaking Krystal Ellis' record of 1,940 from 2005-09. Blockton is likely to also become the first player to surpass 2,000 career points at Marquette, male or female.
Marquette had six players reach double-digits for the first time this season on Friday night against Montana State. Last season the Golden Eagles had six players reach double figure scoring just once- in a road overtime loss to last year's national champion Notre Dame.
The Golden Eagles have dished out more than 20 assists in both games played this season. MU handed out 22 helpers in the season-opening win over South Dakota State and gave out 24 assists in the win over Montana State.
Head coach Carolyn Kieger's high scoring offense is shining though in both games this season. MU is averaging 95.5 points per game through two games played.
Blockton was tabbed as unanimous BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year and is the reigning league player of the year and scholar-athlete of the year. Davenport, Hiedeman and Wilborn were all picked to the BIG EAST Preseason Team.
The Golden Eagles spent the summer on a foreign tour in Australia from August 9-20. The team played four games overseas and experienced quite a few adventures, including snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge and visiting the Sydney Opera House.
Head coach Carolyn Kieger enters her fifth season at the helm of the Golden Eagles. She has guided Marquette to its most wins in any two-year span in program history with 49, including back-to-back 20-win campaigns. Kieger's record at Marquette stands at 74-56.
Marquette earned an at-large bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, reaching the second round for the first time since 2011 and just the fifth time in program history, also marking the first time since 1999-2000 the Golden Eagles have made back-to-back trips to the Big Dance.