Blockton Eyes Scoring Record as 18/15 MU Faces rv Northwestern Sunday

MILWAUKEE – The No. 18/15 Marquette women's basketball team faces its second Big Ten opponent this season when it travels to Northwestern on Sunday in Evanston, Illinois. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. tip-off and will air live on the Big Ten Network.

Lisa Byington (play-by-play) and Vera Jones (analyst) will call the action from Welsh-Ryan Arena.

The Golden Eagles (6-2) gave No. 6 Mississippi State all it could handle on Thursday, but ultimate fell, 87-82. MU led by as many as eight points and the contest featured eight ties, 25 lead changes and a season-high 27 points from senior Danielle King.

Sunday's tilt at Northwestern is the 12th meeting all-time between both teams. It also marks the end of three out of four-game road stretch for Marquette.

After Sunday, the Golden Eagles look ahead to a season-long six-game homestand, beginning with Green Bay on Saturday, Dec. 15. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. Central time at the Al McGuire Center.

OPPONENT

NORTHWESTERN (5-2, 0-0 Big Ten): The Wildcats enter Sunday with a two-game losing streak, their first two losses of the season, after falling to Pittsburgh (52-49) and, most-recently, No. 20 DePaul (76-60) at home. The 'Cats scored a first-quarter season-high 32 points against the Blue Demons and trailed by only two points heading into the fourth quarter.

Senior forward Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah was the team's lone preseason All-Big Ten selection and is averaging 11.5 points and a team-best 11.6 rebounds per game. Lindsey Pulliam leads the squad and ranks sixth in the league in scoring with 15.6 ppg.

THE SERIES
Northwestern leads, 8-3, in a series that dates back to 1977 – Marquette's second season as a program. The two sides haven't met since 2008 when the Golden Eagles claimed a narrow 55-54 win on the road. MU has won two of the last three meetings – both in Evanston – while both sides have split the previous six matchups overall.

STORYLINES

Danielle King fell one-point shy of her career-high (28 points) in Thursday's loss at No. 6 Mississippi State. She shot 13-of-21 from the field as Marquette shot 33-of-61 (54.1 percent), including 8-of-21 from long distance, as a team. Amani Willborn collected her second double-double of the season (and career) with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Allazia Blockton is poised to become Marquette's all-time scoring leader. Sitting at 1,925 career points, the Milwaukee native is just 16 points shy of passing Krystal Ellis' ('09) record of 1,940 points. Blockton is also on pace to become the first Golden Eagle, male or female, to reach 2,000 career points.
Marquette is currently the only program is the country with five active 1,000-point scorers. Blockton (1,925) is joined by Natisha Hiedeman (1,412), Erika Davenport (1,261), Amani Wilborn (1,097) and King (1,080). Soon, No. 2 Notre Dame will also earn the distinction as it has four active 1,000-point scorers and a fifth (Jackie Young) just 66 points away (entering Saturday). Both teams will meet on Dec. 22 at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee.
Marquette ranks among the nation's leaders in several categories, including scoring offense (86.8 ppg – 9th) and scoring margin (+24.9 ppg – 14th). In addition to ranking 14th in assists per game (19.3), MU is seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.43) and 12th in turnover margin (+8.1). The team ranks 17th in the nation in 3-pointers made per game (9.5) and 18th in field goal percentage (47.6).
Individually, Hiedeman ranks sixth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (4.27). She also ranks 28th in assists per game (5.9) and 24th in total assists (47), while Blockton is 54th in points per game (18.9).
Blockton is up for two major awards. She was recently named by the WBCA Wade Trophy Watch List as one of 35 candidates in the country under consideration for the nation's top Division I women's basketball player. She is also one of 30 finalists for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, which focuses on both on-and-off the court accomplishments and encourages student-athletes to use their platforms in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Two long-standing records were broken in the Nov. 28 win over UW-Milwaukee. Blockton set the career record for made field goals with her fifth basket of the game late in the second quarter, passing Julie Sievers' 35-year-old mark of 717 made baskets. Meanwhile, Natisha Hiedeman, also in the second quarter, eclipsed Lori Goerlitz's 23-year-old career mark for 3-pointers made (221) as she knocked down four triples. She now has a career total of 226.
King became Marquette's fifth active player to reach the 1,000-career points mark with her 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter of MU's win over Montana State on Nov. 9.
Marquette had consecutive games in which six players reached double figures in scoring (Montana State and Northern Iowa). Last season, the Golden Eagles accomplished the feat just once - in an overtime loss on the road to the eventual national champions, Notre Dame.
The Golden Eagles have dished out 20 or more assists in five of eight games this season. MU handed out a season-high 24 assists against Montana State and 22 helpers against South Dakota State, UNI, UIC and Michigan. They currently rank 14th in the country with an average of 19.3 assists per game.