MU Heads to St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic

MILWAUKEE— The Marquette women's basketball team will be traveling to Moraga, California over the Thanksgiving break to participate in back-to-back games on Friday, Nov. 29 and Saturday, Nov. 30 as a part of the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic. The first contest will be against the host school Saint Mary's with tipoff set for 4 p.m. CT. Saturday's matchup is slated for 2 p.m. CT against Tulsa.

The contest against St. Mary's will stream live and for free, but there is no available stream for MU vs. Tulsa.

The Golden Eagles (4-2) are coming off of a close-fought battle against the No. 10 team in the country in Mississippi State, falling 74-68 on Monday. The team stayed hot throughout the entire game, shooting a scorching 49.1% from the field and 47.6% from three as they were led by Isabelle Spingola (18), Selena Lott (16), and Jordan King (16). Defensively, Marquette held Mississippi State to just 35.7% shooting and 74 points, nearly 30 under their season average thus far. Altia Anderson and Lauren Van Kleunen each grabbed seven boards, while Chloe Marotta handed out five assists.

Marquette has three players that average double digits this season as Selena Lott leads with 17.4 points per game, while Isabelle Spingola and Lauren Van Kleunen add 12.7 and 10 points per game, respectively. On the defensive side, both Chloe Marotta and Altia Anderson are pulling down 7.7 boards per game.

UP NEXT: Marquette will travel across town to take on inter-city foe Milwaukee on Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. CT.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
LIVE STATS: (Both games) https://smcgaels.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
WATCH: (St. Mary's) https://wccsports.com/watch/?id=6091873272001

OPPONENTS
SAINT MARY'S (2-3): The Gaels are led by junior Emily Codding who averages nearly a double-double with 15 points and eight rebounds per game. Three other starters are averaging double-digit points for Saint Mary's, including sophomore Sam Simmons who is averaging 14.6 points per game. The team is coming off a tough 87-70 loss to No. 14 NC State and is set to face Western Kentucky in addition to MU this weekend.

TULSA (3-2): Tulsa is led by senior Kendrian Elliot who is averaging 18.6 points and nine rebounds per game so far on the season. Alexis Gaulden averages 11 points and 3.8 assists as well. The team is coming off of a 75-56 win over Loyola Marymount and is set to face Western Kentucky on Friday before taking on MU on Saturday. This will be the first road trip of the season for the Hurricanes.

THE SERIES
Saint Mary's and Marquette will meet for the fourth time in history with the Golden Eagles owning a 3-0 record overall. The two squads have not met since the 2001 season. Saturday will be the first meeting between Marquette and Tulsa.

WHAT THE TEAM IS SAYING:
On losing against No. 10 Miss. State
"What a great basketball game today. The number of Marquette fans we had come out today gave the game a fun atmosphere to play in. It was such a great experience for our young team with people in new roles to host one of the best teams in the country. Overall, I'm really proud of our team for hanging in there and having a chance to win it at the end. The big stat that Mississippi State does better than anybody in the country is their ability to force turnovers and make you play out of control. It showed at times as we struggled to get the ball up the court and fouled a few too many times."
-Megan Duffy
Head Coach