#MUWBB Outlasts Saint Mary's, 77-63

MORAGA, California — Selena Lott and Lauren Van Kleunen scored 18 points apiece as the Marquette University women's basketball team defeated Saint Mary's 77-63 in game one of the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic on Friday afternoon.

MU shot 46 percent from the floor and held SMC to 38.7 percent for the game. The Golden Eagles led by five points at halftime but broke the game open with a 16-6 run early in the second half before taking a 63-50 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Gaels would get no closer than 12 points in the final frame as MU sealed the game by hitting eight of its final 11 shots from the foul line.

Both teams started off hot offensively with the Golden Eagles hitting 10 of their 20 shots and SMC hitting eight of 14 (57 percent) in the first quarter.

MU hit all four of its 3-pointers in the first quarter as Lott hit two, Spingola hit one and King ended the first quarter with a buzzer-beater to put the Golden Eagles up by four.

SMC started the game on an 8-2 run before MU grabbed its first lead with 2:33 left in the first quarter and never looked back. The Golden Eagles led for the final 32:27 of the game.

Van Kleunen tied a season-high with her 18 points while Lott hit double figures for the fifth time in six games this season. She's also hit at least one 3-pointer in 12 straight games dating back to last season.

Freshman Jordan King chipped in 13 points and tied a career-high with seven rebounds in 34 minutes on Friday afternoon. Senior Isabelle Spingola finished with nine points and a season-best 10 rebounds, which was also a game-high.

SMC's Emily Codding led all scorers with 20 points after hitting eight of her 13 shots from the field and all four of her tries from behind the arc. The Gaels had four players reach double figures but had just seven points from the rest of their team.

It's the sixth time in seven games this season that MU has held its opponent below 40 percent shooting. MU has shot at least 44 percent from the field in six of seven games in 2019-20.

UP NEXT
The Golden Eagles close out the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. CT when they take on Tulsa. Live stats for the game will be available on SMCGaels.com while WatchStadium.com will have the live stream.