No. 8/7 Marquette Cruises Past Villanova, 93-55

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Natisha Hiedeman scored 22 points, Allazia Blockton had 19 and No. 8 Marquette beat Villanova 93-55 on Sunday for its 12th consecutive victory.

Marquette (21-3, 12-0 Big East) gained control with an 18-4 run to close the first quarter and cruised the rest of the way. The Golden Eagles have not lost since an 87-63 defeat at home against then-No. 2 Notre Dame on Dec. 22.

Marquette, sluggish in a 59-52 victory at home over Georgetown on Friday, led 25-12 after one quarter and extended it to 46-21 at the half. The Golden Eagles led 72-42 entering the final period.

Jannah Tucker had 15 points on five 3-pointers, and Mary Gedaka added 12 points for Villanova (15-9, 6-7).

Senior forward Erika Davenport, Marquette's leading rebounder, left the game with 2:34 left in the third quarter with an apparent leg injury. Davenport, who surpassed 1,000 career rebounds against Georgetown, entered averaging 11.9 points and 9.7 rebounds.

Kelly Jekot scored on a drive to put Villanova up 8-7, but Davenport answered with consecutive layups on the right side to give the Golden Eagles the lead for good.

Marquette methodically increased its lead throughout the second quarter. Isabelle Spingola hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 44-19 lead.

The Golden Eagles shot 60 percent in the first half, scoring 24 points in the paint and 17 off fast breaks. Villanova tried to counter from outside, but was just 1 of 13 from beyond the arc in the first half.

BIG PICTURE
Villanova: The Wildcats had won four straight before losing Friday night at DePaul. The Wildcats next three games are at home, where they are 8-3.

Marquette: With two weekend victories, the Golden Eagles have clinched a first-round bye in the Big East tournament. Marquette's No. 8 ranking is the highest in program history and the highest for a Big East team since the conference realignment.

UP NEXT
Villanova hosts Georgetown on Saturday.
Marquette is at St. John's on Friday.