Marquette Takes Down Villanova, 57-52

MILWAUKEE—The Marquette University women's basketball team finished its first pass through the BIG EAST schedule with a 57-52 win over Villanova on Sunday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center.

The Golden Eagles are 15-5 overall and 6-3 in the BIG EAST, which has them in a tie for second place in the standings.

Redshirt junior Lauren Van Kleunen and senior Isabella Spingola led MU and recorded double-doubles on the day in the game. Van Kleunen earned her first of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Spingola racked up 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on the day.

Senior Altia Anderson was just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds and junior Selena Lott dished out a career-high 10 assists to her teammates.

The game was close throughout as each team held a lead for just over 17 minutes and were knotted at 26 at halftime. The squads remained in a tie at 43 points heading into the final quarter, but ultimately, the Golden Eagles' defense was spectacular and held Villanova (11-9, 5-4) to just nine points in the fourth quarter leading to the win.

MU used an inside presence to top the Wildcats, scoring 40 of its 57 points in the paint, while outrebounding 'Nova, 47-26, including 18 offensive boards. The Golden Eagles also shot 40.7 percent from the floor, which is the 17th game this season that the squad has shot better than 40 percent.

Villanova was led by Maddy Siegrist with 25 points, while Mary Gedaka added 16.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles host Providence on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. CT.

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Lauren Van Kleunen's post-game interview: