#MUWBB Begins 2020-21 Season at UND

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette women's basketball team tips off its 2020-21 season on Sunday, Nov. 29 against the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks.

The game will tip off at 1 p.m. Central time and FOX Sports Wisconsin will carry television coverage. This will be the first ever meeting on the hardwood between the two teams.

Led by second year head coach Megan Duffy, the Golden Eagles are coming off a 24-8 (13-5 BIG EAST) season in which they finished as the conference runner-up and advanved to the BIG EAST tournament title game for the fourth straight year.

Second Team All-BIG EAST selection Selena Lott (15.5 ppg.) and fellow senior Lauren Van Kleunen (11.8 ppg.) will anchor an MU team that returns eight letterwinners and three starters from 2019-20.

Sophomores Jordan King (8.1 ppg.) and Camryn Taylor (9.3 ppg.) will continue to be key pieces in their second years in the program. King started every game as a freshman while Taylor was named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.

The Fighting Hawks (15-15, 6-10 Big Sky) are led by interim head coach and UND alum Mallory Bernhard ('11). They return their top six scorers from last season and played seven true freshmen in 2019-20.

Bernhard worked seven seasons as an assistant coach for UND before being named interim head coach last March when it was announced former head coach Travis Brewster would not return to the program in 2020-21.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
The game will be televised on FOX Sports Wisconsin. Live stats for Sunday's game can be found at FightingHawks.com. Follow along on Twitter @MarquetteWBB for live in-game updates.

GAME DETAILS
Marquette (0-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) at North Dakota (0-0, 0-0 Summit League)
Betty Engelstad Sioux Center
Grand Forks, N.D.
Sunday, Nov. 29
1 p.m. CT

LIVE COVERAGE
LIVE STREAM | LISTEN | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

STARTING FIVE:
• The Marquette women's basketball program is 27-18 all-time in season-opening games, which includes a 14-6 record in its last 20 openers.
• Over the past 10 years, MU is 8-2 against teams hailing from the Summit League.
• Only three times in the last 15 years have the Golden Eagles played a true road game to start their season. They defeated Evansville on the road in 2005-06 before losing to Green Bay (2015-16) and New Mexico (2017-18) in their past two.
• MU went a perfect 4-0 in non-conference true road games last season under coach Duffy.
• The Golden Eagles were 8-6 in true road games in 2019-20.

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS
• UND finished 15-15 with seven true freshmen on the roster in 2019-20, marking its first record of .500 or better since 2016-17.
• The Fighting Hawks freshmen class accounted for almost 43% of the team's scoring in 2019-20.
• UND returns over 90% of its scoring and rebounding this year.
• They're led by senior captain Julia Fleecs, who started all 30 games for the Fighting Hawks last year. She led the team with 12.2 points per game, posting three double-doubles and five 20-point games.
• The Fighting Hawks received 203 points in The Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll, predicting them to take eighth.

MU PICKED THIRD, LOTT NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
• The Golden Eagles were picked by their peers to finish third in the BIG EAST in 2020-21.
• National power UConn, in its return to the BIG EAST, received 10 first place votes. DePaul, the reigning conference champions, were picked to finish second behind the Huskies.
• 2019-20 All-BIG EAST Second Team selection Selena Lott had a breakout junior season, leading the team in scoring with 15.5 points per game.
• She was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team at the league's Virtual Media Day.
• Lott was among the league leaders in FG% (3rd, 52.5%), assists (5.6) and steals (1.8). She reached double figures in scoring 25 times and netted 20-or-more on five occasions.

SENIORS TO LEAD THE WAY IN 2020-21
• Departed seniors Isabelle Spingola (10.5 ppg.) and Altia Anderson (4.5 ppg., 6.5 reb.) are the only two regular contributors gone from a Golden Eagle team that went 24-8 (13-5 BIG EAST) in 2019-20.
• Seven of MU's top nine scorers are back this season, including senior leaders Selena Lott and Lauren Van Kleunen.
• All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree Selena Lott returns for her senior year after a breakout junior campaign saw her lead MU and finish eighth in the BIG EAST in scoring (15.5 ppg). She reached double figures 25 times and netted 20-or-more on five separate occasions.
• Redshirt senior Lauren Van Kleunen was last year's second-leading scorer at 11.9 ppg while coming down with 5.9 boards per night (second on the team).
• She played in a combined 68 games in her freshman and sophomore years, averaging 4.6 points and 3.6 rebounds off the bench before getting her first opportunity as a full-time starter last year.
• LVK ranked fifth in the conference in field goal % (.513) and notched 21 double-figure scoring outings.

SUPER SOPHS POISED FOR STRONG SECOND SEASON
• Five members of Marquette's 2019 freshman class that saw significant minutes last season are back in 2020-21 and they're looking to build off a successful first season in Blue & Gold.
• Forward Camryn Taylor, a selection to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team, was the team's first player off the bench in her first year on campus. She finished fourth on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg.) while bringing down nearly four rebounds per night.
• Rockford, Ill., native Jordan King was the lone freshman in the starting lineup last season. The crafty guard tallied 8.1 ppg while finishing second on the team in assists (3.2) while playing 30.8 minutes per game. She was also named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on March 2.
• Nirel Lougbo, Claire Kaifes and Taylor Valladay played a combined 26 minutes per game in the backcourt as reserves. A defensive specialist, Lougbo (1.5 ppg.) appeared in all 32 games while Kaifes (1.0 ppg.) played in 24 and Valladay (0.7 ppg.) made 20 appearances.

TRENDS TO KEEP AN EYE ON
• Six of Marquette's last seven victories last year were by 10 points or more. The only exception was a top-25 home win over DePaul (90-83) on Senior Day.
• MU was 3-0 in games decided by five or less in 2019-20.
• The Golden Eagles were 11-0 last year in games they scored more than 75 points.
• The team posted an 8-1 record when turning the ball over 13 times or fewer in 2019-20.
• Nine different Golden Eagles posted double figure scoring efforts in 2019-20.
• MU was set to make its fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the postseason.

WHAT'S NEXT?
• After opening its season on the road at North Dakota on Sunday, Marquette will return to Milwaukee for the home lidlifter on Wednesday, Dec. 2 against the Milwaukee Panthers at 1 p.m.
• Following Wednesday's game, the Golden Eagles begin BIG EAST play against Providence on Friday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m.
• Wednesday's game will be streamed on GoMarquette.com while Friday's tilt will be shown on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

Keep up with the Marquette women's basketball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteWBB) and Instagram (@marquettewbb) and `liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteWBB).