#MUWBB Takes Down Xavier 69-56

CINCINNATI, Ohio- The Marquette women's basketball team defeated Xavier 69-56 on Tuesday afternoon to head into the holiday break with a 6-1 (3-0 BIG EAST) record. The Golden Eagles have won five straight games, with three of those wins coming in conference play.

Eight different Golden Eagles scored between five and 13 points in an extremely balanced team effort. Senior guard Selena Lott scored 11 of her team-high 13 points in the second half to help MU earn the 13-point victory. Lauren Van Kleunen added nine points and tied a season-high with seven rebounds.

After leading by just four points after the first 10 minutes, the Golden Eagles played a strong second quarter, outscoring the Musketeers (3-3, 0-2 BIG EAST) 20-10 and holding them to just 4-of-16 (25%) from the floor to race out to a 14-point halftime lead.

Jordan King led the way with eight first half points while LVK had six along with all seven of her rebounds.

Marquette led by as many as 23 points in the second half and didn't let the lead shrink any lower than 10 in the final 20 minutes of play.

The Golden Eagles won the battle on the glass, 40-24, and held Xavier to just 34% (22-63) shooting from the floor. MU shot a scorching 56% (29/51) from the field, its highest single-game shooting percentage this season.

Nia Clark had a team-high 17 points for Xavier. A'riana Gray and Aaliyah Dunham each tallied 10 points for the Musketeers.

POSTGAME NOTES:
-MU won the rebounding battle for the 36^th time in the 39 games of the Coach Duffy era.
-The Golden Eagles moved to 5-0 this season and 18-3 under Coach Duffy when shooting over 45% from the field.
-MU has now started BIG EAST play 3-0 in three out of the past four seasons.
-MU shot a season-high 56.9% (29/51) from the field.
-Selena Lott registered her 39th career double-figure scoring game (13 points).
-Lauren Van Kleunen missed scoring in double figures for just the first time in the last 12 games, scoring nine points.
-Liza Karlen set a new career-high with 10 points, tallying her first double figure scoring effort at MU.
-Antwainette Walker has scored at least six points in three of the past four games.
-MU tallied over 20 bench points for the second time in a game this season (Dec. 4 vs. Providence).
-The Golden Eagles move to 5-0 this season when leading at the half.
-Six Golden Eagles scored between eight and 13 points.

UP NEXT:
Marquette will host DePaul after the holidays on Jan. 3, 2021 at the Al McGuire Center. The Golden Eagles (3-0 BIG EAST) will play 17 more conference games after the new year.

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).