#MUWBB Opens BIG EAST Play Against Providence

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette women's basketball team is set to take on the Providence Friars to open BIG EAST play on Friday, Dec. 4. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. Central time on FloHoops.com while GoMarquette.com will provide live stats.

The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 17-5, and have won the past six games in the series. MU won by double figures (85-55 at home, 60-50 on the road) in 2019-20.

Led by second year head coach Megan Duffy, the Golden Eagles are 1-1 in 2020-21. MU started off the year with a road win over North Dakota on Sunday before dropping its home opener to Milwaukee on Wednesday.

The Golden Eagles are coming off a 24-8 (13-5 BIG EAST) season in which they finished as the conference runner-up and advanced to the BIG EAST tournament title game for the fourth straight year.

Second Team All-BIG EAST selection Selena Lott (12 ppg.) and fellow senior Lauren Van Kleunen (11 ppg.) anchor an MU team that returns eight letterwinners and three starters from 2019-20.

Providence is led by head coach Jim Crowley, who is in his fifth year in 2020-21. The Friars return seven upperclassmen from last year's team that went 13-19 (3-15 BIG EAST).

In Crowley's third season in 2018-19, he led PC to the WNIT, marking the program's first postseason appearance since 2010.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
The game will be live steamed on FloHoops.com and the FloSports app. Patrick Reed will be on the call alongside color commentator Megan McKeown. Live stats will also be available on the team website. Follow along on Twitter @MarquetteWBB for live in-game updates.

GAME DETAILS
Marquette (1-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Providence (2-2, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Al McGuire Center
Milwaukee, Wis.
Friday, Dec. 4
2 p.m. CT

LIVE COVERAGE
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

STARTING FIVE
• Dec. 4 is the earliest date that Marquette has ever begun BIG EAST play. Their previous earliest was against West Virginia on Dec. 6, 2006.
• The Golden Eagles have won four of their past five BIG EAST home openers, including an 85-46 win over Providence on Dec. 29, 2018.
• Despite the loss to Milwaukee, sophomore Camryn Taylor continues to shine. After tallying her second career double-double at UND, she netted a career-high of 27 points against the Panthers Wednesday.
• MU was 6-1 last season in games after losses. Just once did it lose two games in a row.
• Starting Friday, MU's BIG EAST games will all be shown on FloHoops.com or on the FloHoops app. It's a subscription-based service that can be purchased either monthly or annually.

SCOUTING THE FRIARS
• Led by fifth-year head coach Jim Crowley, the Friars completed the 2019-20 season with a 13-19 overall record and a 3-15 mark in the BIG EAST (eighth place). They're currently 2-2 on the year.
• Seven of the 10 players on PC's roster are upperclassmen, including four seniors and three juniors.
• Junior forward Mary Baskerville leads PC in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 reb.). The three-year starter is coming off a sophomore season in which she averaged 11.8 pts and 7.6 boards, which were both good for first on the team.
• Upperclassmen guards Alyssa Geary (10.3 ppg), Chanell Williams (10.3 ppg) and Kyra Spiwak (9.3 ppg) make up most of the rest of the scoring load. No one else averages more than four points per game.
• PC defeated Bryant and Rhode Island by over 25 points each and dropped road games to Quinnipiac and Boston College to make up their 2-2 record.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST PROVIDENCE
• Marquette is 17-5 all-time against the Friars and has won the past six in a row.
• MU has won 11 of the past 12 in the series, with the loss coming in a 66-64 thriller at Providence on Jan. 27, 2017.
• The Golden Eagles have taken the past five games at the Al McGuire Center between the two teams.
• PC last emerged victoriously in Milwaukee on Jan. 23, 2015, with a 66-58 win.

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.

CAMRYN TAYLOR BUILDING OFF STRONG FRESHMAN SEASON
• The Peoria, Ill., native played in 31 games off the bench and finished fourth on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg.) on her way to BIG EAST All-Freshman Team honors in 2019-20.
• She notched 11 double figure scoring efforts in her first year in Blue & Gold. Taylor netted a then career-high of 23 points in a road win over Seton Hall in January.
• Taylor is picking up where she left off this year, averaging team-highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds.
• She netted a career-best 27 points against MKE after notching a double-double (17 pts/11 reb) at UND.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
• The Golden Eagles went 13-2 at home in 2019-20, including a perfect 9-0 record in BIG EAST play.
• Their only losses were to Northwestern and Mississippi State, who each finished ranked in the top-15 nationally after last season.
• MU has won 31 of its past 36 games at the Al McGuire Center, which includes a perfect 20-0 record in the last 20 BIG EAST home games.
• The Golden Eagles haven't lost a BIG EAST home game since Feb. 4, 2018, a 74-73 loss to Creighton.
• MU hasn't lost more than four home games in a season since 2014-15 and its 36-5 in the past three seasons inside the friendly confines of the Al McGuire Center.

[JORDAN] KING ME
• Sophomore point guard Jordan King started all 32 games last year as a freshman, finishing second on the team and eighth in the BIG EAST in assists per game (3.2).
• The Rockton, Ill., native reached double figures in scoring in 10 different games, including a breakout 18-point performance at Milwaukee on Dec. 8, 2019.
• King was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on March 2, 2020 and made the conference honor roll once in December. She also made the honor roll this week after tallying a career-best 20 points in MU's season opener on Sunday.
• "We put a lot on Jordan's plate last year as a freshman starting at point guard in the BIG EAST," coach Duffy said. "The biggest difference for her this season is her confidence in her scoring ability. Her shooting percentages in practice are great, and we move her off the ball sometimes to give her different opportunities to score. She's also been phenomenal as a leader to the freshmen."

WHAT'S NEXT?
• The Golden Eagles next scheduled game is at Belmont on Sunday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. Central time.
• After the Belmont game, MU finishes up its scheduled December slate with BIG EAST games against St. John's (at home) and Seton Hall and Xavier (on the road).

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).