#MUWBB Returns to Action Against No. 18/21 DePaul

MILWAUKEE – The MU women's basketball team is back in action for the first time since Dec. 22 as the No. 18/21 DePaul Blue Demons come to town for a pivotal BIG EAST matchup. FS1 will provide television coverage with Bob Brainerd (play-by-play) and Michelle Griffin-Wenzel (analyst) on the call.

The Golden Eagles (6-1, 3-0 BIG EAST) have won five straight games since dropping a non-conference game to Milwaukee on Dec. 2, including a perfect 3-0 mark in BIG EAST play.

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 conference runner-up and advanced to the BIG EAST tournament title game for the fourth straight year.

Although MU is anchored by seniors Selena Lott (17.1 ppg.) and Lauren Van Kleunen (13.6 ppg.), the team returns eight letterwinners and three starters from last year. This includes BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection Camryn Taylor, who's averaging 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds as a sophomore this year.

Under Duffy, the Golden Eagles are 30-9 overall, having won 77% of the games in her tenure thus far. Duffy is 74-29 overall as a head coach.

DePaul (5-3, 2-1 BIG EAST) is led by 35th-year head coach Doug Bruno, a man who has transformed the Blue Demons into a consistent national power, making 17 straight NCAA tournaments.

Under Bruno, DU has won at least a share of the BIG EAST regular season title in six of the past seven seasons. This year, the Blue Demons have faced a challenging schedule, playing four top-10 teams in their first eight games in Texas A&M, Louisville, Kentucky and UConn.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
The game will be televised on FS1 with streaming available on the FOX Sports app. Live stats will be available GoMarquette.com. Make sure to follow along on Twitter @MarquetteWBB for live in-game updates.

GAME DETAILS
Marquette (6-1, 3-0 BIG EAST) vs. No. 18/21 DePaul (5-3, 2-1 BIG EAST)
Al McGuire Center
Milwaukee, Wis.
Sunday, Jan. 3
1 p.m. CT

LIVE COVERAGE
LIVE STATS | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

LAST TIME OUT
• MU defeated Xavier 69-56 on Dec. 22 to head into the holiday break with a 6-1 (3-0 BIG EAST) record.
• 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.
• 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.

STARTING FIVE
• The Golden Eagles are 16-5 in the BIG EAST under Coach Duffy, including a perfect 10-0 record at home.
• Coach Duffy coached her 100th career game as a head coach on Thursday, Dec. 10. She holds a 74-29 (.718) overall record, including a 30-9 (.769) mark at Marquette. Coach Duffy holds the best coaching record in program history through her first 39 games as the head coach. The next closest was Terri Mitchell (1996-14), who went 27-12 through her first 39 games.
• The Golden Eagles are 22-1 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 13-1 when they turn the ball over fewer times than their opponent.
• MU is 17-2 when scoring more than 70 points under Coach Duffy and 20-2 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.
• In the 39 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have outrebounded their opponent in 36 of those games (28-8 record). They'll look to continue that streak this weekend.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEMONS
• In addition to winning BIG EAST games against Georgetown (72-54) and Creighton (90-81), DU took down No. 9 Kentucky (86-82) for its signature win on Dec. 16. DU also defeated Loyola and Chicago State.
• The Blue Demons have won 20 or more games in 24 of Coach Bruno's 35 seasons at the helm, including each of the last 13 seasons.
• Sonya Morris (17.4 ppg) was recognized as one of the top 20 shooting guards in the nation prior to this season. She leads DePaul in scoring after being named second team all-conference and the BIG EAST Most Improved Player in 2019-20.
• Dee Bekelja (14.6 ppg) is DU's second leading scorer and its leading rebounder (6.0). She's having a breakout season after averaging nearly eight points per game last season off the bench.
• The Blue Demons are fourth in the nation in forced turnovers and fifth in turnover margin. They also rank as the No. 11 team in the country in scoring, No. 12 in steals, No. 15 in assists and No. 19 in 3-pointers.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST DEPAUL
• Marquette trails the all-time series against DePaul, with the Blue Demons holding a 47-29 advantage.
• Last season, DU took two of the three matchups, winning at home (89-71) and in the BIG EAST tournament (88-74).
• MU took the senior night battle on March 1 at the Al McGuire Center, 90-83. The Golden Eagles took down No. 16/15 DePaul led by breakout performances from Lauren Van Kleunen (22 pts, career-high) and Selena Lott (20 points). MU shot 49% from the field and held DU to just 38% shooting on the afternoon.
• The Golden Eagles have won seven of the past 12 matchups between the teams in what has been an extremely even series since the 2016-17 season. DU won 14 of 16 matchups from 2008-16.

SENIORS LEAD THE WAY
• 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 year, including seniors 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.

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
• Selena Lott is 70 points away from hitting the 1,000-point mark for her career. Lauren Van Kleunen is 215 points away from hitting that threshold. They would be the 30th and 31st MU players to reach 1,000 career points.
• Selena Lott is a career 37.2% 3-point shooter, which ranks 7th all-time at MU. She's 16/32 (50%) from downtown this season.
• Lott is 24 steals away from a tie for 10th all-time in Golden Eagles history.

MU BY THE NUMBERS – BIG EAST (2020-21)
Scoring Offense: 74.1 (4th)
Scoring Defense: 62.9 (4th)
Scoring Margin: +11.3 (3rd)
FT Percentage: .679 (8th)
FG Percentage: .463 (3rd)
FG Pct. Defense: .381 (4th)
3FG Percentage: .324 (8th)
3FG Pct. Defense: .316 (7th)
Rebounding Offense: 41.0 (2nd)
Rebounding Defense: 31.0 (2nd)
Blocked Shots: 3.1 (8th)
Assists: 19.9 (2nd)
Steals: 7.1 (8th)

HAVING A LOTT OF FUN
• Senior guard Selena Lott is coming off a breakout season that helped her garner significant preseason acknowledgement both around the conference and nationally.
• So far in 2020-21, Lott leads the team in scoring (17.1) and assists (4.1) while ranking third in rebounding (5.0). She ranks in the top 10 in the BIG EAST in scoring, assists free throw % (.923) and 3FG made (2.4).
• The team's best all-around player, Lott has 39 double figure scoring games in her career. She notched her first career double-double in a win at Belmont (12/13) grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with 18 points and five assists.
• With 930 career points, Lott is just 70 points away from becoming the 30th Golden Eagle to reach the 1,000-point threshold.
• Through seven games, Selena Lott is averaging 17.1 ppg. on 52% shooting from the field (40/76), 50% from 3-point range (16/32) and 92.3% from the free throw line (24/26). She's the only BIG EAST player to be in the 50/50/90 club in 2020-21.

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 33 of its past 38 games at the Al McGuire Center, which includes a 22-1 record in the last 23 BIG EAST home games.
• The Golden Eagles haven't lost a BIG EAST home game since Feb. 22, 2019, a 61-57 loss to Butler.
• 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.

WHAT'S NEXT?
• MU's next game will be Wednesday, Jan. 6 at Creighton. The game is scheduled to have a 4 p.m. Central time tip-off on FloHoops.
• The Golden Eagles next home game is set for Saturday, Jan. 9 against Villanova at 2 p.m. CT on FloHoops.

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).