#MUWBB Tops Providence To Open BIG EAST Play

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette women's basketball team bounced back from Wednesday's loss with a convincing 89-40 win over Providence to open BIG EAST play.

Selena Lott and Jordan King paced the scoring output with 18 points each while Lauren Van Kleunen was close behind with 17 points. LVK gave Marquette (2-1, 1-0 BIG EAST) an immediate boost on the offensive end of the floor, scoring 15 first half points to lead a 37-7 run.

"Getting a win in the first BIG EAST game against a very good Providence team is really important for us," Van Kleunen said. "One of our core values as a team is 'relentless growth' and we had to find a way to get better after dropping a game on Wednesday. I'm proud of our team's response today."

MU led 17-9 after the first quarter to set the pace for an explosive offensive showing in quarter number two. The Golden Eagles shot 62.5% (10/16) in the second frame to blow the game open and coast to a 41-12 halftime lead.

After being held scoreless in the first half, senior guard Selena Lott scored 16 of her 18 points in the third quarter to help MU extend its lead to 73-30.

The Golden Eagles got scoring production from nine different players today and 11 players saw the floor in total.

"We were pretty disappointed after Wednesday's game, but with such a quick turnaround there was no time to hang our heads," Coach Duffy said. "We had an awesome, focused practice yesterday and the girls were determined to get our last game out of our system. Our entire team responded and it was very much a collective group effort this afternoon."

Kyra Spiwak led Providence with 10 points while Alyssa Geary finished with eight on the afternoon. The Friars dropped to 2-3 (0-1 BIG EAST) with the loss.

POSTGAME NOTES:
-The Golden Eagles have now won 11 consecutive BIG EAST Conference home games.
-Freshman Julianna Okosun (Copenhagen, Denmark) scored her first collegiate points today. She finished with two points, three rebounds and two assists, all career-highs.
-Freshman Liza Karlen (Stillwater, Minn.) posted a career-best in scoring as well, tallying eight points on 3/7 shooting from the field. She had two big 3-pointers that sparked MU's first half run.
-The Golden Eagles are now 7-1 under coach Duffy in games following a loss.
-Redshirt sophomore Antwainette Walker posted a season-high eight points in 12 minutes off the bench.

UP NEXT:
Marquette's next game is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. Central time at Belmont. ESPN+ will have live streaming coverage.

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).