#MUWBB Set for Cincinnati in Mid-Week Matinee

CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Marquette women's basketball team is set to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in non-conference play on Thursday, Dec. 10. The game will tip off at 1 p.m. Central time on ESPN+ and GoBearcats.com will provide live stats.

The Golden Eagles (2-1, 1-0 BIG EAST) lead the all-time series, 22-13, and have won two of the past three matchups. After playing at least once every season from 1992-2013, the teams haven't met since.

Led by second year head coach Megan Duffy, the Golden Eagles started off the year with a road win over North Dakota on Nov. 29 before dropping their home opener to Milwaukee on Wednesday. MU bounced back Friday with a resounding 89-40 victory over Providence to begin BIG EAST competition.

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.

Second Team All-BIG EAST selection Selena Lott (14.0 ppg.) and fellow senior Lauren Van Kleunen (13 ppg.) anchor an MU team that returns eight letterwinners and three starters from 2019-20.

Cincinnati (1-1, 0-0 AAC) is led by third-year head coach Michelle Clark-Heard (46-21/.731) and the Bearcats are looking to achieve their third consecutive 20-win season under her watch.

Clark-Heard led UC to a 22-10 (11-5 AAC) season last year and a 24-11 (12-4 AAC) finish in 2018-19. UC advanced to the WNIT Quarterfinals in 2018-19.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
The game will be live steamed on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available on GoBearcats.com. Make sure to follow along on Twitter @MarquetteWBB for live in-game updates.

GAME DETAILS
Marquette (2-1, 1-0 BIG EAST) at Cincinnati (1-1, 0-0 American Athletic Conference)
Fifth Third Arena
Cincinnati, Ohio
Thursday, Dec. 10
1 p.m. CT

LIVE COVERAGE
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

STARTING FIVE
• Both teams agreed to play this game because of COVID-19 related cancellations in their schedules. MU's home game scheduled for Dec. 11 against Prairie View A&M and UC's crosstown rivalry game against Xavier were both called off because of COVID-19 issues with the opposition.
• The Golden Eagles are 1-0 on the road under Coach Duffy and 9-6 in true road games in her tenure.
• Sophomore forward Camryn Taylor joined Jordan King and became the second Golden Eagle to be named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. She netted a career-high of 27 points against Milwaukee on Wednesday. Taylor leads MU in both scoring (15.7) and rebounding (8.7).
• MU is 7-1 in games after losses under Coach Duffy. Just once in 2019-20 did it lose two games in a row.
• The Golden Eagles are 20-1 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 12-1 when they turn the ball over fewer times than their opponent.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
• Led by third-year head coach Michelle Clark-Heard (46-21/.731), the Bearcats are looking to achieve their third consecutive 20-win season.
• UC posted a 22-10 record overall in 2019-20 and went 11-5 in the American to finish tied for second, UC's best league finish in its seven-year membership in the AAC.
• The Bearcats finished the year 14-3 at home with a 12-game winning streak at Fifth Third Arena.
• Star guard IImar'I Thomas joined the program's 1,000-point club during the season. Thomas was named a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American as she averaged 18.6 ppg last year. She leads the team with 28.5 ppg as a senior this year.
• Arame Niang, a Western Kentucky transfer who sat out last year, is the only other Bearcat to average double figures in scoring (12.5 ppg).

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST CINCINNATI
• Marquette is 22-13 all-time against the Bearcats. The teams met at least once every year from 1992-2013 but haven't played since.
• The Golden Eagles won the last meeting between the two teams, 72-58, at the Al McGuire Center on March 4, 2013.
• Since the dawn of the 21st century, MU has won 11 of the 19 matchups between the two teams.
• The Golden Eagles are 10-6 all-time on the road against UC but have dropped three in a row and six of the last 10 on the road in this series.

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.
• She notched 11 double figure scoring efforts in her first year in Blue & Gold. Taylor netted a 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 15.7 points and 8.7 rebounds.
• She netted a career-best 27 points against MKE after notching a double-double (17 pts/11 reb) at UND.
• Taylor was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Dec. 7 for her performance against MKE.

MU BY THE NUMBERS – BIG EAST (2020-21)
Scoring Offense: 78.0 (3rd)
Scoring Defense: 62.0 (5th)
Scoring Margin: +16.0 (2nd)
Free Throw %: .712 (3rd)
Field Goal % Defense: .385 (4th)
Rebounding Offense: 43.3 (2nd)
Rebounding Defense: 29.7 (1st)
Assists: 21.3 (2nd)
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.6 (1st)

MAROTTA THRIVING IN INCREASED ROLE
• A Mequon, Wis., native, Chloe Marotta started 13 games last year as a sophomore and played in all 32.
• She averaged 4.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per game last year. She doubled both her playing time and production after averaging just over two points in seven minutes as a freshman.
• Marotta's breakout performance last year came against St. Francis (11/7/19) when she scored a career-high 20 points to go along with 12 boards in the team's victory.
• The two-time BIG EAST All-Academic selection has started in all three games this season and tied her career-high in rebounds with 12 against Milwaukee (12/2).
• She had her best all-around-game of 2020-21 against Providence (12/4), tallying nine points, nine rebounds and three assists.

VALLADAY SHOWCASING ELITE BALL CONTROL
• Sophomore guard Taylor Valladay (Chicago, Ill./Rich South HS) got her feet wet as a freshman, playing in 20 games as a reserve on last year's 24-8 (13-5 BIG EAST) team.
• So far in 2020-21, Valladay has been a key player off the bench. She's totaled nine assists and zero turnovers through the first three games.
• She's chipped in eight, three and six points in the three games and tallied a career-best five assists on 12/4 vs. Providence. Valladay also played a career-high 21 minutes against Milwaukee (12/2).

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).