WBB Hosts NJIT Friday Evening

MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (1-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) plays game two of its 2021-22 campaign Friday night, as it plays host to NJIT at 6 p.m., CT. The game will be broadcast by MUTV and streamed on YouTube with John Leuzi (play-by-play), Ben Schultz (color commentary) and Aimee Galaszewski (sideline reporter) on the call from the Al McGuire Center.

The Golden Eagles opened their season in dominant fashion on Tuesday evening with a 96-35 home win over Alcorn State. This was the highest-scoring opener for MU since the 1991 season.

Head coach Megan Duffy returns 10 players from last season's roster, including seven letterwinners and three players who started all 26 games.

Additionally, the Golden Eagles welcome three newcomers to the squad. Graduate guard Karissa McLaughlin (Purdue) and redshirt sophomore forward Kennedi Myles (Illinois) join the team via transfer and are each eligible to play immediately, while forward Makiyah Williams comes to Marquette as the team's lone true freshman.

NJIT finished last season 4-14 overall and 4-9 in conference play to finish seventh in the America East Conference. It is off to an 0-1 start to 2021-22, after dropping its opener to Wagner, 61-49.

The Highlanders will be led by Mike Lane, who is in his first season with the program after being named head coach in May. Their top returning player is junior guard Kenna Squier, who averaged a team-best 10.6 points per game, along with 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest.

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS

• NJIT finished the 2020-21 campaign with a 4-14 overall record, all four of its wins coming in America East play.

• The Highlanders' 4-9 conference mark earned a sixth-seed at the America East Champoinships, where they fell to UMass Lowell, 72-52.

• NJIT won just once away from home last season, posting a 1-9 road record.

• The 2021-22 season opener for the Highlanders resulted in a 61-49 loss to Wagner. As a team, they committed 26 turnovers and shot just 11.8 percent (2-of-17) from 3-point range.

• Freshman forward Trinity Williams led the team in scoring during her collegiate debut, coming off the bench to go for 13 points in 17 minutes.

• Junior guard Kenna Squier is the top returner statistically for NJIT after averaging 10.6 points, 3.8 boards and 2.0 assists per contest in 2020-21.

• All five starters from last season return for the Highlanders.

• The Braves ranked 20th in the nation in field goal percentage defense in 2020-21, holding opponents to 35.7 percent from the field.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST NJIT

• Marquette won the only meeting between the two programs on Dec. 3, 2009, an 81-41 victory in Milwaukee.

• The Golden Eagles are 6-0 historically against current America East programs.

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 13-3 in non-conference action under Coach Duffy.

• Coach Duffy is off to the best coaching start through three seasons of any coach in program history. She boasts a 44-15 overall mark (.746) at Marquette. In non-conference matchups, Duffy's MU squads are 16-6.

• The Golden Eagles are 35-1 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 25-2 when they turn the ball over fewer times than their opponent.

• MU is 25-3 when scoring more than 70 points under Coach Duffy and 30-3 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 59 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent in 50 of those games (40-10 record).