MUWBB To Play Southern in Monday Matinee

Full Game Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (2-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) plays game three of its 2021-22 campaign Monday afternoon, as it plays host to Southern at 12 p.m., CT. The game will be broadcast by BEDN and streamed on FloSports with Patrick Reed (play-by-play) and Meghan McKeown (color commentary) on the call from the Al McGuire Center.

The Golden Eagles opened their season with back-to-back dominant wins at home, defeating Alcorn State 96-35 on Nov. 9, and following that performance with a 90-58 win over NJIT on Nov. 12. With a plus-93 scoring differential, Marquette is off to its best two-game start in program history. Additionally, MU has outrebounded its two opponents by a combined 98-45 boards this season

Graduate guard Karissa McLaughlin has made an immediate impact on MU, as the Purdue transfer has led the Golden Eagles in scoring in both games this season, averaging 21.5 points per contest.

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

Southern finished last season 12-11 overall and 11-4 in conference play to finish third in the SWAC. It is off to an 0-1 start to 2021-22, after dropping its opener to No. 23 Texas A&M, 92-32.

The Jaguars will be led by Carlos Funchess, who is in his third season with the program. Their top returning player is junior guard Genovea Johnson, who averaged a team-best 13.4 points per game, along with 3.8 rebounds per contest.

GOLDEN EAGLES START SEASON STRONG

• Marquette opened the 2021-22 campaign with back-to-back decisive victories over Alcorn State and NJIT, winning 96-35 and 90-58, respectively.

• The 61-point win for Marquette was the team's second-largest margin of victory in program history, one point shy of the previous mark of 62 (92-30 vs Loyola Chicago, 11/28/17).

• 96 points is the most scored by a MU team in a season opener since a 106-64 win over Stetson on Nov. 22, 1991.

• The Golden Eagles won the battle on the glass against Alcorn State, 52-19. The +33 rebounding advantage is the best of any game for Marquette in the Coach Duffy era. Through two games, Marquette holds a 98-45 rebounding advantage over opponents this season.

• Karissa McLaughlin has scored 20-plus and led the team in each of her first two games in the program, going for 21 and 22 points, respectively.

• Liza Karlen has made the first two starts of her career, and brought down a career-high 10 rebounds against NJIT.

• Lauren Van Kleunen has averaged 16.5 points per contest while shooting an incredibly efficient 14-of-18 from the field.

• Chloe Marotta neared a triple-double against NJIT, going for 11 points, eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists.

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 14-3 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 45-15 overall mark (.750) at Marquette.

• The Golden Eagles are 36-1 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 26-2 when they turn the ball over fewer times than their opponent.

• MU is 26-3 when scoring more than 70 points under Coach Duffy and 31-3 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 60 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent in 51 of those games (41-10 record).

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS

• Southern finished the 2020-21 campaign with a 12-11 overall record, 11 of its wins coming in SWAC play.

• The Jaguars' 11-4 conference mark earned a third-seed at the SWAC Champoinships, where they defeated Alcorn State in the first round, 73-59, before falling to Alabama State in the semifinals, 69-60.

• Southern posted a 5-8 record away from Baton Rouge last season.

• The Jaguars opened the 2021-22 season on the road against No. 23 Texas A&M, a 92-32 loss. As a team, they were outrebounded 45-22 and shot just 19.1 percent (9-of-47) from the field.

• Freshman guard Aleighyah Fontenot led the team in scoring during her collegiate debut, coming off the bench to go for 11 points in 21 minutes.

• Junior guard Genovea Johnson is the top returner statistically for Southern after averaging 13.4 points and 3.8 boards per contest, while totaling 31 steals in 2020-21.

• The Jaguars return all but one player who saw action last season, including all six starters.

• The Jaguars ranked 11th in the nation in turnovers forced (20.96), 13th in 3-point field goal defense (26.0) and 27th in steals per game (10.3) in 2020-21.