WBB Posts 65-40 Win Over Southern

MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (3-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) used a strong defensive showing to defeat Southern, 65-40, on Monday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center.

The contest started as a defensive battle for both sides, each team forcing six turnovers in the first quarter. Despite the Golden Eagles' turnover troubles in the first half, a 26-15 rebounding advantage kept them in control as they led the contest from start to finish.

Marquette sophomore forward Liza Karlen came up big for MU, going for a career-high 12 points while also recording four rebounds and three assists. She was joined in double-figures by graduate guard Karissa McLaughlin and senior forward Chloe Marotta, who had 10 points apiece. Marotta also brought down 10 rebounds to record the third double-double of her career.

"We're really excited about winning this afternoon," said Marquette head coach Megan Duffy. "We knew this was going to be a challenge for us with Southern coming into our building, they're a great team and they're going to have a great season down the road. We've been on a long stretch, so it was really important that we found a way to get this win. I thought we had some great contributions and some good balance with today's game."

The Jaguars (0-2) were led by Nakia Kincey, who finished with nine points and four rebounds.

With the win, the Golden Eagles improve to 3-0 for the fifth time in the past nine seasons.
Through three games, the Marquette defense is holding opponents to just 44.3 points per game and just 29.7 percent (52-of-175) shooting from the field.
Marquette followed the halftime break with a 15-2 run to open up a 46-27 lead.
Marquette held the Jaguars' scoreless from the field for the first seven minutes of the second half, Southern's first made third quarter field goal coming at the 2:59 mark.
Chloe Marotta recorded the third double-double of her career with 10 points and 10 rebounds. This was the fourth double-digit performance on the glass of her career.
Liza Karlen followed up a nine-point performance against NJIT with a career-high 12 point performance to lead all scorers.
Jordan King was Marquette's top facilitator, tying her career high of eight assists.
Rose Nkumu surpassed her previous rebounding career high in the first half and finished with five boards in a career-high 14 minutes off the bench.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles will head on the road for the first time in their 2021-22 campaign as they travel to Boulder, Colorado to face Colorado (2-0) on Friday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. (CST)

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).