WBB To Compete at Daytona Beach Invitational

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The Marquette women's basketball team (3-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) hits the road this weekend as they travel to Florida for a pair of matchups against unbeaten teams in the Daytona Beach Invitational. MU will first take on Middle Tennessee State (4-0, 0-0 C-USA) on Friday, Nov. 26, at 11 a.m. (CT), followed by a contest against Georgia (4-0, 0-0 SEC) on Saturday, Nov. 27, at 1:15 p.m. (CT). Both games will take place at the Ocean Center, and will be streamed online on FloHoops. Live stats are available at GoMarquette.com.

The Golden Eagles are off to a 3-1 start to the 2021-22 campaign, after rolling through a three-game homestand to open the year with wins over Alcorn State, NJIT and Southern, and dropping a road contest at Colorado.

Marquette currently ranks first in the nation in rebound margin (+20.8), eighth in assists per game (20.8) and 19th in field goal percentage (48.8).

Middle Tennessee State finished last season 17-8 overall and 12-4 in Conference USA play, en route to a C-USA Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Raiders are off to a 4-0 start to 2021-22, with wins over East Carolina, VCU, Vanderbilt and Tennessee Tech. They will be led by Rick Insell, who is in his 17th season with the program.

Georgia enters the week ranked No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and as the first team out of the AP Top 25. The Bulldogs posted a 21-7 overall record last season, including a 10-5 mark in SEC play. They made a run to the SEC title game, then defeated Drexel in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Oregon in the Round of 32. This season, they are 4-0 with wins over Garner-Webb, Furman, Mercer and Alabama State. Georgia will be led by Joni Taylor, who is in her seventh season with the program.

SCOUTING THE LADY RAIDERS

• Middle Tennessee State finished the 2020-21 season with a record of 17-8 overall, including a 3-1 mark in neutral site matches.

• The Lady Raiders went 12-4 in Conference USA play, and captured the program's 16th conference tournament title with a 68-65 win over Rice.

• MTSU earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they fell 87-62 to No. 13 Tennessee in the opening round.

• The Lady Raiders are undefeated in the 2021-22 season, entering Friday's contest 4-0 with wins over East Carolina, VCU, Vanderbilt and Tennessee Tech.

• Redshirt junior forward Courtney Whitson is the leading returner for MTSU, averaging 15.3 points and 4.7 rebounds a year ago. She leads the squad this year with 14.3 points per game.

• Middle Tennessee lost its three leading scorers from a year ago in reigning C-USA Player of the Year Anastasia Hayes, as well as her sister Aislynn and Deja Cage.

SCOUTING THE LADY BULLDOGS

• Georgia ended the 2020-21 campaign at 21-7 overall, including a 3-2 mark in neutral site contests.

• The Lady Bulldogs' 10-5 conference record earned a four-seed in the SEC Tournament, where they fell to top-seeded South Carolina in the championship after wins over Kentucky and Texas A&M.

• UGA secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Round of 32 with a 67-53 win over No. 14 Drexel before suffering a 57-50 defeat against Oregon.

• The Lady Bulldogs opened 2021-22 with four straight home victories, defeating Gardner-Webb, Furman, Mercer and Alabama State. Before playing Marquette on Saturday, UGA will play Notre Dame on Friday in Daytona Beach.

• Graduate student center Jenna Staiti leads her team in scoring (12.8), while Que Morrison adds 12.3 points per game.

• Staiti is the top returner for UGA, averaging 14.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in 2020-21 to earn All-SEC honors.

• The Lady Bulldogs return all but two of their 11 leading scorers from a season ago but will have to make up for the loss of a pair of starters (Gabby Connally and Maya Caldwell).

• Georgia is the first team out of this week's AP Top 25, and is ranked No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 15-4 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 46-16 overall mark (.742) at Marquette.

• The Golden Eagles are 37-1 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 32-3 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 62 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent in 53 of those games (42-11 record).

GOLDEN EAGLES RANK TOP IN THE NATION IN REBOUNDING

• Marquette currently sits atop the national leaderboard in rebound margin, outrebounding opponents by a combined total of 187-104 (46.8-26.0) for a +20.8 margin.

• MU's 46.75 boards per contest rank 19th in the nation.

• Three Golden Eagle players rank top-10 in the BIG EAST in rebounding - Chloe Marotta (8.5) ranks sixth, while Liza Karlen (7.8) and Kennedi Myles (7.0) rank seventh and ninth, respectively.

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Players Mentioned

Liza Karlen

Chloe Marotta

Kennedi Myles