WBB Travels to Face Seton Hall on Sunday

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MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (8-2, 2-0 BIG EAST) heads on the road this weekend to South Orange, New Jersey, to face Seton Hall (4-5, 0-2 BIG EAST) at Walsh Gymnasium on Sunday, Dec. 19, at 11 a.m. (CT). The game will be broadcast on FS1, with John Fanta (play-by-play) and Kim Adams (analyst) on the call. Live stats are available at GoMarquette.com.

The Golden Eagles are off to an 8-2 start to the 2021-22 campaign, including a 2-0 record in conference play with wins over Xavier and Butler. Most recently, MU posted an 89-65 home win over North Dakota on Dec. 11, a game which it led from start to finish. Marquette enters Sunday's contest riding a four game winning streak, with an average margin of victory of 18.5 points in those contests.

MU's strong defense has once again been its calling card this season, holding opponents to a league-best 53.6 points per game. On the year, teams are shooting just 35.7 percent (208-of-582) from the floor and 24.0 percent (36-of-150) from behind the arc when facing the Golden Eagles, while turning the ball over 17.3 times per game.

Seton Hall was picked third in the BIG EAST preseason poll, one spot ahead of Marquette, but is off to an 0-2 start to league play (losses to UConn and St. John's). The Pirates enter the weekend 4-5 overall, including a 2-3 record at home. Seton Hall is coming off a 68-56 home loss against UCF. It will be led by Anthony Bozzella, who is in his ninth season with the program.

Statistically, the Pirates have been led by junior guard Lauren Park-Lane, who is averaging 18.4 points and a league-leading 6.6 assists per contest.

SCOUTING THE PIRATES

• Seton Hall finished the 2020-21 season with an overall record of 14-7, including an 8-4 mark at home.

• The Pirates went 12-5 in BIG EAST play, ending the regular season on a five-game winning streak to finish third in the final standings. The fell to Creighton, 83-76, in the first round of the conference tournament.

• Seton Hall enters Sunday's contest with a 4-5 record, earning wins over Mount St. Mary's, Lehigh, Toledo and Princeton. It has dropped three of its last four games, and is 0-2 in league play.

• Junior guard Lauren Park-Lane has been the team's top statistical performer this season , averaging 18.4 points per game, third-most in the BIG EAST, and a league-leading 6.6 assists per contest. She has scored 20+ points on five occasions this season.

• Seton Hall leads the conference in free throw percentage at 78.9 percent (112-of-142). Additionally, the Pirates rank second league-wide with just 14.0 turnovers per game.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST SETON HALL

• Sunday's game will mark the 26th all-time meeting between Marquette and Seton Hall, a series which began in 2006.

• MU has won eight of the past 11 games, but Seton Hall has won the last two.

• In 2020-21, the teams met just once (game in Milwaukee was canceled due to COVID), a 77-66 win for the Pirates.

• Marquette is 5-7 all-time in South Orange.

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 29-9 in 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 51-17 overall mark (.750) at Marquette.

• The Golden Eagles are 41-1 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 29-2 when they turn the ball over fewer times than their opponent.

• MU is 28-3 when scoring more than 70 points under Coach Duffy and 34-3 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 68 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent in 58 of those games (46-12 record).

MU TIES ALL-TIME ASSIST MARK VS NORTH DAKOTA

• In Marquette's 89-65 win over North Dakota on Dec. 11, the team recorded 33 assists on 40 made baskets to tie the all-time program record for assists in a game.

• The record of 33 assists stood untouched for over 30 years (1/6/88 vs UIC).

• Eight different MU players recorded two-or-more assists, led by Chloe Marotta's career-high eight.

DEFENSE REIGNS SUPREME FOR GOLDEN EAGLES

• Marquette has built a reputation on strong defense under Coach Duffy, an area which it has continue to excel this season.

• MU is holding opponents to a league-best 53.6 points per game.

• Through four games in the month of December, Marquette opponents are averaging just 52.3 points per contest.

• On the year, teams are shooting just 35.7 percent (208-of-582) from the floor and 24.0 percent (36-of-150) from 3-point range.

• The Golden Eagles have forced 17.3 turnovers on 8.5 steals per game.

LAST TIME OUT

• Marquette posted an 89-65 win over North Dakota on Dec. 11 at the Al McGuire Center.

• The Golden Eagles recorded 33 assists on 40 made shots to tie the program's all-time single game assist record.

• MU shot a season-best 58.0 percent (40-of-69) from the field.

• Lauren Van Kleunen led all scorers with her second-straight 20+ point game, finishing with 20 points on 10-of-11 shooting.

• Chloe Marotta stuffed the stat sheet with six points, 12 rebounds and a career-high eight assists. Additionally, Danyel Middleton went for a career-high nine points.