WBB to Open BIG EAST Play Against Xavier

FULL NOTES (PDF)

MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (4-2, 0-0 BIG EAST) opens conference play this weekend, welcoming a pair of BIG EAST foes to the Al McGuire Center before resuming non-conference action next week. MU will take on Xavier (3-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) on Friday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. (CT) in Milwaukee. The game will be broadcast by the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloHoops, with Patrick Reed (play-by-play) and Meghan McKeown (analyst) on the call. Live stats are available at GoMarquette.com.

The Golden Eagles are off to a 4-2 start to the 2021-22 campaign, coming off of a 1-1 outing at the Daytona Beach Invitational last weekend. MU earned a 59-55 overtime win over Middle Tennessee State to hand the Lady Raiders their first loss of the season, followed by a 70-45 loss to RV/#21 Georgia.

Marquette has finished each of the past four seasons as one of the top-two teams in the BIG EAST. In 2020-21, the Golden Eagles posted a 14-4 conference record, finishing behind only UConn in the final league standings.

The Musketeers are off to a 3-3 start to 2021-22, and enter Friday's contest riding a three-game winning streak with victories over Valparaiso, Wright State and Eastern Kentucky. They were picked to finish 10th in the league's pre-season poll after going 2-8 in BIG EAST play a season ago. They will be led by Melanie Moore, who is in her third season with the program.

Statistically, redshirt sophomore guard Nia Clark has been Xavier's top player this season, leading the team in scoring (16.0) and assists (2.8). Junior guard Kae Satterfield leads the squad in rebounding with 6.0 boards per contest.

SCOUTING THE MUSKETEERS

• Xavier finished the 2020-21 season with a record of 5-10 overall, including a 1-5 mark in road contests.

• The Musketeers went 2-8 in BIG EAST play to finish ninth in the conference standings. They lost to St. John's in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament, 65-57.

• The Musketeers enter Friday's contest with a 3-3 record on the season, and riding a three-game winning streak. After dropping their first three games, they have bounced back with wins over Valparaiso, Wright State and Eastern Kentucky.

• Redshirt sophomore guard Nia Clark is the top statistical performer for Xavier this season, averaging 16.0 points and 2.8 assists per contest.

• Xavier currently ranks first in the conference and 10th in the nation in free throw percentage, shooting at a 80.7 percent (96-of-119) clip from the charity stripe. It also ranks among the conference leaders in steals per game (2nd - 9.0).

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 27-9 in BIG EAST 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 47-17 overall mark (.734) 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 64 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent in 55 of those games (43-12 record).

GOLDEN EAGLES SPLIT GAMES IN DAYTONA

• Marquette is coming off a 1-1 outing at the Daytona Beach Invitational, where it picked up a 59-55 overtime win over an unbeaten Middle Tennessee State team, followed by a 70-45 loss to RV/#21 Georgia.

• Against MTSU, the Golden Eagles trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half before a game-tying shot by Jordan King with 18 second left in regulation evened things up.

• MU scored the first four points of overtime and made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

•Against Georgia, Marquette got off to a slow offensive start, scoring just 17 first-half points. Despite a stronger second-half effort, MU was unable to erase the deficit.

LVK NAMED TO DAYTONA BEACH INVITATIONAL SECOND TEAM

• Graduate forward Lauren Van Kleunen made a big impact in Daytona, and was named to the All-Tournament Second Team.

• Van Kleunen averaged 13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in MU's two games

• Against MTSU, Van Kleunen recorded the second double-double of her career as she went for 14 points and a career-high 13 boards to earn game MVP honors.

KING HITTING HER STRIDE

• Junior guard Jordan King has taken another step forward for Marquette this season, averaging career-best marks in points (11.5), rebounds (4.3), assists (4.8) and minutes per game to start 2021-22.

• King has scored 10-plus points in back-to-back-to-back games, including 16-point outings against Colorado and Middle Tennessee.

• In the past three contests, King averages 14.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Against MTSU, King played a career-high 42 minutes while totaling 16 points, seven boards and four assists, and shooting 7-of-11 from the field.