WBB Earns 59-45 Win Over Butler

MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (6-2, 2-0 BIG EAST) closed out the first weekend of BIG EAST play with a win Sunday afternoon, defeating Butler 59-45.

"Getting a win against Butler was a difficult challenge, and it was just a hard-nosed grind it out type of game," said Marquette head coach Megan Duffy. "We know when we play Butler they want to keep it very low scoring and they play with a lot of physicality in the paint. On a day where maybe we didn't play our best, we handled ourselves in a way where we were able to make enough plays down the stretch.

After a slow offensive start in which the Golden Eagles shot just 2-of-12 from the field, MU used a 20-point second quarter to gain separation. Marquette led 34-23 at the half.

Butler (0-8, 0-2 BIG EAST) came out of the gates strong in the second half, going on an 11-0 run to even the game at 34-34. That run was answered by nine-straight points from the Golden Eagles to close out the quarter.

Despite shooting a season-low 29.9 percent (20-of-67) from the field, the Golden Eagles took care of the ball and used relentless defense to capture their second win of conference play. MU committed just four turnovers while forcing 26.

Graduate forward Lauren Van Kleunen led Marquette in both points (15) and rebounds (9), while Karissa McLaughlin chipped in with 15 points as well. Jordan King filled the stat sheet for MU, finishing with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and a career-high six steals.

The Bulldogs were led by Celena Taborn, who finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Lauren Van Kleunen tied the Marquette program record for career games played, appearing in the 134th contest in a MU uniform. Angel Robinson (2007-11) is the only other player to hit that mark.
Marquette forced 26 turnovers while committing just four.
This was the fewest turnovers by a Marquette team since also committing four against Villanova on Jan. 11, 2019.
Butler scored the first 11 points of the third quarter to even the game at 34. MU then responded with nine-straight to close out the quarter and out-scored the Bulldogs 25-11 the rest of the way.
Jordan King's six steals were a career-high, and the most by any Marquette player this season.
Lauren Van Kleunen and Karissa McLaughlin each finished with a game-high 15 points.
With 15 points and nine rebounds, Van Kleunen moved into 25th on the all-time MU scoring list (1,138) and 15th on the all-time rebounding list (645).
Marquette led for 32:56, while trailing for 2:01.

UP NEXT: Marquette returns to non-conference play as they travel across town to take on Milwaukee on Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. (CT) at the Klotsche Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be avalible on GoMarquette.com

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).