WBB Travels Across Town to Face Milwaukee Wednesday

FULL NOTES

MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (6-2, 2-0 BIG EAST) returns to non-conference play as they take on cross-town rival Milwaukee (4-5, 3-1 Horizon) at the Klotsche Center on Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. (CT). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats are available at GoMarquette.com.

The Golden Eagles are off to a 6-2 start to the 2021-22 campaign, and opened BIG EAST play last weekend with a pair of home wins over Xavier and Butler. MU won both contests by double-figures and trailed for a combined total of just over two minutes of game time. Graduate guard Karissa McLaughlin led Marquette in scoring in both games and averaged 17.5 points and 5.0 assists to earn BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll accolades.

Marquette and Milwaukee have faced off 51 times in a series which spans back to 1976, the second-most played game in MU's program history. While the all-time series sits at 31-20 in Marquette's favor, the Golden Eagles have won 26 of the past 29 games against the Panthers.

Milwaukee enters Sunday's contest 4-5 overall, including a 3-1 home record. Most recently, UWM faced Robert Morris, earning a 66-47 road win. The Panthers earned an in-state win earlier this season as they defeated Wisconsin at home on Nov. 24, 79-67. They will be led by Kyle Rechlicz, who is in her 10th season with the program.

Statistically, the Panthers have been led by sophomore forward Megan Walstad. An All-Horizon League First Team honoree in 2020-21, Walstad is averaging 15.8 points and 8.0 boards per contest, while leading the team in blocks (12) as well.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

• Milwaukee finished the 2020-21 season with an overall record of 20-8, including a 9-3 mark in home contests.

• The Panthers went 15-5 in Horizon League play to finish tied atop in the conference standings. After a semifinal round exit in the league tournament, UWM went on to play in the WNIT where they defeated Drake in the first round before falling to Saint Louis in the second round.

• Milwaukee enters Wednesday's contest with a 4-5 record on the season, and a 1-4 record in non-conference play. Most recently, they posted a 66-47 road win over Robert Morris on Dec. 4.

• Sophomore forward Megan Walstad currently leads the team in both points (15.8) and rebounds (8.0) per game.

• The Panthers average 59.9 points per game while allowing 63.2. They rank third in the nation in free throw percentage, shooting 84.7 percent (100-of-118) from the charity stripe.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST MILWAUKEE

• Wednesday's contest will mark the 52nd meeting between Marquette and Milwaukee. The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 31-20.

• This is MU's second-most played matchup in program history, only behind DePaul (80 games). The first matchup was Feb. 3, 1976.

• Marquette is 16-10 all-time against the Panthers on the road.

• MU has won 26 of the past 29 meetings with Milwaukee, but lost a 64-55 bout last season at the Al McGuire Center.

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 16-5 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 49-17 overall mark (.742) at Marquette.

• The Golden Eagles are 39-1 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 28-2 when they turn the ball over fewer times than their opponent.

• MU is 27-3 when scoring more than 70 points under Coach Duffy and 34-3 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 66 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent in 56 of those games (44-12 record).

GOLDEN EAGLES SWEEP FIRST WEEKEND OF BIG EAST PLAY

• Marquette picked up a pair of wins at home to open BIG EAST play last weekend, defeating Xavier, 76-48, and Butler, 59-45.

• The Golden Eagles led Xavier from start-to-finish after taking an early 16-4 lead and never looking back.

• Against Butler, Marquette forced 26 turnovers while committing just four. Despite shooting just 29.9 percent (20-of-67) from the field, the Golden Eagles used 21 points off turnovers to secure the win.

• Karissa McLaughlin led MU's scoring efforts in both contests, going for 20 points against Xavier and 15 against Butler. Lauren Van Kleunen chipped in 15 as well against the Bulldogs.

LVK TO SET PROGRAM RECORD FOR GAMES PLAYED

• Lauren Van Kleunen will appear in her 135th career game as a Golden Eagle on Wednesday evening, setting a new program record for career appearances.

• Van Kleunen is currently tied with Allazie Blockton (2015-19) for the all-time mark.

• Currently in her sixth season with the program, Van Kleunen has amassed 1,138 points (ALL TIME) and 645 rebounds (ALL TIME) while playing 2,832 minutes in the blue and gold.

MCLAUGHLIN NAMED TO BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

• Following her performance in back-to-back double-digit wins, Karissa McLaughlin was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.

• McLaughlin averaged 17.5 points and 5.0 assists in MU's two games last week.

• Against Xavier, she scored a team-high 20 points on 5-of-5 shooting from 3-point range, while also dishing out seven assists.

• This is McLaughlin's second weekly accolade, after earning the same honor on Nov. 14.