#MUWBB to Host No. 3/5 UConn Friday Night

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette women's basketball team is set to host No. 3/5 UConn at the Al McGuire Center on Friday evening at 6 p.m. Central time. SNY holds the television rights and Allen Bestwick (play-by-play) and Meg Culmo (analyst) will be on the call. Fans can watch on the FOX Sports app by logging in with their cable credentials.

The Golden Eagles (12-2, 9-1 BIG EAST) have won six straight conference games since dropping their first BIG EAST contest at Seton Hall on Jan. 15 after coming off a two week pause in basketball activities.

MU is anchored by seniors Selena Lott (16.1 ppg.) and Lauren Van Kleunen (11.9 ppg.), and returned eight overall contributors from last season. This includes BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection Camryn Taylor, who's averaging 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds as a sophomore this year.

Lott has developed into one of the top all-around players in the country in 2020-21. She leads the team in scoring, assists, steals, blocks and free throw percentage. She ranks in the top 10 individually in the BIG EAST in seven statistical categories.

MU has gone with a nine-player rotation this season with sophomore Jordan King (9.6 ppg.) and leading rebounder Chloe Marotta (6.6 reb.) joining the starters. Claire Kaifes, Liza Karlen, Taylor Valladay and Antwainette Walker all play between 10-20 minutes per game off the bench.

UConn (12-1, 10-0 BIG EAST) is led by 36th-year head coach Geno Auriemma. The Huskies have four players averaging double figures in scoring with two more players averaging between eight and nine points per game. In their 10 games since returning to the BIG EAST in 2020-21, only one opponent has stayed within 25 points of the Huskies.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
The games will be televised live on SNY and the FOX Sports app while GoMarquette.com will provide live stats. Make sure to follow along on Twitter @MarquetteWBB for live in-game updates.

GAME DETAILS
Marquette (12-2, 9-1 BIG EAST) vs. #3/5 UConn (12-1, 10-0 BIG EAST)
Al McGuire Center
Milwaukee, Wis.
Friday, Feb. 5
6 p.m. CT
SNY/FOX Sports App

LAST TIME OUT
• The Marquette women's basketball team defeated the Georgetown Hoyas, 55-48, at McDonough Arena on Wednesday afternoon. With the win, MU (12-2, 9-1 BIG EAST) earned its sixth straight conference victory and improved to 9-1 on the road this season.
• Sophomore guard Jordan King scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the first half to aid a slow start offensively for the Golden Eagles in a first 20 minutes that saw them shoot just 29 percent (9/31) from the field.
• She was the only MU player to reach double figures in what ended up being a balanced scoring effort with nine different players scoring at least one basket. Lauren Van Kleunen netted eight points and had six boards while Camryn Taylor went for seven points and eight rebounds.

STARTING FIVE
• Marquette is 1-2 against ranked teams in Coach Duffy's tenure, with two of those games coming against DePaul in 2019-20. MU has yet to play a ranked team this season but will play two this weekend in No. 3/5 UConn and No. 20/21 DePaul.
• Senior guard Selena Lott became the 30th Golden Eagle in program history to hit the 1,000-point mark on Jan. 27 at Villanova. She netted a team-high 27 points along with 11 assists, her second double double of the season.
• The Golden Eagles are 28-1 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 18-1 when they turn the ball over fewer times than their opponent.
• MU is 11-0 when scoring more than 80 points under Coach Duffy and 24-2 when shooting more free throws than its opponent. The Golden Eagles have scored 80-or-more points five times this year (5-0).
• In the 46 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent 43 times (34-9 record). They'll look to continue that streak this weekend.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES – ALL-TIME SERIES
• UConn returned to the BIG EAST Conference in the 2020-21 season after competing in the American Athletic Conference from 2013-20. There the Huskies accumulated a 139-0 conference record.
• Head coach Geno Auriemma is in his 36th season as leader of the Huskies in 2020-21 and holds a career record of 1,103-143.
• Freshman phenom Paige Bueckers leads UConn in points, assists, steals and 3FG%.
• UConn's only loss of the year came at #17/20 Arkansas (90-87) on Jan. 28.
• MU is 0-9 all-time against UConn and this is the Huskies first trip to Milwaukee since Jan. 12, 2013.

HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE
• The Golden Eagles went 13-2 at home in 2019-20, including a perfect 9-0 record in BIG EAST play. So far in 2020-21 MU is 3-1 at home, including 3-0 in BIG EAST play. MU's average margin of victory in BIG EAST home games this year is 28.3 ppg.
• Their only losses last year at home were to Northwestern and Mississippi State, who each finished ranked in the top-15 nationally.
• MU has won 34 of its past 39 games at the Al McGuire Center, which includes a 23-1 record in the last 24 BIG EAST home games.
• The Golden Eagles haven't lost a BIG EAST home game since Feb. 22, 2019, a 61-57 loss to Butler.
• MU hasn't lost more than four home games in a season since 2014-15 and is 37-5 in the past three seasons inside the friendly confines of the Al McGuire Center.

ROAD WARRIORS
• Marquette has spent a lot of time on the road this season, playing 10 of its first 14 games away from home. None of these have been neutral site games and have all been classified as "true" road games.
• The Golden Eagles are 9-1 in those true road games, including a 6-1 mark in BIG EAST play. The nine road wins MU has currently leads the country.
• The only road loss came to Seton Hall on Jan. 15, which was the Golden Eagles first game since Dec. 22 after the team went through a pause in team activities due to a positive COVID-19 test in the program.
• In non-conference play, MU defeated North Dakota, Belmont and Cincinnati on the road.

HAVING A LOTT OF FUN
• Senior guard Selena Lott is coming off a breakout season that helped her garner significant preseason acknowledgement both around the conference and nationally.
• So far in 2020-21, Lott leads the team in scoring (16.1) and assists (4.6) while ranking third in rebounding (5.6). She ranks in the top 10 in the BIG EAST in scoring, assists, free throw %, 3-point %, 3FG made, minutes and assist/turnover ratio.
• The team's best all-around player, Lott has 43 double figure scoring games in her career. She notched her first career double double in a win at Belmont (12/13) grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with 18 points and five assists. She posted her second on 1/27 at Villanova with 27 points and 11 assists while breaking the 1,000-career point mark.
• Lott netted a season-best 30 points in a win at St. John's on Jan. 17 in her home state of New York.

WHAT'S NEXT?
• Marquette hosts No. 20 DePaul at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 7 at the Al McGuire Center. FS1 will provide TV coverage.

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).