#MUWBB Falls to No. 1 UConn in BIG EAST Title Game

UNCASVILLE, Conn. - The Marquette women's basketball team fell to the No. 1 UConn Huskies 73-39 in the BIG EAST tournament championship game on Monday night.

Sophomore forward Camryn Taylor had 11 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles (19-6, 14-4 BIG EAST) while Lauren Van Kleunen and Antwainette Walker added six points. Seven Golden Eagles reached the scoring column.

MU started slow offensively, missing its first six shots and being held scoreless for the first 3:27 of the game. UConn started the game on a 9-0 run and ended the first quarter on a blistering offensive pace, making 12-of-17 shots (70.7 percent) from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range to burst out to a 29-10 lead. LVK and Taylor had four points each in the first 10 minutes to lead MU.

Both teams had relatively cold-shooting second quarters and shot under 40 percent from the field. Trailing 41-19 with 1:27 left in the half, the Golden Eagles inserted reserve guard Antwainette Walker in the game for the first time and she provided an immediate spark. She grabbed an offensive board off a missed shot from Jordan King and hit a short jumper in the lane. On MU's next defensive possession she stripped the ball from UConn's Olivia Nelson-Ododa and sprinted the other way for a layup to cut the Huskies lead to 41-23 at halftime. The two teams were nearly even in the battle on the boards but UConn shot 52.5 percent from the field compared to just 31.7 percent from MU.

A Camryn Taylor bucket brought the Golden Eagles to within 16 points at 41-25 to start the third quarter, but that would be as close as MU would get. UConn outscored the Golden Eagles 15-5 in the final 8:32 of the third quarter and 32-16 in the half.

MU shot a season-low 29 percent (18/62) from the field while the Huskies made 50 percent (29/58) of itheir shots.

Paige Bueckers led UConn with 23 points while Christyn Williams had 16 and Nika Muhl added 11.

POSTGAME NOTES:
-The Golden Eagles remained the only team in the BIG EAST to keep the same starting lineup in every game in 2020-21 (Lott, King, Marotta, Taylor, Van Kleunen).
-Camryn Taylor (11 points, 13 rebounds) reached double figures for the 18th time this season and 29th time in her career. She tallied her fourth double-double of the year and fifth of her career.
-Selena Lott had two steals to bring her career total to 220, which keeps her at No. 9 all-time at Marquette, one away from No. 8.
-Lott moved up to 8th place all-time in scoring at MU with 1,176 points, tied with Beth Ayers for 23rd all-time.

UP NEXT:
Marquette will play in the 2021 NCAA tournament in San Antonio, Texas in two weeks. The Golden Eagles will find out their seed, when they play and whom on Monday, March 15 (Selection Monday).

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).