WBB to Host Georgetown Friday

Full Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (10-4, 3-2 BIG EAST) continues action this week inside the Al McGuire Center, as it plays host to Georgetown (6-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) on Friday, Jan. 14. The game is set to tip at 7 p.m. (CT), and will be broadcast by BEDN on FloHoops with Bob Brainerd (play-by-play) and Patricia Babcock McGraw (analyst) on the call. Live stats are available at GoMarquette.com.

The Golden Eagles are currently fourth in the league standings with a 10-4 overall record and a 3-2 mark in conference play. Marquette is coming off a win in an overtime thriller against rival DePaul, an 88-85 MU win on Wednesday. MU is a perfect 8-0 at home this season.

Georgetown will be playing its first game in over a month, after having four-straight contests canceled due to COVID health and safety precautions. Its last game came on Dec. 13, a 59-53 win over Coppin State. The Hoyas enter Friday's contest 6-4 overall and in the middle of the league standings, having split their two games against BIG EAST opponents. This matchup will pit the team's top-two scoring defenses against each other, MU allowing a league-best 57.2 points per game, Georgetown allowing 57.7.

The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series against Georgetown, 22-4, including wins in each of the past eight matchups. Last season, MU posted a 72-40 win over the Hoyas in Milwaukee, and a 55-48 win in D.C.

Georgetown is led in scoring this season by graduate guard Milan Bolden-Morris, a Boston College transfer who is averaging 13.2 points per contest. The Hoyas are coached by James Howard, in his fifth season with the program.

SCOUTING THE HOYAS

• Georgetown enters the contest with a 6-4 overall record including a 1-1 mark in BIG EAST matchups.

• The Hoyas haven't played a game in over a month, having four-straight games canceled due to COVID. This will mark their first contest since a Dec. 13 win over Coppin State.

• In 2020-21, Georgetown finished the season 2-15 with a 2-14 record in league play. It was picked ninth in this year's BIG EAST preseason poll.

• The Hoyas are 2-1 on the road this season.

• Graduate guard Milan Bolden-Morris is the Hoyas' top scorer this season, averaging 13.2 points per game. Senior forward Jillian Archer and sophomore guard Kelsey Ransom lead the team in rebounds (7.4) and assists (5.1), respectively.

• Ransom also leads the league with 2.7 steals per contest.

• Georgetown leads the BIG EAST in field goal percentage defense (34.3) and ranks second in scoring defense (57.7), narrowly behind Marquette.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS GEORGETOWN

• Friday's game will mark the 27th all-time meeting between Marquette and Georgetown, a series which began in 2006.

• The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 22-4, including wins in each of the past eight matchups.

• The teams faced off twice last season, Marquette earning a 72-40 win in Milwaukee and a 55-48 win in D.C.

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 30-11 in 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 53-19 overall mark (.736) at Marquette.

• The Golden Eagles are 43-1 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 29-3 when they turn the ball over fewer times than their opponent.

• MU is 29-3 when scoring more than 70 points under Coach Duffy and 36-4 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 72 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent in 60 of those games (47-14 record).

LAST TIME OUT

• Marquette defeated rival DePaul in thrilling overtime fashion on Wednesday, 88-85.

• After a Lauren Van Kleunen tip-in shot at the end of regulation was ruled to be after the buzzer, the teams dueled it out in overtime.

• Karissa McLaughlin scored 11 of the team's 14 overtime points, including going a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.

• Lauren Van Kleunen finished with 20 points, while Danyel Middleton recorded her first-career double-double with career-best marks of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

• MU held a DePaul offense which entered the game averaging 102.3 points per game against league opponents to just 73 points in regulation.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

• MU has established one of the best home court advantages in the country, posting a 69-11 record inside the Al McGuire Center since the 2016-17 season.

• The Golden Eagles are a perfect 8-0 at home this year, winning seven of those games by double-figures and outscoring opponents 623-425.

• Marquette has only trailed for 17:43 of 325 minutes played at home this season.

THE MCLAUGHLIN EFFECT

• Marquette brought in guard Karissa McLaughlin as a graduate transfer during the offseason with hopes that she could make an immediate impact, and that's exactly what she has done so far.

• McLaughlin, Purdue's all-time leading 3-point shooter, is having the best shooting season of her career, shooting an efficient 43.0 percent (35-of-79) from 3-point range.

• With 279 career triples, she currently ranks 15th among active Division I players.

• McLaughlin has a team-best five 20+ point games this season, including a season-high 26 points against Seton Hall, where she finished 6-of-10 from behind the arc.

• She currently sits just seven points from reaching the 1,500-point career plateau.