WBB Set to Take on Butler Sunday

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Marquette women's basketball team (11-5, 4-3 BIG EAST) wraps up a two-game Midwest road trip Sunday as it travels to Indianapolis, Indiana, to face Butler (1-13, 0-5 BIG EAST). The Golden Eagles and Bulldogs are set to play on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 1 p.m. (CT) at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The game will be broadcast by BEDN on FloHoops with Johnny Soper (play-by-play) and Rachel Galligan (analyst) on the call. Live stats are available at GoMarquette.com.

The Golden Eagles currently sit at fourth in the league standings with an 11-5 overall record and a 4-3 mark in conference play. Marquette is looking to bounce back from a 58-55 home loss against Villanova on Jan. 16.

Butler has dropped three-straight contests after having four-straight games canceled due to COVID. The Bulldogs' lone win of the season came on Dec. 22, a 75-67 win over Evansville. Most recently, Butler fell to DePaul on Friday, 103-69.

The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series against Butler, 17-9, including wins in the past four matchups and 13 of the past 15. Earlier this season, MU posted a 59-45 win over the Bulldogs in Milwaukee on Dec. 5, highlighted by a 15-point, nine-rebound performance by Lauren Van Kleunen. Marquette had a season-low four turnovers, while forcing 26 in the contest.

Butler has been led this season by graduate forward Celena Taborn, a transfer from Furman who averages a team-best 13.3 points to go along with 5.0 rebounds per contest. Redshirt sophomore guard Tenley Dowell leads the squad's rebounding efforts with 5.1 boards per game. The Bulldogs are coached by Kurt Godlevske, in his eighth season with the program.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

• Butler enters the contest with a 1-14 overall record including a 0-6 mark in BIG EAST games.

• The Bulldogs have dropped four-straight contests, and had a stretch of four games canceled spanning between late December and early January.

• Butler's lone win of the year came against Evansville on Dec. 22.

• In 2020-21, Butler finished the season 3-17 with a 3-15 record in league play. It was picked 11th in this year's BIG EAST preseason poll.

• The Bulldogs are 1-9 at home this season.

• Statistically, Butler has been led by graduate forward Celena Taborn, a transfer from Furman. She's averaging 13.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest.

• Taborn currently leads the nation in field goal percentage, shooting 73.3 percent (63-of-86) from the field.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST BUTLER

• Sunday's matinee will mark the 27th meeting between Marquette and Butler. The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 17-9.

• Marquette is 7-4 all-time against the Bulldogs in Indianapolis.

• MU has won the last four meetings with Butler, winning by an average of 24.0 points in those games.

• Marquette has won 13 of the past 15 games in the series.

EARLIER THIS SEASON

• Marquette and Butler matched up on Dec. 5 at the Al McGuire Center, a 59-45 win for the Golden Eagles.

• Despite shooting a season-low 29.9 percent (20-of-67) from the field, the Golden Eagles led for nearly the entire contest.

• Marquette turned the ball over a season-low four times, while forcing 26 Butler turnovers with 15 steals.

• Karissa McLaughlin and Lauren Van Kleunen led MU with a game-high 15 points apiece. Van Kleunen also chipped in nine rebounds.

• Jordan King filled the stat sheet with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and six steals.

• The Musketeers were led by Celena Taborn, who finished with 14 points.

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 32-12 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 55-20 overall mark (.733) at Marquette.

• The Golden Eagles are 45-2 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 31-3 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 37-4 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 75 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent in 62 of those games (48-15 record).

NEARING THE CENTURY MARK

• Coach Megan Duffy enters the contest just one win shy of her 100th career victory as a head coach.

• Duffy, who is in her third year at Marquette after spending two seasons at Miami (OH), has had a stellar start to her career with a 99-40 (.712) overall record.

• With a win Sunday, Duffy would be the fastest to 100 wins of any of the current BIG EAST coaches.

MOVING THE BALL

• Marquette ranks among the nation's elite in ball movement, leading the conference and ranking 11th in the NCAA with 18.6 assists per game.

• Midway through the season, the team is on track to break the program's single-season assist average record of 17.5, set in 2018-19.

• In Dec. 11 win over North Dakota, Marquette tied a program record with 33 assists.

• Jordan King ranks fifth in the BIG EAST, averaging 4.5 assists per contest.

• In the past three games, MU has recorded assists on all but 12 made baskets.

LOCK DOWN DEFENSE

• Along with rebounding and strong fundamentals, defense has become one of Marquette's calling cards under Coach Duffy.

• The Golden Eagles are holding opponents to a league-best 55.1 points per game this season, while keeping seven opponents under 50 points.

• Additionally, Marquette is first in the BIG EAST in 3-point field goal defense (25.2%), second in turnovers forced (17.2) and third in field goal defense (36.9%).

LAST TIME OUT

• Marquette picked up its first road win of conference play on Friday, defeating Xavier 65-46.

• After getting out to a 16-4 lead to open the game, Marquette never trailed. Xavier fought back with a 14-10 second quarter, but was never able to close the gap. Marquette closed the game on an 8-0 run.

• While playing in her home state of Ohio, Lauren Van Kleunen led all scorers with 17 points on an efficient 8-of-11 shooting performance. Jordan King chipped in 17 as well, along with two boards, three assists and three steals.

• Liza Karlen had a career statistical performance, going for nine points, nine rebounds, two steals and career-highs of eight assists and four blocks.