WBB Faces Cross-Town Foe Milwaukee on Sunday

MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (2-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) continues its 2022-23 campaign on Sunday afternoon as it plays host to cross-town foe Milwaukee (1-1, 0-0 Horizon League). The Golden Eagles and the Panthers will tip-off at 2 p.m. (CT) from the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee. The game will be broadcast by MUTV on YouTube, with John Leuzzi (play-by-play), Ben Schultz (analyst) and Kristin Parisi (sideline) on the call. Live stats are available at GoMarquette.com.

The Golden Eagles are off to a 2-0 start to the year with a pair of wins against 2021-22 conference champions after opening with a 75-47 win against FDU, followed by a 75-55 win over Holy Cross on Friday. MU has been led so far by strong play from junior forward Liza Karlen, who has scored 18 points in each of the two outings.

The Panthers are off to a 1-1 start to the year after opening the season with a 58-49 home loss to Wisconsin and a 76-66 home win over Loyola Chicago on Thursday evening. In its 2021-22 campaign, Loyola Chicago finished with a 15-16 overall mark and a 13-9 record in league play to finish sixth in the Horizon League.

Milwaukee lost three starters from last season's squad, but returns its top scorer and rebounder in senior forward Megan Walstad, who averaged 14.4 points and 9.1 rebounds a season ago. Head coach Kyle Rechlicz leads the team, currently in her 11th season with the program.

Sunday's game will mark the 53rd all-time meeting between MU and UWM, the second most-played rivalry in Marquette's history. The Golden Eagles lead the series, which dates back to 1976, 32-20, though they have won 25 of the past 28 meetings. At home, Marquette leads the all-time series 13-9.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

• Milwaukee is off to a 1-1 start to the year after opening the season with a 58-49 home loss to Wisconsin and a 76-66 home win over Loyola Chicago on Thursday evening.

• In 2021-22 the Panthers went 13-9 against league competition to finish sixth in the Horizon League. Overall, they had a 15-16 record on the year.

• UWM went 6-10 away from home last season.

• Milwaukee lost three starters from last season's squad, but returns its top scorer and rebounder in senior forward Megan Walstad, who averaged 14.4 points and 9.1 rebounds a season ago.

• Last season, the Panthers ranked seventh in the nation in free throw percentage (79.8), while also excelling in scoring defense (59.1)

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST MILWAUKEE

• Sunday's meeting will be the 53rd all-time between Marquette and Milwaukee, a series which dates back to 1976.

• Marquette leads the all-time series 32-20, and has won 25 of the past 28 meetings.

• This is MU's longest-running rivalry, trailing only DePaul.

• Marquette won last year's contest 59-51 on Dec. 8 at the Klotschke Center, led by 25 points from Lauren Van Kleunen. UWM was held to just 37.3 percent (19-of-51) shooting from the floor, while Chloe Marotta recorded a 13-point 10-rebound double-double.

Last 5 Meetings

DATE LOCATION RESULT SCORE

12/8/21 A W 59-51

12/2/20 H L 55-64

12/8/19 A W 78-56

11/28/18 A W 83-74

12/17/17 A W 83-68

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 23-7 against non-conference opponents under Coach Duffy.

• Coach Duffy is off to the best coaching start through three seasons of any coach in program history. She boasts a 68-26 overall mark (.723) at Marquette.

• The Golden Eagles are 56-3 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 41-5 when they turn the ball over the same or fewer times than their opponent.

• MU is 37-4 when scoring more than 70 points under Coach Duffy and 48-5 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 94 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent 79 times.

LAST TIME OUT

• Marquette improved to 2-0 on the season as it posted a 75-55 win over Holy Cross on Friday evening at the Al McGuire Center.

• Against the 2021-22 Patriot League regular season champions, MU played an even, low-scoring first half and led just 29-25 at the break. It came out firing in the second half, outscoring the Crusaders 46-30 the rest of the way.

• Freshman guard Mackenzie Hare helped the Golden Eagles gain separation, scoring the first 12 points of the fourth quarter and finishing with 18.

• For the second-straight game, Liza Karlen finished with 18 points.

• MU forced 17 turnovers and outscored Holy Cross 20-2 on fast breaks.