WBB Opens BIG EAST Play at Georgetown on Friday

MILWAUKEE — The No. 24 Marquette women's basketball team (6-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) heads to the east coast this weekend to open BIG EAST Conference play with a pair of contests, beginning on Friday, Dec. 2, when it takes on Georgetown (4-2, 0-0 BIG EAST). The Golden Eagles and the Hoyas will tip-off at 10 a.m. (CT) from McDonough Arena in Washington, D.C. The game will be broadcast by BIG EAST Digital network on FloHoops with Eliza Kravitz (play-by-play) and Maren Walseth (analyst) on the call. Live stats and stream links are available at GoMarquette.com.

Following a strong showing in the Battle 4 Atlantis, Marquette returned to action on Sunday in a dominant 83-40 home win over Saint Francis. MU used suffocating defense and displayed its depth in the win, as all 12 Golden Eagle players played in the contest and scored and the Red Flash were held to just 26.3 percent (15-of-57) shooting from the field with 22 turnovers.

The Hoyas enter the weekend with a 4-2 record in non-conference games this season, posting wins over Salem, Coppin State, Cal State Fullerton and High Point. Most recently, Georgetown competed in the Puerto Rico Clasico, where it lost to Mississippi State before earning a 67-60 win over High Point.

This year's Georgetown squad has been led statistically by junior guard Kelsey Ransom, who averages team-best marks in scoring (9.8), rebounding (7.3) and assists (3.2). The Hoyas are coached by James Howard, in his sixth year at the head of the program.

Marquette and Georgetown have met up 28 times in a series which dates back to 2006, the Golden Eagles leading 24-4 with wins in 10-straight meetings. Last season, MU posted a 86-32 win at home and a 64-57 win in Washington, D.C.

SCOUTING THE HOYAS

• Georgetown enters the weekend with a 4-2 overall record through six non-conference contests, posting wins over Salem, Coppin State, CS Fullerton and High Point.

• In 2021-22 the Hoyas went 10-19 overall with a 4-15 mark in league play to finish ninth in the BIG EAST.

• Most recently, Georgetown played at the Puerto Rico Clasico, where it lost to Mississippi State before earning a 67-60 win over High Point.

• The team has been led statistically by junior guard Kelsey Ransom, who averages team-best marks in scoring (9.8), rebounding (7.3) and assists (3.2).

• The Hoyas currently lead the BIG EAST with 5.0 blocks per game, while ranking third in field goal percentage defense (.351) and fourth in both scoring defense (54.7) and rebounds per game (41.0).

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST GEORGETOWN

• Sunday's meeting will be the 29th all-time between Marquette and Georgetown, a series which began in 2006.

• Marquette has dominated the all-time series, holding a 24-4 advantage.

• Marquette has won 10-straight games over the Hoyas, and 13 of the past 14.

• Last season, MU posted a 68-32 win over Georgetown on Jan. 14 in Milwaukee, then a 64-57 victory in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 18.

All-Time Meetings

DATE LOCATION RESULT SCORE

2/18/22 A W 64-57

1/14/22 H W 68-32

2/3/21 A W 55-48

1/20/21 H W 72-40

2/23/20 A W 75-56

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 40-16 against BIG EAST opponents under Coach Duffy.

• Coach Duffy is off to the best coaching start through four seasons of any coach in program history. She boasts a 72-27 overall mark (.727) at Marquette.

• The Golden Eagles are 60-3 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 43-5 when they turn the ball over the same or fewer times than their opponent.

• MU is 40-4 when scoring more than 70 points under Coach Duffy and 49-5 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 99 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent 82 times.

100-GAME MILESTONE

• Friday's contest at Georgetown will mark the 100th game coached at Marquette for head coach Megan Duffy, as well as the 100th game of senior guard Jordan King's college career.

• The duo, who each arrived in Milwaukee for the 2019-20 season, have combined to help the team to a 72-27 record in that time. King has started all 99 games of her career.

• With a .727 winning percentage, this has proven to be one of the winningest player-coach duos in program history.

DEBUTING IN THE POLLS

• After getting off to one of its strongest starts in years, Marquette has started to receive national attention in both the AP and the Coaches Top 25 polls.

• The Golden Eagles make their season debut in the AP Top 25, checking in at No. 24 after receiving votes the week prior.

• MU is also No. 24 in the WBCA Coaches Poll, moving up from 25 the week prior.

• Prior to this season, Marquette's most recent ranking in both polls came the final week of the 2019 season, when it was ranked in both.

SPREADING THE WEALTH

• One of Marquette's biggest strengths so far this season has been its overall depth and strong bench play.

• Three different players are currently averaging over 10 points per game this season in Liza Karlen (14.1), Chloe Marotta (13.6) and Jordan King (12.7), while Mackenzie Hare, Rose Nkumu and Nia Clark all average five-plus points as well.

• 31 percent of the team's points this season have come off the bench, while 10 different players average at least 10 minutes per game.

OFF TO A STRONG START

• With a 6-1 mark through seven games, Marquette has tied its best start to a season in over a decade (2010-11).

• The Golden Eagles have started 6-1 nine times in program history, most recently in 2019-20, but have hit 7-1 just four times.

• The program's best ever start to a season came in 2006-07 when it started 15-1.

BIG EAST SHOWING UP BIG TIME

• Entering the first weekend of league play, the BIG EAST has proven itself as one of the strongest women's basketball conferences in the country this season.

• Along with Marquette, three other teams were ranked in the most recent AP Poll as UConn sits at No. 3, Creighton at No. 23 and Villanova at No. 25.

• This is the first time since the final poll of 2012-13 that the league has had four teams ranked at the same time.

• BIG EAST teams are a combined 56-14 (.800) in non-conference play.

• Against Top-25 teams, the league is a combined 8-2 this year with a 12-4 record against teams from "Power 5" conferences.

• The BIG EAST also boasts the three of the top five individual scorers in the nation with Villanova's Maddy Siegrist (27.4), DePaul's Aneesah Morrow (26.7) and UConn's Azzi Fudd (25.6).

A SUCCESSFUL TRIP TO PARADISE

• Marquette improved to 5-1 on the season with a 2-1 mark last week at the Battle 4 Atlantis in The Bahamas.

• The Golden Eagles entered as one of just two teams in the eight-team field who were not receiving votes in the AP Poll, and made a run all the way to the championship game, where they fell in overtime 66-58 to #20 UCLA.

• In the opening round of the tournament, MU defeated #3 Texas 68-61 to earn its highest-ranked win in program history behind career-best scoring performances from Jordan King (25 points) and Rose Nkumu (16 points).

• Facing off in the semifinal round against RV Gonzaga, Marquette used stifling defense down the stretch to hold the Zags without a field goal for the final 7:47 of action to earn a 70-66 win.

• The senior duo of Chloe Marotta and Jordan King garnered all-Tournament team honors. Marotta averaged 13.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, while King went for 16.0 points, 3.7 boards and 2.3 assists per outing.

DOING IT AGAINST THE BEST

• Marquette's early season success has been impressive not just because of the number of wins, but because of the competition it is winning against.

• Four of MU's six wins this season have come against 2021-22 conference champions. It has taken down FDU (Northeast Conference), Holy Cross (Patriot League), Texas (Big 12) and Gonzaga (WCC).

WHAT'S ON TAP?

• The Golden Eagles remain on the east coast as they travel to South Orange, New Jersey, to face Seton Hall on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 12 p.m. CT.

• The game will be broadcast by BIG EAST Digital Network on FloHoops, with links to the stream and live stats available on GoMarquette.com.