WBB Opens Season Monday vs FDU

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MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (0-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) tips off the 2022-23 season on Monday afternoon as it plays host to Fairleigh Dickinson (0-0, 0-0 NEC). The Golden Eagles and the Knights will tip-off at 12 p.m. (CT) from the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee. The game will be broadcast on FloHoops, with Kent Sommerfeld (play-by-play) on the call. Live stats are available at GoMarquette.com.

The Golden Eagles are coming off of a 23-11 season, which saw them make it to the BIG EAST semifinals followed by a run to the third round of the WNIT. Led by head coach Megan Duffy, in her fourth year with the squad, the Golden Eagles will look to build on last year's fifth-place league finish.

While Marquette loses two of its top contributors from a season ago in Karissa McLaughlin and Lauren Van Kleunen, it also returns three starters and welcomes in five newcomers, including one transfer and four true freshmen, who will look to make an immediate impact.

Top returning players for Marquette include senior guard Jordan King, a preseason all-BIG EAST selection who averaged 13.9 points and 4.4 assists a season ago, as well as senior forward Chloe Marotta and junior forward Liza Karlen.

The Knights are following up a 2021-22 campaign in which they finished the year with a 19-12 mark, and a 15-3 league record to win the regular-season NEC title. They also competed in the WNIT, but lost in the first round to Seton Hall, 67-45. FDU returns three starters, including junior forward Chloe Wilson, the team's top returner in both points (12.1) and rebounds (6.4).

This will be the first all-time meeting between Marquette and Fairleigh Dickinson. All-time the Golden Eagles have played seven games against NEC opponents, going 6-1 in that stretch.

All-time in season-opening games, Marquette holds a 29-18 record.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS

• Fairleigh Dickinson won the 2021-22 NEC regular season title after going 15-3 against league competition. Overall, they had a 19-12 record on the year.

• The top-seeded Knights were upset in the semifinal round of the Northeast Conference Tournament by 7-seed Bryant, 44-38.

• FDU then went on to the WNIT, where they faced BIG EAST foe and eventual WNIT runner-up Seton Hall in the first round, losing 67-45.

• The Knights went 7-8 away from home last season.

• Fairleigh Dickinson lost several key players from a season ago, including leading scorer Madison Stanley, but returns three starters. Junior forward Chloe Wilson is the team's top returning scorer (12.1) and rebounder (6.4).

• FDU ranked 26th nationally in defensive 3-point percentage at just 27.2 last season. It also excelled in scoring defense (56.9) and rebound margin (+3.4).

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON

• Monday's meeting will be the first all-time between Marquette and FDU.

• Marquette is 6-1 all-time against current NEC programs.

• MU's last meeting with an NEC team came on Nov. 7, 2019, a 92-71 win over St. Francis Brooklyn.

• The Golden Eagles will face another NEC foe on Nov. 27 when they face Saint Francis.

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 21-7 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 66-26 overall mark (.717) at Marquette.

• The Golden Eagles are 54-3 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 39-5 when they turn the ball over the same or fewer times than their opponent.

• MU is 35-4 when scoring more than 70 points under Coach Duffy and 46-5 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 92 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent 77 times.

KING NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST TEAM

• After posting the strongest statistical season of her college career last season, senior guard Jordan King was recognized as a member of the preseason all-BIG EAST team.

• The Rockton, Illinois, native led the team and ranked fourth in the BIG EAST in assists last season with 4.4 helpers per contest. She was also the third-leading scorer for MU as she averaged 11.5 points, while also pulling down 4.5 rebounds per game.

• King also had the most efficient shooting season of her career, shooting 41.0 percent (161-of-393) from the floor.

• King has started all 92 games that she's played during her college career, averaging at least 30 minutes per contest each season.

RETURNING IMPACT PLAYERS

• While Marquette did lose a handful of players from last year's team, including starters Lauren Van Kleunen and Karissa McLaughlin, Coach Duffy's squad brings back three starters and seven total letterwinners.

• Along with King, who started every game last season, MU also returns senior forward Chloe Marotta and junior forward Liza Karlen, who made 34 and 29 starts, respectively.

• The Golden Eagles will also rely on senior forward Kennedi Myles, junior guard Rose Nkumu, junior forward Julianna Okosun and sophomore guard Makiyah Williams to bring veteran leadership and stability to the squad.

NEW FACES EVERYWHERE

• Along with its returning players, MU will look for a handful of newcomers to make an immediate impact after bringing in a transfer and four true freshmen.

• Senior guard Nia Clark is the team's lone transfer addition. She spent the past three seasons at Xavier, and was the Musketeers' leading scorer last season with 11.7 points to go along with 2.4 assists and a team-high 1.5 steals per game. Prior to her time in Cincinnati, Clark played for Coach Duffy as a true freshman at Miami (OH) in 2018-19.

• Guard Aizhanique Mayo had a stellar prep career at Notre Dame Catholic HS in Fairfield, Connecticut. She was the MaxPreps Connecticut HS Player of the Year in 2020-21 after averaging 20.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.8 rebounds and 5.0 steals per contest.

• Forward Charia Smith spent three years at Westerville (Ohio) North HS, before transferring to Northland HS in Columbus, Ohio, for her senior year. As a senior, she averaged a team-best 20.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

• Guard Mackenzie Hare proved to be one of the top prep scorers in the state of Illinois, playing first at Bartlett and then Naperville HS, finishing her high school career with 2,494 points and 398 made 3-pointers, fourth-most in Illinois state history.

• Guard Emily La Chapell was ranked a four-star prospect by ESPN, and the 23rd ranked guard and 77th ranked overall player in the 2022 recruiting class. She finished as Appleton East High School's all-time leading scorer with 1,885 points, and averaged 20.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals per contest her senior year.

WELCOME BACK, CLAIRE KAIFES

• Another player who will look to bring a veteran presence both on and off the court this season is senior guard Claire Kaifes.

• After missing the entire 2021-22 season with injury, Kaifes is healthy and ready to return to action. In 2020-21, she was one of the team's top reserves, playing in 26 contests and averaging 15.3 minutes per.

RELENTLESS GROWTH

• One of the most improved players in the BIG EAST last season, junior forward Liza Karlen will look to take the next step this season to establish herself as one of the league's top forwards.

• While starting 29 games last year, Karlen saw her averages jump from just 4.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game as a freshman to 10.2 points and 7.2 boards per contest as a sophomore. She also led the team with 34 blocks on the year.

SEASON OPENER HISTORY

• Beginning its 48th season of competition this year, the Marquette women's basketball team holds a 29-18 all-time record in season openers.

• The Golden Eagles have a 3-0 record in openers under Coach Duffy, and have won four-straight and 16 of their past 19 lid lifters.

• Last season, MU opened the campaign with a dominant 96-35 win over Alcorn State.

BAHAMAS BOUND

• Marquette is set to participate in one of the nation's premiere women's basketball tournaments when they travel to the Bahamas to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

• The tournament will have an eight-team field with each team playing three games between Nov. 19-21 in a bracket-style tournament.

• MU will face Texas in the first round, then depending on the results of that matchup will see either Louisville or Gonzaga on day two.

• Other teams in the field include Tennessee, Rutgers, UCLA and South Dakota State.

WHAT'S ON TAP?

• The Golden Eagles will remain at home for two more games this week, first facing Holy Cross on Friday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. They will then take on cross-town foe Milwaukee on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. Both games will be played inside of the Al McGuire Center.

• Friday's contest will be broadcast on FloHoops, with live stats available on GoMarquette.com.

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