Marquette University
9-4,2-2Big East
Villanova
11-3,2-1Big East
WBB Drops 54-52 battle to VIllanova
12/28/2022 9:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Golden Eagles fall short in defensive showcase despite career night from Jordan King
MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (9-4, 2-2 BIG EAST) suffered a 54-52 loss to RV Villanova Wednesday evening inside of the Al McGuire Center.
Despite a strong defensive effort and a career performance from MU senior guard Jordan King, the Golden Eagles fell just short in a defensive battle against last season's BIG EAST runner-up.
"We're disappointed obviously with the ending of the game, this was a good, hard-fought BIG EAST game and we knew playing a team like Villanova it was going to be a grind," said Marquette head coach Megan Duffy. "I thought Jordan King had some great moments willing us with some offense, and I thought overall we did a nice job on (Maddy) Siegrist, but there were some timely baskets by Villanova and they had some big defensive stops, too."
Each side got off to a slow offensive start, Villanova leading 13-8 through one quarter as the teams combined to shoot just 8-of-36 from the floor in the first 10 minutes. Senior guard Jordan King helped ignite Marquette's scoring efforts in the second quarter, going for 11 points as MU brought the contest within a point, 25-24, at the halftime break.
After both teams scored 16 points in the third quarter, MU found itself down five late in the fourth. King hit a mid-range jumper with 51.5 remaining to make it a three-point game at 53-50. The Golden Eagles then forced a shot clock violation to regain possession with 19.3. King then scored a layup with 5.7 on the clock to pull within one. After a one-for-two trip to the free throw for Villanova, MU was unable to get up a heave at the buzzer.
King finished with her first career double-double as she scored 23 points to go along with a career-high 11 rebounds to lead the team in both categories while playing all 40 minutes of action.
Villanova (11-3, 2-1 BIG EAST) was paced by Maddy Siegrist, who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
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Jordan King recorded the first double-double of her career, going for 23 points to go along with a career-high 11 rebounds.
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King moved up three spots on Marquette's all-time scoring list, passing Kiesha Oliver (1996-00), Sarina Simmons (2019-13) and Danielle Kamm (2003-07). She now ranks 27th with 1,083 career points.
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This was the eighth 20-plus point performance of King's career, and her fifth of the season.
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Chloe Marotta made her 130th career appearance, moving into sixth in all-time games played in a MU uniform. She ties Tatiyiana McMorris (2007-11), Erin Monfre (2005-09) and Natisha Hiedeman (2015-19) on the list.
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Marotta also moved up into 13th on the program's rebounding leaderboard, passing Sarina Simmons (2009-13). She now has 732 boards in her career.
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Marotta finished second on the team in both points (10) and rebounds (9) tonight.
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Emily La Chapell played a career-high 35 minutes, surpassing her previous career-high of 22. She finished with seven points, three rebounds and a steal.
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Villanova was held to just 31.1 percent (19-of-61) shooting from the floor, its second-lowest shooting percentage of the season.
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Marquette finished the game shooting 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the floor, 33.3 percent (2-of-6) from 3-point range and 100.0 percent (10-of-10) from the free throw line.
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Marquette won the rebounding battle, 38-36.
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With the loss, Marquette falls to 18-13 all-time against Villanova.
UP NEXT: Marquette opens a three-game road trip as it travels to Storrs, Connecticut, to face UConn on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m.. The game will be broadcast on SNY with live stat links available on GoMarquette.com.
Keep up with the Marquette women's basketball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteWBB) and Instagram (@marquettewbb) and `liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteWBB).
