WBB Travels to Take on Villanova

MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (17-5, 10-3 BIG EAST) travels east this weekend as it faces Villanova (16-6, 10-3) Friday evening in a matchup between two teams tied for third in the BIG EAST standings. The Golden Eagles and Wildcats will face off on Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. (CT) at Finneran Pavilion. The game will be broadcast on FloHoops with John Fanta (play-by-play), Harry Perretta (analyst) and Lisa Roman (sideline) on the call. Live stats are available at GoMarquette.com.

The Golden Eagles are riding a six-game winning streak and currently sit with a 17-5 overall record and an 10-3 mark in conference play. Most recently, MU defeated Creighton 50-47 on Sunday to split the season series with the Bluejays.

Friday's matchup features the two teams tied for third-place in the league standings, as Villanova also enters the contest with a 9-3 BIG EAST record. The Wildcats are coming off of a big 72-69 victory at No. 8 UConn on Wednesday, a win which snapped the Huskies' 169-game winning streak over conference opponents.

Villanova is the lone visiting team to earn a win in the Al McGuire Center this season, winning 58-55 on Jan. 16. In a game which came down to the wire, Marquette had two opportunities for game-tying 3-pointers in the final seconds, but both missed the mark. The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series 18-11, and has one eight of the past 10 meetings.

Villanova has been led this season by junior forward Maddy Siegrist, who is averaging a stellar 25.1 points and 9.7 boards per game. She has scored 20-plus points in 12 of the past 14 contests. The Wildcats are coached by Denise Dillon, in her second season with the program.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

• Villanova enters the contest with a 16-6 overall record including a 10-3 mark in BIG EAST matchups.

• While Marquette has the second-longest winning streak in the conference (6), Villanova has the longest with eight-straight wins.

• The Wildcats are coming off of a 72-69 road win over No. 8 UConn on Wednesday night, a game which snapped a 169-game conference winning streak for Connecticut.

• Junior forward Maddy Siegrist has been one of the nation's top scoring threats this season, averaging 25.1 points to go along with 9.7 rebounds per game. She falls a few games shy of qualifying for national leaderboards, but would rank third nationally in scoring.

• Villanova ranks second in the league in turnovers (13.3), and third in scoring defense (62.1) and blocks per game (4.0).

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST VILLANOVA

• Friday's game will mark the 30th all-time meeting between Marquette and Villanova, a series which began in 2006.

• The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 18-11, including wins in 10 of the past 12 matchups.

• Marquette is 7-5 all-time at Villanova, and has won four of the past five meetings at Finneran Pavillion.

EARLIER THIS SEASON

• Marquette and Villanova matched up on Jan. 16 at the Al McGuire Center, a 58-55 win for the Wildcats.

• Villanova is the only team to defeat MU at home this season.

• In a game which was close through the first three quarters, Villanova used an early fourth-quarter push to open up a 10-point lead, which was answered by a 9-0 run by Marquette to pull within one.

• The Golden Eagles had two shots at game-tying 3-pointers, but both missed.

• Villanova was led by Maddy Siegrist, who went for 19 points and six boards.

• Jordan King led MU with 14 points, six boards and three assists.

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 37-12 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 60-20 overall mark (.750) at Marquette.

• The Golden Eagles are 50-2 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 35-3 when they turn the ball over the same or fewer times than their opponent.

• MU is 31-3 when scoring more than 70 points under Coach Duffy and 42-4 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 80 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent in 67 of those games (53-15 record).

WINNING WITH DEFENSE

• Marquette has established itself as one of the nation's top defenses this season, and ranks atop the league in multiple defensive categories.

• MU leads the league in scoring defense (54.5 points per game) and 3-point defense (25.6%), and is second in field goal defense (37.0%) and turnovers forced (16.5).

• The Golden Eagles have held 10 different opponents under 50 points this year, tied for fourth-most in the NCAA.

• MU is undefeated (32-0) under Coach Duffy when holding opponents under 55 points.

• Marquette's 54.5 points per game allowed are the fewest by a MU team since 1979-80.

DECEMBER GAME VS UCONN RESCHEDULED

• Marquette's game against UConn, originally scheduled for Dec. 29 but postponed due to COVID health and safety protocols, has been rescheduled by the BIG EAST.

• The game will now take place on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

• Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. (CT), and the game will be televised on SNY.

VAN KLEUNEN EARNS WEEKLY HONORS

• Lauren Van Kleunen continues to be a model of consistency for Marquette, and was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after helping the team to a pair of wins last week.

• On the week, Van Kleunen averaged 16.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, while shooting a combined 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from the floor.

• Against Providence, she went for a game-high 19 points to go along with eight boards.

• This was the third weekly honor for Van Kleunen this season, and the fourth of her career.

LAST TIME OUT

• Marquette won a 50-47 thriller over Creighton Sunday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center.

• After trailing for nearly the entire contest, and getting down by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter, Marquette held the Wildcats scoreless for the final 2:50 of action as it closed the game on an 8-0 run to secure the victory.

• With 1:10 left in the fourth quarter, Jordan King hit a jumper to give MU its first lead since the first quarter. Karissa McLaughlin hit a pair of free throws down the stretch to extend the lead to three, and a Liza Karlen block on a 3-point attempt at the buzzer sealed the win.

• MU was led by Karlen, who had a career-high 20 points. Chloe Marotta led the team's rebounding efforts with 12.