Marquette University
Providence
WBB Set to Face Providence Friday
2/2/2022 4:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Golden Eagles and Friars will play first of two season meetings this weekend
Full Notes (PDF)
MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's basketball team (15-5, 8-3 BIG EAST) returns to the Al McGuire Center for a pair of conference games this weekend, beginning with Providence (9-11, 4-7 BIG EAST). The Golden Eagles and Friars will face off on Friday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. (CT). The game will be broadcast by BEDN on FloHoops with Patrick Reed (play-by-play) and Meghan McKeown (analyst) on the call. Live stats are available at GoMarquette.com.
The Golden Eagles currently sit at fourth in the league standings with a 15-5 overall record and an 8-3 mark in conference play. Marquette is riding a streak of four-straight wins entering the weekend, most recently defeating St. John's on the road 70-65 on Jan. 30.
Providence enters the contest with a 9-11 overall record and 4-7 league mark. The Friars have dropped four of their past five, most recently falling 69-61 to #10/9 UConn on Sunday. They boast one of the league's top rim protection defenses, ranking sixth nationally in blocks per game (6.2).
The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series against Providence 20-5, and have won nine-straight in the series. Marquette is 9-3 all-time against the Friars in games played in Milwaukee. MU came out on top in all three of last season's contests, including an 89-40 win in Milwaukee, a 73-52 win in Providence, and a 68-43 win in the second round of the BIG EAST Tournament.
Providence has been led this season by the stellar play of Janai Crooms. The junior guard leads the squad in points (13.8), rebounds (8.7) assists (3.8) and steals (1.6) per contest. She also ranks second in the BIG EAST with 92 free throw attempts. The Friars are coached by Jim Crowley, in his sixth season with the program.
SCOUTING THE FRIARS
• Providence enters the contest with a 9-11 overall record including a 4-7 mark in BIG EAST matchups.
• The Friars have dropped four of their past five games, most recently suffering a 69-61 loss to #10/9 UConn on Sunday night.
• In 2020-21, Providence finished the season 7-14 with a 4-10 record in league play. It was picked eighth in this year's BIG EAST preseason poll.
• The Friars have a better record on the road than at home this season, going 4-2 in contests away from Providence.
• Junior guard Janai Crooms has been the squad's statistical leader this season, leading the team in points (13.8), rebounds (8.7) assists (3.8) and steals (1.6) per contest. She also ranks second in the BIG EAST with 92 free throw attempts.
• Providence leads the conference in field goal defense (36.7 percent) and ranks sixth nationally in blocks per game (6.2).
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST PROVIDENCE
• Friday's game will mark the 26th all-time meeting between Marquette and Providence, a series which began in 2006.
• MU has won nine-straight and 14 of the past 15 games in the series.
• Last season, MU won 89-40 in Milwaukee and 73-52 in Providence. The teams also met in the second round of the BIG EAST tournament, a 68-43 MU win.
• Marquette is 9-3 all-time against the Friars in Milwaukee.
STARTING FIVE
• The Golden Eagles are 35-12 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 58-20 overall mark (.744) at Marquette.
• The Golden Eagles are 48-2 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 33-3 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 40-4 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.
• In the 78 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent in 65 of those games (51-15 record).
MOVING THE BALL
• Marquette ranks among the nation's elite in ball movement, sixth in the NCAA with 19.1 assists per game.
• With eight games remaining in the regular season, the team is on track to break the program's single-season assist average record of 17.5, set in 2018-19.
• The Golden Eagles have recorded assists on 71.7 percent (383-of-534) made baskets, third-best in the nation.
• In Dec. 11 win over North Dakota, Marquette tied a program record with 33 assists.
• Jordan King ranks fourth in the BIG EAST, averaging 4.5 assists per contest.
DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
• In Sunday's win over St. John's, all five Marquette starters (McLaughlin, King, Karlen, Van Kleunen, Marotta) reached double-figures in the scoring column.
• This was the first time MU has had five or more players score 10-plus points since Jan. 27, 2021 at Villanova.
• Additionally, all five starters recorded three or more boards and at least two assists in the contest.
BACK-TO-BACK HONORS FOR KARLEN
• Liza Karlen has put together a couple of the best week of her career, and on Monday was named to her second-straight BIG EAST Weekly Honor roll.
• Last week, Karlen helped the Golden Eagles to a pair of wins while averaging 14.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per game.
• She went for 14 points and a career-high 15 boards against Seton Hall.
• Over the past two weeks, Karlen is averaging 14.0 points, 9.8 boards, 3.4 assists and 2.3 blocks per game.
• Karlen now has three weekly Honor Roll appearances in her career (Dec. 28, 2020).
DUFFY EARNS WIN 100
• Coach Megan Duffy picked up the 100th win of her coaching career on Jan. 23 in Marquette's 78-48 win at Butler.
• Duffy, who is in her third year at Marquette after spending two seasons at Miami (OH), has had a stellar start to her career with a 102-40 (.718) overall record.
• Reaching the milestone in just 140 games, Duffy became the fastest to 100 wins of any of the current BIG EAST coaches.
LAST TIME OUT
• Marquette used an evenly-spread offensive attack on Sunday afternoon to earn a 70-65 road win over the St. John's Red Storm.
• All five MU starters scored in double-figures, led by Karissa McLaughlin's 18-point effort.
• Despite being on top for most of the game, the teams played within a few possessions of each other for the majority of the contest. Entering the fourth quarter, Marquette held a 47-46 advantage.
• The Golden Eagles used 58.3 percent (7-of-12) shooting in the final quarter and 6-for-6 shooting from the charity stripe down the stretch to gain separation and secure the win.
