WBB Faces South Florida in First Round of NCAA Tournament

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Marquette women's basketball team (21-10, 13-7 BIG EAST) begins NCAA tournament play this weekend as it takes on 8-seed South Florida (26-6, 15-1 AAC) in the first round on Friday, March 17. The Golden Eagles and the Bulls will tip-off at 10:30 a.m. (CT) from Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Carolyn Peck (analyst) on the call. A link to live stats is available on GoMarquette.com.

The Golden Eagles earned an at-large bid for what will be their 14th all-time NCAA tournament appearance after going 21-10 overall with a 13-7 mark in BIG EAST play to finish fifth in the league standings. Led by All-BIG EAST First Team honorees Chloe Marotta and Jordan King, this will be Marquette's first appearance in the Big Dance since 2020-21, and its second under head coach Megan Duffy.

South Florida enters the tournament with a 26-6 overall record, and it won the American Athletic Conference regular season title with a 15-1 mark in league play before being upset by 8-seed Wichita State in the conference quarterfinals. The Bulls made last year's NCAA tournament as a 9-seed, losing in the first round.

USF is led by guard Elena Tsineke, a senior who is averaging a team-best 18.0 points to go along with 3.1 assists per contest. Senior forward Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu ranks fifth in the NCAA with 12.3 rebounds per outing, while junior guard Aerial Wilson averages a team-best 4.5 assists.

Marquette and South Florida have met up 21 times, and were previously conference mates in both Conference USA and the BIG EAST. The Golden Eagles hold a 16-5 advantage in the series, though the sides haven't met up since 2013.

SCOUTING THE BULLS

• South Florida enters the tournament with a 26-6 overall record, and won the American Athletic Conference regular season title with a 15-1 mark in league play.

• After earning the 1-seed in the AAC Tournament, USF fell in the quarterfinal round to 8-seed Wichita State 65-53 on March 7.

• USF is 2-4 in neutral site games this year.

• The Bulls are making their ninth NCAA tournament appearance, and made the field as a 9-seed last season before suffering a 78-66 loss to Miami in the first round.

• The team has been led by guard Elena Tsineke, a senior who is averaging a team-best 18.0 points to go along with 3.1 assists per contest. Senior forward Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu ranks fifth in the NCAA with 12.3 rebounds per outing, while junior guard Aerial Wilson averages a team-best 4.5 assists.

• The Bulls rank fourth in the NCAA in rebound margin at +10.5, and are 31st in 3-point percentage shooting 25.5 percent from behind the arc. They average 71.0 points per game while allowing 59.3 this season.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST SOUTH FLORIDA

• Saturday's meeting will be the 22nd all-time between Marquette and South Florida, a series which dates back to 1996.

• Marquette holds a 16-5 advantage in the series.

• The teams were conference mates in Conference USA and the BIG EAST from 1995-2013.

• MU and USF last met up in 2013, a 58-48 South Florida win.

Last 5 Meetings

DATE LOCATION RESULT SCORE

1/26/13 A L 48-58

2/14/12 H L 48-61

1/16/11 A W 61-55

2/9/10 H W 63-50

2/3/09 A W 71-56

STARTING FIVE

• The Golden Eagles are 53-23 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 87-36 overall mark (.707) at Marquette.

• The Golden Eagles are 74-3 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 56-8 when they turn the ball over the same or fewer times than their opponent.

• MU is 46-4 when scoring more than 70 points under Coach Duffy and 55-5 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 123 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent 96 times.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• This will mark the 14th all-time NCAA tournament appearance for Marquette, and its first since the 2020-21 season.

• It's the second time MU has gone dancing during Coach Duffy's four-year tenure, though the team was in position to earn a bid before COVID canceled the 2020 tournament.

• Marquette is 6-8 all-time in first round games, but has advanced in five of its past seven appearances.

• This is the second time the Golden Eagles have earned the 9-seed, previously doing so in 2004 when they defeated Old Dominion in the opening round 67-64.

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT RECAP

• In the BIG EAST Tournament last week at Mohegan Sun Arena, the Golden Eagles defeated St. John's 57-47 in the quarterfinals to advance to their seventh-straight semifinal round, before falling 81-52 to eventual tournament champ No. 9 UConn.

• Against 4-seed St. John's, the Golden Eagles used a late surge and big scoring performances from Chloe Marotta, Jordan King and Liza Karlen to secure the win, as the trio combined for 50 points. Marotta led MU in both scoring and rebounding, going for 18 points and 14 boards, while King and Karlen finished with 16 points apiece.

• Against the 1-seed Huskies, the Golden Eagles struggled to get things going on offense and were unable to overcome a slow start. They found some offensive rhythm late in the contest, but it was too little too late as the team's top two scorers were limited to just seven combined points.

BATTLE TESTED

• Marquette has plenty of experience playing against the best this season, as 15 of its 31 games have been against teams in the NCAA Tournament field.

• The Golden Eagles earned their two highest-ranked wins in program history this season, defeating No. 3 Texas 68-61 on Nov. 19, and taking down No. 4 UConn 59-52 on Feb. 8.

• The BIG EAST landed five of its 11 teams in the 68-team tournament field, the most since the league's realignment in 2013. Joining Marquette in the dance is 2-seed UConn, 4-seed Villanova, 6-seed Creighton and 11-seed St. John's.

ALL-BIG EAST HONORS

• The senior duo of Jordan King and Chloe Marotta were each named to the All-BIG EAST First team, the league office announced Thursday morning, the first time that Marquette has ever had two first-teamers in the same season.

• King was a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team after leading the team with 16.3 points and 3.9 assists per game, ranking seventh and fifth in the league in those categories, respectively. King also led the squad in 3-point percentage as she hit 37.5 percent of her shots from distance, and averaged a team-best 1.9 steals per contest.

• Marotta also landed a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team after averaging career-bests in almost every statistical category this year. She led MU's efforts on the glass with 8.9 rebounds per contest, ranking third in the BIG EAST. She also ranked second on the squad and 12th in the league in scoring at 14.8 points per outing while shooting 46.3 percent from the floor, the most efficient mark on the squad.

FRESHMAN FIREPOWER

• The freshman pair of Emily La Chapell and Mackenzie Hare were each named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team, the first time that Marquette has had two freshmen earn that honor in the same season since Natisha Hiedeman and Allazia Blockton in 2015-16.

• La Chapell was a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman Team after bursting on to the scene this year. She made 17 starts for the Golden Eagles, including each of the final 16 games, and was twice named the conference Freshman of the Week. She ranked fifth among the league's freshmen with 5.1 points per game and third in rebounding with 3.0 per contest. She also ranked among the top-5 in assists, steals and blocks.

• Hare also landed a spot on the team after a stellar rookie campaign in which she ranked fourth on the team with 7.1 points per game. While coming off the bench and playing 17.5 minutes per outing, she was the league's fourth-leading freshman scorer and led all BIG EAST freshmen with 45 made 3-pointers. She was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week after going for back-to-back games of 23 points and 18 points against Seton Hall and Xavier.

UP NEXT FOR MU

• If Marquette wins, it will face the winner of top-overall seed South Carolina and 16-seed Norfolk State in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday, March 19, at Colonial Life Arena.

• Time and television info for the game will be announced following the conclusion of Friday's slate of games. A link to live stats will be available on GoMarquette.com.