WBB Faces St. John's in BIG EAST Quarterfinals Saturday

UNCASVILLE, Connecticut — The Marquette women's basketball team (20-9, 13-7 BIG EAST) begins postseason play this weekend as it takes on 4-seed St. John's (22-7, 13-7 BIG EAST) in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinal round on Saturday, March 4. The Golden Eagles and the Red Storm will tip-off at 1:30 p.m. (CT) from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The game will be broadcast on FS2 with John Fanta (play-by-play), Kim Adams (analyst) and Meghan Caffrey (sideline) on the call. A link to live stats is available on GoMarquette.com.

In the team's regular season finale on Monday evening, Marquette posted a dominant 98-80 win over DePaul at the Al McGuire Center. In what was MU's highest-scoring and best shooting performance of the season, five different Golden Eagles scored in double figures while Liza Karlen, Chloe Marotta and Jordan King each scored 20-plus points.

The Johnnies finished the regular season with a 22-7 overall record and a 13-7 mark in BIG EAST games, holding a fourth-place tiebreaker over Marquette. After losing to MU on Feb. 18, SJU finished the year on a three-game winning streak with victories over UConn, Georgetown and Providence.

St. John's is led statistically this year by guard Jayla Everett, a senior who is averaging a team-best 16.1 points per game. Senior forward Rayven Peeples leads the squad averaging 8.7 boards, while graduate guard Mimi Reid has dished out 3.0 assists per contest.

Saturday's game will be the 33rd all-time between Marquette and St. John's, a series which dates back to 2005. The Golden Eagles hold a 21-11 series advantage with wins in 11 of the past 13 meetings. The teams exchanged wins on their home courts this season, SJU winning in Queens 66-61 and MU winning in Milwaukee 61-38.

SCOUTING THE RED STORM

• St. John's wrapped up the regular season with a 22-7 overall record and a 13-7 mark in league play. It earned the fourth-seed tiebreaker over Marquette because of its win over Creighton.

• After losing to Marquette on Feb. 18, the Red Storm finished the year on a three-game winning streak with victories over UConn, Georgetown and Providence.

• St. John's is 2-0 in neutral site contests this season.

• The team has been led statistically this year by guard Jayla Everett, a senior who is averaging a team-best 16.3 points to go along with 2.8 assists per game. Senior forward Rayven Peeples leads the squad averaging 8.7 boards, while graduate guard Mimi Reid has dished out a team-high 3.0 assists per contest.

• St John's has allowed opponents just 59.4 points per game this season, third fewest in the league, while scoring 66.1 points per contest.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST ST. JOHN'S

• Saturday's meeting will be the 33rd all-time between Marquette and St. John's, a series which began in 2005.

• Marquette has performed well in the all-time series, holding a 21-11 advantage with wins in 11 of the past 13 meetings.

• The teams split the regular season series 1-1, each winning on their home courts.

Last 5 Meetings

DATE LOCATION RESULT SCORE

2/18/23 H W 61-38

1/18/23 A L 61-66

2/27/22 H W 79-75

1/30/22 A W 70-65

1/17/21 A W 72-61

REGULAR SEASON SERIES

• In the first meeting between MU and St. John's this season, the Red Storm came out on top with a 66-61 win in Queens on Jan. 18.

• Strong scoring performances from the duo of Jordan King and Chloe Marotta weren't enough for Marquette, as the duo combined for 51 points in the loss.

• The Johnnies were led by Kadaja Bailey and Jayla Everett, who each had 18 points.

• In Milwaukee on Feb. 18, the Golden Eagles used stifling defense to post a 61-38 win over St. John's.

• After holding an eight-point halftime lead, Marquette gained separation with a 12-0 run early in the third quarter and saw its lead grow to as many as 26 points. MU dominated the glass 46-26, led by Marotta's 12 rebounds.

• King led Marquette with 24 points, while Marotta chipped in 14 as well.

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 86-35 overall mark (.711) at Marquette.

• The Golden Eagles are 73-3 under Coach Duffy when leading at halftime and 55-8 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 54-5 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.

• In the 121 games of the Coach Duffy era, the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent 95 times.

LAST TIME OUT

• Marquette closed its regular season on a high note on Monday night, posting a 98-80 win over DePaul at the Al McGuire Center.

• In what was MU's highest-scoring game and best shooting performance of the season, five different Golden Eagles scored in double figures while Karlen, King and Marotta each went for 20-plus.

• MU pounced early, opening the game with its highest-scoring quarter of the year as it came out firing to take a 34-18 lead through one after making 14 of its 21 first-quarter shots. Its lead stretched to as many as 20-points before the first half was finished, entering the locker room with a 53-35 advantage.

• Karlen finished with a career-high tying 26 points to go along with 14 boards, three assists, two blocks and three steals.

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 UConn and Butler/Georgetown on Sunday, March 5, at 2 p.m. (CT) in the BIG EAST Semifinals at Mohegan Sun Arena.

• The game will be broadcast on FS1 with links to live stats available on GoMarquette.com.