WBB Hosts Villanova on National Marquette Day

Marquette women's basketball stays home to host Villanova on National Marquette Day on Saturday, Feb. 10. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. CT at the Al McGuire Center.

The game will be broadcast nationally on FOX with Lisa Byington (play-by-play) and Meghan McKeown (analyst) on the call. It will be the first game on FOX since Feb. 13, 2022 against UConn at home.

NATIONAL MARQUETTE DAY
• National Marquette Day is a tradition dating back to the 1960s that brings the Marquette nation united together in pride and spirit to honor the values of the University.
• On Saturday afternoon, alumni will gather in Milwaukee and around the world at more than 50 locations representing multiple states from Alaska and Hawaii to New York to celebrate Marquette and cheer on the men's and women's basketball teams. Events are also scheduled in Paris and Puerto Rico.
• In its present form, National Marquette Day has been around since 1992. The celebration was preceded by Spirit Day, which dates back to the 1960s.

BIG EAST HONORS BLACK FIVES
• For the third season, the BIG EAST Conference will celebrate Black History Month by partnering with the Black Fives Foundation, a non-profit public charity whose mission is to research, preserve, showcase, teach and honor the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball.
• To honor these pioneers, both teams are wearing shirts with the Black Fives mantra - Make History Now. This serves as a reminder that this lost history should be told and celebrated in present day - and that the steps all of us make towards progress and inclusion will become the history lessons of the future.
• Marquette will be representing the Mysterious Girls Athletic Club, who played during the late 1930's and early 1940s in Harlem, New York City.

STARTING FIVE
• In her fifth season at the helm of Marquette women's basketball, Coach Duffy has the best winning percentage of any coach in MU history, going 105-42 (.714) overall and 60-28 (.692) in BIG EAST play.
• MU is one of 14 schools to have multiple players on Naismith Starting 5 awards Top 10 lists (Jordan King & Liza Karlen).
• Rose Nkumu is third in the nation with a 3.28 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Liza Karlen is averaging 20.3 points and 7.9 rebounds in conference play.
• Mackenzie Hare is sixth in the nation in 3-point percentage (45.6) and fifth in 3's made (68).

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• Villanova is coming off a 69-41 win over Seton Hall last Sunday.
• Lucy Olsen leads the conference and is seventh in the nation at 23.1 points per game.
• Olsen was named preseason All-BIG EAST while the Wildcats were picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches' poll.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST VILLANOVA
• Saturday's matchup will be the 34th meeting all-time between Marquette and Villanova.
• Golden Eagles lead the series 18-15.
• Marquette have won 10 out of the last 16 matchups, but have dropped five of the last six.

HOTTINGER HOT START TO FEBRUARY
• Frannie Hottinger had her second-straight double-digit scoring performance against Georgetown with 15 points and six boards going 9-of-9 from the line.
• Hottinger recorded her first double-double in conference play against Providence on Feb. 3 with game highs in points (18) and rebounds (10).
• The Lehigh transfer and reigning Patriot League Player of the Year is eighth in the BIG EAST in career points with 1,323 and fifth in career rebounds with 717.
• Hottinger had a career-high 21 rebounds vs Bucknell, the highest rebounding total for a BIG EAST player this season.
• The graduate student is one of 19 players in the nation to have 20-or-more rebounds in a game.

KARLEN CAREER SCORING STRETCH
• Liza Karlen is averaing 20.3 points (third in BIG EAST) and 7.9 rebounds (fifth in BIG EAST) in conference games this season.
• Karlen had her fifth double-double of the season and third in the last four games with game highs in points (25) and rebounds (10) against Georgetown on Wednesday.
• The senior has led the team in scoring 11 times this season, and has 10 20-point games after having four total her first three years at MU.
• The St. Paul, Minnesota native is second in the BIG EAST and 10th nationally in FG made with 180.

Keep up with the Marquette women's basketball program through social media by following on X (@MarquetteWBB) and Instagram (@marquettewbb) and `liking' on Facebook (MarquetteWBB).