WBB Meets Villanova in BIG EAST Quarterfinals on Saturday

The Marquette University women's basketball team begins postseason play this weekend in the 4/5 game of the BIG EAST Tournament against Villanova on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff from Mohegan Sun Arena is at 1:30 p.m. CT.

The game will be broadcast on FS2 with John Fanta (play-by-play), Kim Adams (analyst) and Meghan Caffrey (sideline) on the call.

Marquette finished tied for third in the conference at 11-7 with St. John's and Villanova.

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 109-44 (.712) overall and 64-30 (.681) in BIG EAST play.
• Jordan King is the active career scoring leader in the BIG EAST with 1,785 career points.
• Rose Nkumu is 10th in the nation with a 2.80 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Liza Karlen has six double-doubles in the last 10 games.
• Mackenzie Hare is 19th in the nation in 3-point percentage (42.4) and 11th in 3's made (84).

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• Villanova is coming off a 68-66 win against DePaul last Sunday.
• Lucy Olsen is first in the BIG EAST and fourth in the nation scoring 23.3 points per game.
• Olsen was voted BIG EAST Most Improved Player and was a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team.
• Christina Dalce was voted Co-Defensive Player of the Year and All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST VILLANOVA
• Saturday's matchup is the 35th meeting all-time between Marquette and Villanova.
• The Wildcats lead the series, 18-16.
• Villanova has won seven out of the last 10 games.

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT HISTORY WITH VILLANOVA
• Marquette and Villanova have met twice at the BIG EAST tournament, with the series tied 1-1.
• Last meeting came in 2020 when MU won 72-59 in a quarterfinal game. Then freshman Jordan King had 14 points, two rebounds and two assists.
• First meeting came in 2006, MU's first season in the BIG EAST. The Golden Eagles lost 68-46 in the first round.

ALL-BIG EAST HONORS
• Liza Karlen earned unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team honors after career bests in points (18.0) and rebounds (7.7) this season.
• Jordan King was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team after a strong fifth year in which she scored in double-figures in 24-of-29 games.
• Mackenzie Hare was named All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention after leading the conference in 3's made with 84 during the regular season.
• Fourth season in a row MU has an All-BIG EAST First Team member.

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT RECORD UNDER DUFFY
• The Golden Eagles are 6-4 under Megan Duffy at the BIG EAST Tournament.
• Marquette has made it to the semifinal round of the conference tournament in every year under Megan Duffy.
• The Golden Eagles made it to the final in 2020 (lost to DePaul) and in 2021 (lost to UConn).

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).