WBB Defeats Villanova to Advance to BIG EAST Semifinals

UNCASVILLE, Conn. - The Marquette University women's basketball team took down Villanova, 50-48, to advance to the BIG EAST Semifinal Round on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Golden Eagles (23-7, 11-7 BIG EAST) were led by Liza Karlen, who had 13 points and eight rebounds. Skylar Forbes added 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

Mackenzie Hare joined Karlen and Forbes in double-figures with 10 points with a pair of threes, both coming in the second half.

Marquette held Villanova to just seven points in the third and went on a 7-0 run to finish the quarter to take a six-point lead.

The Golden Eagles took a three-point lead on a 3-pointer from Mackenzie Hare with two minutes to play. Jordan King hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to five points with 1:24 left. Villanova's Lucy Olsen responded with a three to make it a two-point game down to the final minute. Neither team scored the rest of the way as the Golden Eagles pulled out the victory.

Villanova (18-12, 11-7 BIG EAST) was led by Olsen who had 22 points.

NOTABLES:

Marquette has made the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament in every year under Megan Duffy.
Golden Eagles outrebounded Villanova 42-32. MU outrebounded the Wildcats in the first two meetings by an average of 2.5 rebounds.

UP NEXT:

Marquette faces No. 1 seed UConn in the first conference semifinal game Sunday at 1:30 p.m. CT on FS1.

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).