WBB Sees First-Half Lead Slip Away Against Gonzaga

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Marquette dropped its final game of the GEICO Coconut Hoops on Sunday, 65-61, to Gonzaga at Alico Arena. The Golden Eagles surrendered an eight-point halftime lead after they shot just 30.0% during the final 20 minutes following a 0-of-10 start to the third quarter.

Skylar Forbes finished with a season-high 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Her production was matched on the other side by Gonzaga's Lauren Whittaker who had 23 points to go with 13 rebounds.

Marquette came out firing from the jump knocking down its first five shots. Midway through the period, a 3-pointer from Jordan Meulemans gave the Golden Eagles a seven-point lead at 15-8. MU closed the first connecting on four straight buckets but led just 26-22.

Allowing 22 points in the first, MU locked in on the defensive end in the second, holding the Bulldogs to just 4-of-14 shooting (28.6%) and turning them over seven times. The Golden Eagles offense stalled as well in the period and took just an eight-point lead into the half.

Missed shots to start the second helped Gonzaga grab its first lead since the opening minute of the game at 40-39 with 5:57 on the clock. Marquette began the period with 10 straight missed attempts before Forbes rattled off seven unanswered points out the under-five media timeout. The Golden Eagles then went scoreless for the final two-and-half minutes of the period and took a 46-45 lead into the fourth.

After Meulemans sank her second triple of the game with 4:42 to play to give MU a two-point advantage, Gonzaga went on an 8-0 run in less than 60 seconds to grab its largest lead of the game. Following a timeout by MU, Forbes cut the deficit in half. The Golden Eagles then got the stops it need down the stretch but down two with eight seconds to go, a go-ahead 3-point attempt from the corner by Lee Volker was off the mark.

UP NEXT
Marquette jumps into BIG EAST play on Thursday night, traveling to DePaul. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT at Wintrust Arena and will air on Peacock.

NOTABLES

Marquette moves to 0-3 on the year outside of Milwaukee.
MU was outrebounded 47-27. All three of MU's losses have come when outrebounded by 15 or more.
MU lost its first game of the year when leading at the half. It was just MU's third loss when leading at the half in the past two seasons (19-3).
MU lost its first game of the year when outshooting its opponent (42.1%-36.4%).
Skylar Forbes recorded her first 20-point game of the season, finishing with 24.
Halle Vice was in double figures for the fourth time this season, scoring 12 points.